Bass Museum // Najja Moon

Miami-based artist and cultural practitioner Najja Moon has been selected as the inaugural winner of The Bass’ New Monuments commission through an open artist call issued in July 2020 to Miami-based artists. The initiative, which will be renewed for the next five years, is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation through the museum’s Knight Art Commissions Program established in 2019.Speaking to the deeply personal yet universal relationship between mothers and children, “Your Mommas Voice in the Back of Your Head” configures multidirectional speakers encased in gradient dichroic glass, echoing mantras, scolds and colloquialisms voiced by Moon’s own mother, as well as those from her friends and family. Through recording sessions open to the public, Moon will also gather the voices of Miami-Dade County residents in English, Spanish and Creole. Building upon the question of what our monuments represent, “Your Mommas Voice in the Back of Your Head” will be the first work in the New Monuments series initiated by The Bass. Following Moon, this initiative will select five local artists over the next five years from an open call. Each artist will probe the idea of a monument to provide varying answers with a work of art that will be on view in Collins Park for approximately 10-12 months each.