Nothing happens quickly on the National Mall. Building a new museum or memorial on this 146-acre strip between the US Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington involves approvals that can stretch out for decades. President Barack Obama was in grade school when efforts began in earnest to build a Black history museum in 1968; he inaugurated the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture almost 50 years later. Even modest changes, like a sculpture garden renovation, can take years to pull off, and ambitious projects fail all the time. Legislation, fundraising, bureaucracy, oversight: Each step is its own monumental undertaking.

So to see a series of memorials planned and executed on the Mall in under a year’s time — even temporary monuments — feels like a major shift. “Beyond Granite,” which is on view through Sept. 18, features sculptural works by six prominent contemporary artists that speak to the values embodied in America’s cultural treasury. It’s a striking exhibit that reconsiders the histories that the Mall commemorates and the form that monuments can take. Moreover, this collection reimagines how the Mall should work: less for history, more for people.