Categories: ArtsLocalNews

City calls for artists to apply for Harriet Tubman statue

Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration on Wednesday issued a call for artists to apply to create a Harriet Tubman statue outside City Hall — the latest step in a stop-and-start process that has faced community criticism.

The city initially awarded a no-bid contract to an out-of-state sculptor, before backtracking and committing to an open call with a wider scope, soliciting ideas on work depicting Tubman or the contribution of another African American figure.

Tubman, known for her role helping enslaved people escape to freedom as part of the Underground Railroad, will ultimately be the subject of the statue.

But members of the Celebrating the Legacy of Nana Harriet Tubman Committee, formed to advocate for the statue, say the process is too tainted to move forward.

“We want a moratorium on the process right now until new oversight is there,” committee leader Maisha Sullivan-Ongoza said in an interview Wednesday. “They have lost the public trust.”

Last week, the committee penned a letter asking the Kenney administration to remove the city’s chief cultural officer, Kelly Lee, and Public Art Director Marguerite Anglin from the process.

Sullivan-Ongoza said she wants to see a new selection committee made up of 50% community members and 50% city officials with knowledge of public art best practices.

A spokesperson for the Kenney administration said the city has “the utmost confidence in” Lee and Anglin and their continued leadership.

As it stands, artists interested in overseeing the $500,000 effort to build a Tubman statue at the northeast corner of City Hall have until Jan. 26 to submit for the first step of a two-part application process.

They will be required to send in their demographic information, resume, examples of prior works and responses to specific questions.

In the open call document, the Kenney administration says priority will be given to artists who “reflect the diversity of Philadelphia,” as well as those who live or work in the city.

Wesley Wofford, a white North Carolina-based artist who created the traveling Tubman statue that sat outside City Hall for three months earlier this year, was initially hired to craft the permanent monument.

However, the city reversed its decision following pushback from community activists and members of City Council.

“Any changes they’re making it’s because the community has been mindful and pushing back,” she said.

In August, officials said the scope of the project would be widened beyond Tubman; though a survey conducted in October found that more than half of the 515 respondents wanted Tubman memorialized – far more than any other historical figure.

After the initial artist applications are reviewed, an advisory committee will select five semi-finalists who will move on to the second part of the bidding process.

They will receive funding to develop a design for the new statue and have to submit it by June 9, according to the Kenney administration. The public will be able to vote on the proposals, and a winner will be picked in September.

Officials anticipate the statue will be fabricated and installed between summer of 2024 and early 2025.

Jack Tomczuk

Jack Tomczuk is a Philadelphia native who started as a news reporter for Metro in March 2020 (just a couple days before COVID hit). Previously, he wrote for the Northeast Times, The Sun newspapers in Burlington and Camden counties and the Press of Atlantic City.

Recent Posts

‘Beautiful’ brings the tunes of Carole King to Walnut Street

Currently on the stage at the Walnut Street Theatre, 'Beautiful – The Carole King Musical' will…

6 hours ago

Where should Philly put new speed cameras?

More automated speed cameras are coming to Philadelphia, and residents have a chance to suggest…

6 hours ago

Punxsutawney Phil and wife Phyliss are parents of 2 babies

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press Now we know what Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog who predicts…

7 hours ago

‘Asphalt City’: Tye Sheridan on showing the hyperreal story of paramedics

If there's one takeaway from 'Asphalt City', Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire's latest feature starring Tye Sheridan and…

7 hours ago

‘Good likelihood’ that injured Embiid will be back before start of playoffs, 76ers’ Nurse says

Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse said Wednesday that there is a “good likelihood” that reigning…

10 hours ago

Pennsylvania’s mail-in ballot dating rule is legal under civil rights law, appeals court says

By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press A requirement for Pennsylvania voters to put accurate handwritten dates…

10 hours ago

This website uses cookies.