A white artist was invited to design a statue of Harriet Tubman. After complaints, the city held an open call for submissions. Philadelphia received 50 proposals, including this one from the artist Alvin Pettit, after announcing plans for a Harriet Tubman statue in front of City Hall.
When Alvin Pettit’s phone rang Oct. 24, he saw a Philadelphia number and assumed it was someone from his family reaching out.
But when the Jersey City artist answered, it was the city of Philadelphia delivering big news: Pettit was chosen as the winning sculptor for the city’s new Harriet Tubman statue to be placed outside City Hall.
The decision comes after the city office faced criticism last year for offering a direct $500,000 commission to artist Wesley Wofford without seeking input from the community or proposals from other artists.
Alvin Pettit, the artist who won the competition to create Philadelphia's permanent statue of abolitionist Harriet Tubman, talks about his work and his journey to success in his field.
A Baltimore native has found brotherly love in Philadelphia. In return, he's leaving a gift at the city's front door. Alvin Pettit was chosen to sculpt famous abolitionist Harriet Tubman.
Alvin Pettit, the artist who won the competition to create Philadelphia's permanent statue of abolitionist Harriet Tubman, talks about his work and his journey to success in his field.
Philadelphia's permanent Harriet Tubman statue received the final approval needed for the city to begin the contracting process with the artist Alvin Pettit, who constructed the statue. Pettit's creation, "A Higher Power: The Call of a Freedom Fighter" will be the city's first-ever public work that honors a Black woman.
When Alvin Pettit’s phone rang Oct. 24, he saw a Philadelphia number and assumed it was someone from his family reaching out.
But when the Jersey City artist answered, it was the city of Philadelphia delivering big news: Pettit was chosen as the winning sculptor for the city’s new Harriet Tubman statue to be placed outside City Hall.
CITY OFFICIALS CAME UNDER FIRE LAST YEAR FOR COMMISSIONING A WHITE ARTIST TO COMPLETE THE STATUE WITHOUT HOLDING AN OPEN COMPETITION, ALLOWING BLACK ARTISTS A CHANCE TO CREATE A PIECE OF PUBLIC ART.
A new design for a Harriet Tubman statue outside of Philadelphia’s city hall has been selected, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday. It will be the first portrayal of an historical Black woman in the city’s public art collection. The city previously faced criticism for initially selecting a white male artist.
Alvin Pettit beat out four other semifinalists with a design called “A Higher Power: The Call of a Freedom Fighter.”
After a year of controversy, Mayor Kenney and Creative Philly announced the winning design and artist for a new Harriet Tubman statue to be erected outside City Hall.
The statue shows the fierce abolitionist and former slave as a reverent warrior for liberation.
Leaders in Philadelphia on Monday introduced an artist whose design of a forthcoming Harriet Tubman statue was selected to be erected outside City Hall.
The decision comes after the city office faced criticism last year for offering a direct $500,000 commission to artist Wesley Wofford without seeking input from the community or proposals from other artists.
After a public input campaign, artist Alvin Pettit's 'A Higher Power: The Call of the Freedom Fighter' design for a statue of Harriet Tubman has been selected for permanent placement outside Philadelphia's City Hall
Philadelphia received 50 proposals, including this one from the artist Alvin Pettit, after announcing plans for a Harriet Tubman statue in front of City Hall.
Five Black artists, including Vinnie Bagwell and Tanda Francis, were selected as semi-finalists through an open call.
The road to the new Harriet Tubman statue in Philadelphia, the city she fled to upon her escape from slavery in 1849, has been a long one.
In early 2022, in honor of Tubman’s 200th birthday, Philadelphia unveiled a temporary statue at City Hall: Harriet Tubman: The Journey to Freedom by artist Wesley Wofford. Soon after, the city announced it would commission Wofford to create a new permanent statue.
The Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE) has unveiled the proposed designs for the statue honoring Harriet Tubman. As I told the Philadelphia Inquirer, it was a needlessly bumpy process to get to this point, but I think Philadelphia can be proud of the visions presented by the five semi-finalists, Vinnie Bagwell, Richard Blake, Tanda Francis, Alvin Pettit and Basil Watson. Their designs reflect the lived experience of being Black in America and the continuing struggle for racial justice.
The city shared the designs from five artists competing to create a new Harriet Tubman statue after a year of controversy about the initial no-bid commissioning process.
Five possible designs for Philly’s new statue honoring Harriet Tubman were revealed Thursday night, and Philadelphians can now share thoughts on the options and vote for their favorite.
After a year of controversy surrounding the no-bid commission process, five Black artists with a history of creating monumental, figurative works will be in the running to create the final sculpture.
