PHILADELPHIA, October 31, 2023 – The City of Philadelphia and the Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy (OACCE) announced that Alvin Pettit is the winning artist to create Philadelphia’s permanent Harriet Tubman statue. The statue will become the first statue of a Black female historical figure in the City’s public art collection and will be located on the northeast apron of City Hall.
Alvin Pettit’s design entitled “A Higher Power: The Call of a Freedom Fighter” was selected by the African American Historic Statue Advisory Committee out of four semi-finalists: Vinnie Bagwell, Tanda Francis, Alvin Pettit, and Basil Watson. A fifth semi-finalist, Richard Blake, removed himself from the competition due to being awarded another public art commission.
“In the course of this competition, we witnessed remarkable talent from our semi-finalist artists,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “Each depicted a unique vision and told a distinct story about Harriet Tubman through their proposals. Yet, I was struck by Alvin Pettit’s design and how it depicts Harriet Tubman’s likeness, evokes her power, and reminds us of her leadership. I was thrilled that the public and our Advisory Committee agreed on Mr. Pettit’s design.”
In a public input survey that OACCE distributed in September 2023, which received nearly 3,000 responses, Alvin Pettit scored the highest in all seven categories, including likeness, essence, and emotional and educational qualities. The Advisory Committee considered the public survey results amongst several other evaluation criteria when selecting the winning artist and statue design.
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