Creative Philly reveals five designs for the new Harriet Tubman statue and asks you to rank them in a public survey

For the first time, members of the public are able to see the proposed designs for a new Harriet Tubman statue and take part in a survey to voice an opinion on which design should be chosen.

Officials of the city’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE) revealed the designs at a virtual public design presentation meeting Thursday evening at which the artists were able to discuss their designs and answer questions.

Nearly a dozen people among the 88 members of the public on the Zoom meeting had questions and comments for the five semifinalists — Vinnie Bagwell, Richard Blake, Tanda Francis, Alvin Pettit, and Basil Watson.

The Creative Philly office posted a survey asking members of the public to rank the artists’ designs at 8 p.m., following the meeting, and it will remain open for public comment until Sept. 1 at 11:59 p.m.

The survey, along with more details about the designs, is available here, and a recording of the meeting can be found on the OACCE website.

The new open-call process was lauded by some who attended the presentation meeting because the city had originally planned to award a $500,000 commission to artist Wesley Wofford to create a Harriet Tubman statue without seeking proposals from other artists.

The controversy led Creative Philly to seek proposals from other artists. Marguerite Anglin, the city’s public art director, said 50 artists submitted applications, from which the five semifinalists were chosen.

Here are the artists and their designs.

Bagwell said she designed her prototype portraying Tubman as a young woman of 29, about the age at which she made her first escape to Philadelphia. The pose shows Tubman with arms raised in gratitude to God for her freedom. The skirt of her dress is supposed to convey “blowing in the wind” as she moves to freedom.

On the skirt are images of some of the Philadelphia-based abolitionists Tubman met with in the city, including William Still and Lucretia Mott. The skirt also includes an image of Frederick Douglass, who came to Philadelphia to speak with other abolitionists.

The statue would be 9 feet tall, atop a 6-inch platform, or a little over 9.5 feet tall.

Richard Blake’s design is a 10-foot bronze statue. It shows Tubman standing beneath the Liberty Bell. She appears to be breaking through two jagged and threatening monoliths, what he said looks like two masses of volcanic lava, to illustrate her hazardous journeys on multiple escapes, when she returned to the South to lead others to freedom.

He said the lantern represents a “beacon of hope” for future generations of young Black people, “illuminating their rightful place in shaping the future of our nation.”

Francis designed a statue featuring multiple silhouettes of Tubman surrounding a large head presented at a monumental scale so the viewer would be “face to face” with Tubman. When Tubman reached freedom, she said, “There was such glory over everything. The sun came up like gold through the trees. … ” Thus, Francis included oval shapes cast in a golden hue. She also said she created panels that will allow different artists or people to create or add artwork.

The work, made of bronze, would be 12 feet tall.

Pettit proposed an 11-foot bronze statue of Tubman as a Civil War scout and soldier. He said he wanted to portray Tubman as a military commander, known for leading 150 Black Union soldiers on the Combahee Ferry Raid in South Carolina.

He designed a figure who appears to be meditative and in prayer, but with a rifle strapped to her back. Perhaps she is giving thanks for completing a battle, or is praying before going into battle. Often, Tubman is portrayed as someone being pursued.

“I chose to highlight a moment in history when tyranny was on the run from her.”

Watson’s concept shows Tubman as a warrior and leader, “a larger than life Spirit of unwavering determination who chose Freedom as the only way to live,” the artist’s description says.

He wanted to show her leadership in taking others with her to freedom. “I wanted to depict the energy, drama, fight, fear, and the horror of the journey,” he said.

The monument will include four figures, with Tubman in front. They are on an upward slope, suggesting the struggle to climb high. The statue would be made of bronze on a black granite pedestal that would have a 10-by-10-foot area, and be about 13 feet high.

Faye Anderson, a public historian who criticized the city for offering a no-bid commission to Wofford, said she was encouraged after she took part in the meeting Thursday.

“It was a needlessly bumpy process to get to this point, but I think Philadelphia can be proud of the proposed designs of the five semifinalists for the permanent Harriet Tubman statue,” Anderson said Friday.

“The designs reflect the lived experience of being Black in America and the ongoing struggle for racial justice. An in-person presentation of the designs would have given Philadelphians an opportunity to see the details because in public art, details matter. I encourage everyone to complete the public survey.”