<em>"Ark of Return": The Permanent Memorial at the United Nations in Honour of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade</em> (New York City)
Subject (Topic)<br />Antislavery movements--United States<br />Transatlantic Slave Trade<br />Middle Passage<br />Northeastern United States<br />Public art<br />Public sculpture
Subject (Object Type) <br />Commemorative sculpture
<em>The Art of Return</em> asks visitors to reflect upon the legacy of the slave trade and the persistent problems of racism and bigotry. The ark includes three principal design elements. <br /><br />According to the artist: <br /><br />“The first element is a three-dimensional map inscribed on the interior of the memorial. This map highlights the African continent at its center and graphically depicts the global scale, complexity and impact of the triangular slave trade in "acknowledgment of the tragedy.<br /><br />The second element is a full-scale human figure lying horizontally in front of a wall inscribed with images of the interior of a slave ship. This is meant to communicate and educate visitors on the physical conditions endured by the millions of African people transported under extreme conditions during the middle passage. The visitors are provided the opportunity to seriously "consider the legacy" of slavery's impact upon humanity. <br /><br />The third element is a triangular reflecting pool which introduces water in a meditative, ritualistic and spiritual manner. Visitors are invited to pour libations or say a prayer in memory of the millions of souls that were lost "lest we forget" this monumental and historic tragedy.”
Leon, Rodney
Photographs by Renee Ater
Public Unveiling: March 25, 2015
UNESCO, the Permanent Memorial Committee of the United Nations; Member States of the United Nations
To watch a video of the memorial unveiling, click <a href="https://www.un.org/en/events/slaveryremembranceday/memorial.shtml" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here.</a>
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United Nations Visitors Plaza. 1st Avenue and 46th Street. New York, NY 10017, United States
<em>“Spirit of Freedom”: African American Civil War Memorial</em> (Washington, D.C.)
Subject (Topic)<br />Men--United States Colored Troops<br />Associations--Military<br />Northeastern United States<br />Public art<br />Public sculpture
Subject (Object Type)<br />Commemorative sculpture
The work depicts three infantrymen and a sailor. Above the group is a personification of the "Spirit of Freedom." The other side of the statue includes a scene of a soldier and his family.
Hamilton, Ed, 1947-
Photographs by Renée Ater
Dedicated: July 18, 1998
The African American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation
National Park Service
<a href="https://www.afroamcivilwar.org/about-us/memorial-museum-history.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">African American Civil War Museum</a>
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1925 Vermont Ave, NW, Washington, DC, 20001, United States
<em>1763 Monument</em> (Georgetown, Guyana)
Subject (Topic)<br />Slavery; Resistance<br />Middle Passage<br />Transatlantic Slave Trade<br />Slave Trade<br />Public art<br />Public sculpture<br />Georgetown, Guyana
Subject (Name) <br />Cuffy (Coffy, Kofi or Koffi), d.1763
Subject (Object Type) <br />Commemorative sculpture
Unveiled three days before the 10th anniversary of Guyanese Independence, the work celebrates the Guyanese anti-colonial struggle, resistance against, and eventual emancipation from slavery. The work is dedicated to the memory of Cuffy, <span>an Akan man sold into slavery </span>who led a revolt against the Dutch owners of the Magdalenburg plantation on the Canje River in Berbice (now Guyana). Although the uprising was ultimately unsuccessful, Cuffy’s rebellion anticipated the eventual end of slavery in Guyana.
Moore, Philip, 1921-2012
Wikipedia Commons
Unveiled: May 23, 1976
Morris Singer Foundry
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Square of the Revolution Georgetown, Guyana
<em>African American Monument</em> (Vicksburg, MS)
Subject (Topic)<br />Men--United States Colored Troops<br />Associations--Military<br />American South<br />Public art<br />Public sculpture
Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The monument depicts three bronze figures, two African American Union soldiers and a civilian field hand. The field hand and a soldier support a second soldier, who has been wounded in a Civil War battle.</span></p>
Sessums, J. Kim
National Park Service
Dedicated: February 14, 2004
State of Mississippi; City of Vicksburg, MS
National Parks Service
<a href="https://www.nps.gov/vick/learn/historyculture/african-american-history.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Park Service, <span data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"African American Monument"}" data-sheets-userformat="{"2":48001,"3":{"1":0},"10":0,"11":4,"12":0,"14":[null,2,0],"15":"Arial","16":10,"18":1}">African American Monument</span> </a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.jkimsessums.com/cw_excerpt1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">J.Kim Sessum's artist webpage </a>
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Vicksburg National Military Park,3201 Clay St, Vicksburg, MS 39183, United States<br /><br />The monument is located on the south side of Grant Avenue between milepost 4.3 and 4.4
<em>African Burial Ground National Monument</em> (New York City)
<p>Subject (Topic)<br />African Americans--New York<br />Cemeteries--New York<br />New York City--History<br />Northeastern United States<br />Public art<br />Public sculpture<br />Slave trade<br />Slavery--New York (State)</p>
<p>Subject (Object Type)<br />Commemorative sculpture</p>
<p>The memorial sits on .35 acres and includes seven distinct design features: Wall of Remembrance, Ancestral Re-Interment Grove, Memorial Wall, The Ancestral Chamber, Circle of the Diaspora, Spiral Processional Ramp, and The Ancestral Libation Court.<br /><br />The visitor is invited to walk through the monumental triangular structure known as “The Ancestral Chamber,” which represents the Middle Passage across the Atlantic Ocean. After passing through the chamber, the visitor encounters a spiral memorial wall featuring twenty religious symbols including a number of Adinkra symbols (Akan peoples, Ghana). The floor of the monument includes a world map centered on the West African coast with sun rays radiating towards North America, Brazil, Europe, and the Caribbean Islands.</p>
Leon, Rodney, 1972-
Hollant-Denis, Nicole, 1965-
Photograph: National Park Service, <a href="https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?pg=3570929&id=19CBA11C-155D-451F-67AA7B78DDDCB3A4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?pg=3570929&id=19CBA11C-155D-451F-67AA7B78DDDCB3A4</a>
Dedicated: October 5, 2007
Monica Aliaga-Robles (project architect); Robert Silman Associates (structural engineer); Langan Engineering (civil engineer); Elizabeth Kennedy Landscape Architects; Domingo Gonzales Associates (lighting design); Dr. Gerald Palevsky (fountain); General Services Administration; Federal Steering Committee; African-American descendant community; and the National Park Service.
National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20240, United States
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290 Broadway, New York, New York, 10007, United States
<em>African-American Monument</em> (Savannah, GA)
<p>Subject (Topic)<br />American South<br />Georgia--History<br />Public art<br />Public sculpture<br />Savannah (Ga.)--History<br />Slavery<br />Slavery--Emancipation</p>
<p>Subject (Object Type)<br />Commemorative sculpture</p>
Sited on the tourist promenade of River Street, the work depicts a black family in contemporary dress. The father, mother, daughter, and son hold one another in a tight embrace as they stand on broken chains. Along the base of the work are engravings of ocean waves and two sets of chained hands.
Spradley, Dorothy, 1946-
Photograph: Wikipedia Commons, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:African-American_Monument,_Savannah,_GA,_US.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:African-American_Monument,_Savannah,_GA,_US.jpg</a>
Dedicated: July 27, 2002
Abigail Jordan and the African American Monument Association.
Greenscapes Division, Public Works & Water Resources, City of Savannah, 2 East Bay Street, Savannah, Georgia, 31401, United States
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Rousakis Riverfront Plaza, Savannah, Georgia, 31401, United States
<em>African-American Soldier Monument</em> (Danbury, CT)
Subject (Topic)<br />Men--United States Colored Troops<br />Associations--Military<br />Northeastern United States
Subject (Object Type)<br />Commemorative sculpture
The black granite monument, which resembles the adjacent grave markers, is dedicated to honoring African-American veterans who volunteered for Civil War service.
Unknown
CT Monuments.net
2007
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Wooster Cemetery, 20 Ellsworth Ave, Danbury, CT 06810, United States
<em>Amistad Memorial</em> (New Haven, CT)
<p>Subject (Topic)<br />Abolitionists--United States<br />Amistad Mutiny<br />Anti-slavery movements--United States<br />Northeastern United States<br />Public art<br />Public sculpture<br />Slave insurrections<br />Slave trade<br />Slavery--United States<br /><br /></p>
<p>Subject (Name)<br />Pieh, Sengbe (Joseph Cinque), ca. 1814-ca. 1879</p>
<p>Subject (Object Type)<br />Commemorative sculpture</p>
<p>The <em>Amistad Memorial </em>centers around a large bronze triangular prism adorned with<span> sculptural </span>reliefs, depicting scenes from the life of Sengbe Pieh. In <span>1839 </span>Pieh led a revolt of abducted Africans against their captors on the Spanish slave ship, the Amistad. The Amistad was seized off the coast of Long Island, NY, by the U.S. brig, Washington and the Africans on board were imprisoned on charges of murder. The case went to the US Supreme Court, where Pieh and his fellow Africans were found to have rightfully defended themselves as they were free individuals, having been kidnapped and transported illegally.</p>
<p>The memorial stands on the site of the New Haven jail, where Pieh and the other Amistad Africans were held during their trials. The three sides of the sculpture depict the life of Pieh: the first side shows him as a young man in Africa; the second side depicts his court trials, and the third side shows Pieh after he won his freedom. A fourth side of the sculpture, only visible from the upper floors of City Hall, includes images of disembodied hands emerging from ocean waves, a reminder of the thousands who perished during the Middle Passage. Pieh's famous courtroom statement, "make us free" is inscribed on the work’s granite base. The memorial rests atop a squared platform, which was inserted into a purpose-built recessed space added to City Hall during a 1990 renovation.</p>
Hamilton, Ed, 1947-
Photographs by Renee Ater
Dedicated: September 18, 1992
The Amistad Committee, Inc.
Department of Arts, Culture, and Tourism, City of New Haven, 165 Church Street, 6th Floor, New Haven, Connecticut, 06510, United States
To read more about the Supreme Court Case, <em>United States v. The Amistad</em>, click <a href="https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/amistad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here.</a>
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New Haven City Hall, 165 Church Street, New Haven, Connecticut, 06510, United States
<em>Araminta With Rifle and Veve</em> (empheral)
<p>Subject (Topic) <br />Abolitionists--United States<br />Anti-slavery movements--United States<br />Northeastern United States <br />Public art <br />Public sculpture <br />Temporary art<br />Underground Railroad</p>
<p>Subject (Name) <br />Tubman, Harriet, 1822-1913</p>
<p>Subject (Object Type) <br />Commemorative sculpture</p>
A monumental outdoor figure of Harriet Tubman armed with a long rifle and further fortified with a bronze-colored patina. Tubman stands on numerous quilts.
Scott, Joyce J., 1948-
Photograph: Bryan Anselm, New York Times, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/arts/design/joyce-j-scott-grounds-for-sculpture-harriet-tubman.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/arts/design/joyce-j-scott-grounds-for-sculpture-harriet-tubman.html</a>
Installed: October 20, 2017-April 1, 2018
Grounds for Sculpture; Lowery Stokes Sims; Patterson Sims; Seph Rodney; Robbye D. and Kevin Apperson; Jacqueline and Rene Copeland; Mike De Paola; Gordon and Lulie Gund; Greg Kucera and Larry Yocum; Barbara Lawrence and Allen Laskin; Martha Macks-Kahn; Henry Thaggert; Alan White; Clifford Ward (resident artist Grounds for Sculpture); Jeff Capes (contractor); Jason Wright; The Seward Johnson Atelier (Hamilton, NJ); John Lash and the Digital Atelier (Mercerville, NJ); and Timothy McFadden and McFadden Art Glass (Baltimore, MD)
Grounds for Sculpture, 80 Sculptors Way, Hamilton, New Jersey, 08619, United States
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Grounds for Sculpture, 80 Sculptors Way, Hamilton, New Jersey, 08619, United States
<em>Atorkor Slave Monument</em> (Atorkor, Ghana)
Subject (Topic)<br />Slavery<br />Middle Passage<br />Transatlantic Slave Trade<br />Slave Trade<br />Public art<br />Public sculpture<br />Anlo-Afiadenyigba, Ghana
Subject (Object Type)<br />Commemorative sculpture
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The memorial is located in the coastal Ghanaian district of Anlo, once known for its substantial involvement in the slave trade. A high-walled circular enclosure with a small wooden door, which serves as a narrow entrance, leads the viewer to the central feature of the memorial: a life-size sculptural group of a tall European slave-trader brandishing a whip over two kneeling African figures. The African figures, dressed in traditional garb, are chained at the neck. The interior walls of the monument are embellished with a narrative frieze illustrating a popular local legend. The narrative frieze of the memorial tells the story of a popular white trader who lived in Atorkor (a small village located in the district of Anlo): As the story goes: “One day, the Trader announced a dancing competition for the best dancers and drummers amongst the youth on his ship. The best dancer in the village was a beautiful young girl, but her parents forbade her from attending the party, as she had not completed her chores for the day. All the other young people in the village went to the dancing competition on the boat, where they were plied with rum before being shackled and sold into slavery.” As artist and educator Senam Okudzeto notes, “There are many versions of the story. This particular one corresponds with the official government version and was sourced from a website put up by the present chief of Atorkor, Samuel Adjorlorlo, who runs the Atorkor Development Foundation (ADF), an NGO for the development of the region” (see b<span>ibliographic citation).</span></span></p>
Visit Volta Region, Ghana Tourism Authority
1999
Tourism Development Committee (part of the National Gov't of Ghana)
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