City of Salem Invites Community Members to Review Artists' Proposals and VOTE on final design for Charlotte Forten Memorial

Mayor Dominick Pangallo announced that the City of Salem and the Charlotte Forten Memorial Project Advisors have invited four talented artists as semi-finalists to create original design proposals for a life-size bronze sculpture in the likeness Charlotte Forten Grimké. Guided by community input gathered at every phase of the process over the last five years, from naming the park to what shape the memorial should take, the winning design will be commissioned as a memorial to celebrate and elevate Charlotte Forten Grimké’s life and legacy, as well as her time spent in Salem. The finished work will be installed in Charlotte Forten Park in downtown Salem at 289 Derby Street.

Community members are invited to attend a public event featuring a meet and greet with the Salem Public Art Commission and live presentations from all four semi-finalist artists, followed by a community feedback session and Q&A with the semi-finalist artists.

The Artist Presentations & Community Feedback Session will be a hybrid event hosted at the North Shore Community Development Corporations' Espacio (105 Congress Street, Salem) and on Zoom (https://mapc.ma/3qKWbVO). The event is scheduled for Tuesday, September 19, 2023 from 5:30pm – 7:30pm.

Artists were selected through a competitive process and reviewed by representatives from the project’s Advisory Group and Selection Committee, which is comprised of representation from artists, nonprofits, city departments, and Salem State University. This project emerged after the site was redeveloped in 2017 and dedicated as Charlotte Forten Park in 2019. After years of engagement efforts around the park and proposals for a permanent memorial, a project advisory formed in fall of 2022 to assist with drafting the Call for Artists, which was released in June 2023, and 18 artists and artists teams responded to the Call for Artists. The Call for Artists was distributed locally and nationally, with intentional targeted outreach to artists identifying as female and artists of color.  Artists/artist teams were evaluated based on criteria that included reflections of their prior work, experience with commemorative artwork, and most critically their alignment with the project’s values, which were developed from broad reaching community input and articulated by the Charlotte Forten Project Advisors.

The Artist Semi-Finalists for Phase 1 of the Charlotte Forten Memorial Project are David Alan and MJ Clark, D.A. Clark Sculpture LLC; Ai Qiu Hopen, Humanity Memorial; Ann Hirsch, Ann Hirsch Sculpture Studio LLC; and Steven Whyte.

“This public art project provides our community with the opportunity to celebrate the life and legacy of a person of tremendous significance,” said Mayor Pangallo. “Through this sculpture and the park itself, Salem can acknowledge and appreciate Charlotte Forten Grimké’s many contributions to our community for generations to come. I thank the project advisors, City staff, and Public Art Commissioners who have been engaged in this project and encourage all residents and community members to participate in this important conversation so we can most appropriately memorialize and honor all that Charlotte did for our city, our Commonwealth, and our country.”

The in-person portion of the event is free and open to the public. Those who wish to attend in-person should register at this link: https://charlottefortenmemorialsalemma.eventbrite.com. Registration for the in-person event is requested due to limited capacity, though is not required to attend.

The virtual portion of the event is also free and open to the public, and attendees should register or join the Zoom meeting here: https://mapc.ma/3qKWbVO.

Interpretations will be available both in-person and virtually including Spanish, American Sign Language (ASL), and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) Service. Community members should reach out with other accommodation inquiries.

After this hybrid public event, community members will be invited to vote on their favorite memorial concepts. Voting will take place September 20th through October 9th 2023. Updates on online and in-person voting are coming soon and will be posted on the project website: https://www.salemma.gov/public-art-commission/pages/charlotte-forten-memorial-project-0.

This project is made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Metropolitan Area Planning Council and the City of Salem.

For more information about this initiative, contact Julie Barry, City of Salem Senior Planner for Arts & Culture at jbarry@salem.com.

About City of Salem Arts & Culture Programs

The City of Salem is committed to enriching & enlivening the urban environment through showcasing innovative & transformative works of art in all media & modalities.  With a focus on working with local artists, especially those historically underrepresented, we seek to foster greater community awareness of & interaction with the arts and celebrate diversity in all its forms. Our goal is to nurture diversity & creativity; foster a sense of community pride & belonging; and enhance the quality of life for all. Learn more at https://www.salemma.gov/arts-culture

About the Salem Public Art Commission

The Salem Public Art Commission (PAC) is committed to enriching and enlivening the urban environment through innovative and transformative works of art in all media and modalities. With a focus on local artists and a global perspective of the art scene, PAC seeks to foster greater community awareness of and interaction with the arts, enhance the scope of Salem’s public art collection, and celebrate diversity in all its forms among citizens and visitors of Salem’s alike. The PAC feels Public Art in Salem should contribute to the community’s identity as the cultural hub of the North Shore and a center for creativity; foster community pride, ownership and a sense of belonging; and enhance the quality of Salem’s built environment. To see other Calls for Art from the PAC please visit: https://www.salemma.gov/public-art-commission/pages/calls-artists