PHILADELPHIA – The City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE) and the Bethel Burying Ground Historic Site Memorial Committee (Committee) are hosting a series of community engagement sessions to encourage Philadelphians to provide input on the design of the Bethel Burying Ground Memorial. The memorial will be a commissioned piece of site-specific public art that will recognize and celebrate the over 5,000 African Americans buried at the historic Bethel Burying Ground located in Weccacoe Playground in Queen Village.

Philadelphians can participate by submitting feedback through an online survey and by attending one of the upcoming community engagement sessions. The community engagement period from Thursday, January 14 through Friday, February 5 will give the public an opportunity to share their opinions of the designs and will help the Committee select the winning design that will be installed.

“It is important that the City’s public art reflects the diverse voices of Philadelphia,” said the City’s Managing Director Tumar Alexander. “I hope that many Philadelphians will make their voices heard on the designs for the Bethel Burying Ground public art memorial by participating in the Committee’s Community Engagement process.”

The City and the Committee selected four semi-finalist artist teams in January 2020 to create design concepts for the Bethel Burying Ground public art memorial. The semi-finalist lead artists representing the four teams are: Muhsana Ali, Shawn Theodore Jackson, Karyn Olivier, and Sara Zewde. A national Request for Qualifications / Call to Artists was issued in November 2019. Twenty artist teams applied.

A first round of community engagement meetings were held in November 2018. Four public meetings gathered public input on the emotions, reactions, and stories the public art memorial should invoke. The information collected from these public meetings then provided to the artists for inspiration in their design concepts.

Each semi-finalist artist team developed a three (3) minute video that describes their design concept for the memorial. Each video has an eight (8) question online survey for the public to submit feedback on each design concept. At the community engagement sessions, the OACCE will provide an overview of the project and share the artist team videos.

How to Participate (Thursday, January 14-Friday, February 5):

1. Visit creativephl.org/BethelBuryingGroundMemorial to review information about the Bethel Burying Ground, view each of the four (4) artist team videos (each three (3) minutes in length) and complete the brief eight (8) question online survey (available starting Thursday, January 14).

2. Attend one of our virtual community engagement sessions to be held via Zoom. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, all of the community engagement sessions will be virtual.

3. Tune into Philadelphia’s local channel 64 (GovTV) and the City’s YouTube Channel to view each of the four (4) artist team videos. The video features an introduction to the Bethel Burying Ground Memorial project by Mayor Kenney. The videos will air on channel 64 from January 14 through February 5 on Monday-Friday at 3:00 p.m. and Saturday & Sunday at 10:00 a.m.

The results of the community engagement sessions and online surveys will be summarized and provided to the Committee for consideration in the selection process. The Committee is dedicated to a public and inclusive process in developing an appropriate public art memorial for this historic site. These community engagement sessions are part of this mission of inclusivity and provide an educational opportunity for Philadelphians to learn about the historic site and the individuals interred there. It’s also an opportunity for the public to also learn about and engage in the City’s process for commissioning new public artwork.

At a Committee meeting on February 17, 2021, each of the four (4) artist teams will present their memorial design to the Committee. The Committee will then select the winning artist and the Bethel Burying Ground Memorial design.

“Many members of the Committee and the community have been advocating for the Bethel Burying Ground Memorial for over a decade,” said Kelly Lee, Chief Cultural Officer and Member of the Committee. “It is exciting that we have such a diversity of creative concepts to select a final memorial design from, and I hope that the public will participate in this very important step in this process.”

For more information, visit creativephl.org/BethelBuryingGroundMemorial

About the Bethel Burying Ground Historic Site Memorial Committee
The mission of the Bethel Burying Ground Historic Site Memorial Committee is to develop a meaningful memorialization of the historic site that reflects its role in Philadelphia’s history. Committee members and the project are committed to an inclusive public engagement process in the development of a purposeful portrayal of this historic site that reveals this vital story and celebrates those laid to rest there. For more information, visit creativephl.org/bethelburyinggroundmemorial.

About City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy
The Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy closes the gap in access to quality cultural experiences and creative expression through the support and promotion of arts, culture and the creative industries; connecting Philadelphians to enriching, arts-infused experiences; linking local artists and cultural organizations to resources and opportunities; and preserving the City’s public art assets. For more information about the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, visit CreativePHL.org and follow @CreativePHL on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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