We are so pleased to announce we have identified 4 artist candidates to take on the goal of placing 4 new monuments in Benton Harbor – St. Joseph over the course of the next two years.
You can view each of the presentations from the candidates on YouTube.
We would appreciate you taking the time to complete this survey about the artists after you have reviewed their work.
Martin Dawe
Atlanta, Georgia
The final artist selected will create and place two complementary monuments, one in each city, recognizing civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. An additional monument in each city, will honor a historic figure specific to that city.
On Juneteenth, 2021 a Request for Proposals was released nationwide resulting in letters of interest and qualifications from 13 artists. Artist proposals were reviewed by the Benton Harbor-St. Joseph Arts & Culture Social Justice Group, partners and advocates of the UCMP. Among the pool of candidates, four were selected and have accepted the invitation to submit formal proposals. Artist proposals will outline their vision for the project including further detail about why the artist is interested in the work and how they will propose it. The proposal will include written responses, images, and initial concepts.
Candidates will submit formal proposals to the group mid-October. Proposals will be reviewed with an eye towards creativity of approach and how the realized artworks will invite viewers to interact with them, how they best capture the spirit of the historic figures, and how they may interact with one another between the two cities.
The artist selection will be announced by Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2022.
