Call to Sculptors – Dr. Paul Robeson Statue Proposals / Calls & Submissions
Deadline
January 20, 2020
Organization Name: New Brunswick Public Sculpture
Organization Location: New Brunswick, NJ
Type: Calls & Submissions
Fee: Free
Discipline:
New Brunswick Public Sculpture, Inc. is working in partnership with the Civic League of Greater New Brunswick and the City of New Brunswick to develop and install a life size bronze sculpture depicting Paul Robeson in a seated position in Feaster Park. Proposals for this project are now being accepted.
Call to Artists Summary: A realistic, life size statue of Dr. Paul Robeson will be dressed in casual clothing from his era and seated, on a conventional bench, with book on lap, is to be inviting so that on lookers feel welcome to have a seat on either side of the statue. This statue will be in close proximity to the Paul Robeson School of the Arts, and will be utilized as an outdoor classroom for students from many of the surrounding New Brunswick, NJ schools. This area will be a plaza where performances and other activities will take place and the statue of Dr. Robeson being a focal point.
The not-for-profit organization, New Brunswick Public Sculpture, seeks qualifications from artists, art groups, artisans and/or designers to develop a life size sculpture to celebrate the life and legacy of this historical figure.
Site: The installation site will be in Feaster Park located at 163 Paul Robeson Blvd. (formerly known as Commercial Avenue), New Brunswick, NJ 08901. This location is adjacent the Paul Robeson Community School for the Arts located at 199 Paul Robeson Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ. The installation site is city owned and managed by the Department of Public Works.
Project Summary: History: Paul Robeson has a legacy in New Brunswick.
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American bass baritone concert artist and stage and film actor who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his political activism. Educated at Rutgers College and Columbia University, he was also a star athlete in his youth. He also studied Swahili and linguistics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London in 1934. His political activities began with his involvement with unemployed workers and anti-imperialist students whom he met in Britain and continued with support for the Loyalist cause in the Spanish Civil War and his opposition to fascism. In the United States, he also became active in the Civil Rights Movement and other social justice campaigns. His sympathies for the Soviet Union and for communism, and his criticism of the United States government and its foreign policies, caused him to be blacklisted during the McCarthy era.
Awards: Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1998) · Grammy Hall of Fame (2006, 1991, 1980) · NAACP Image Award – Hall of Fame Award (1984)
Paul Robeson, graduating Rutgers College in 1919, was a standout student-athlete at Rutgers who became a world-renowned actor and activist. He has been heralded as “the most talented person of the 20th century” for his work in theater and film, and as an outspoken advocate for social justice.
New Brunswick Public Sculpture, Inc., a nonprofit organization is dedicated to increasing awareness of New Brunswick’s rich history while enriching the lives of residents, and visitors through sculpture, education and the presentation of cultural events. We are offering a unique opportunity to memorialize one of the city’s historic figures.
The New Brunswick Public Sculpture projects will assure that important moments that shaped the City and the Nation are remembered and celebrated through the installation of public art and sculpture. This second project will be a bronze, life-size replica depicting Dr. Paul Robeson in a seated position, centered on a 6’ bench which will act as an outdoor classroom setting for local schools.
http://www.newbrunswickpublicsculpture.com/
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