Project Description

LexArts, in partnership with the Lexington Freedom Train Memorial Committee, seeks an artist or artist team to create an artwork that honors Lewis and Harriet Hayden, two of Lexington's enslaved who became famed abolitionists, to remember the stories of other enslaved persons in Lexington and to commemorate their paths to freedom via Lexington's Underground Railroad.

This artwork will be a visual landmark in Lexington on a parcel of land located at the southeast corner of the intersection at Limestone and 4th Street. The goal is to commission proposals by three experienced public artists for the site, with the expectation of realizing one of the proposals by May 2025.  There is no application fee to enter.

This project will be a significant element of Lexington’s 250th anniversary in 2025, and the Nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026.

Project Details

• Fiscal sponsorship:  Lexington's Freedom Train has been established as a nonprofit charitable fund created under the umbrella of LexArts, Lexington’s official Local Arts Agency.
• Location: This is a community initiated permanent public art installation to be placed on public land. Strategically, the site is also a current trail stop on the Legacy Trail, a shared-use greenway trail that connects downtown Lexington with area neighborhoods, parks, and historic sites. The 12-mile trail begins at the Isaac Murphy Memorial Garden and winds north to the Kentucky Horse Park. The site is also adjacent to the Lexington Traditional Magnet School, a Middle School within Fayette County Public Schools.
• Scale: Physical scale to be determined by artist and should be site-specific and scaled with sensitivity to the historic landscape.
• Media: any media. The artwork will be outdoors and should have a physical presence on the site. There is additional interest in new media or augmented reality as an educational supplement to the project.

Project Budget

The project budget is up to $400,000. The budget is negotiable but must include travel, research, design, execution, insurance, taxes, site preparation, and materials. Lexington’s Freedom Train Memorial will confirm the feasibility of completing the project within the estimated project budget during preliminary design.

Timeline

• Post RFQ to http://www.callforentry.org : August 8, 2023
• RFQ Deadline: September 29, 2023
• Selection of finalists and notification: October 15, 2023
• Site visit for artists (optional but encouraged; hotel will be provided for two nights): October-December 2023
• In person presentation of Proposal: January 2024
• Final notification: February 2024
• Fabrication and installation complete: May 2025

Eligibility

We are committed to a policy of providing opportunities to people regardless of economic or social status and will not discriminate based on race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, veteran status, or physical disability.

Selection Process

The submitted qualifications will be reviewed by a selection committee comprised of artists, arts professionals, and community leaders. The committee will identify three or more finalists. The finalists will have the opportunity to visit the site to meet with Lexington’s Freedom Train Memorial committee, LexArts staff, and community representatives.  Finalists are encouraged to travel to Lexington to visit the site during the design development phase.  Finalists will be provided travel and accommodations to present the completed proposal in person.  Finalists will be paid $2,500 upon delivery and in-person presentation of a complete site-specific proposal of design, concept statement, and process.  A 3D maquette is optional but encouraged.  A review of the final design will be conducted by the selection committee. One artist or artist team will be selected in February 2024 to realize their proposal by May 2025.

Critical Selection Factors

• Resonance with the project description

• Artistic distinction

• Public safety

• Low maintenance/durability

• Contextual integration into the site and its intrinsic character

The strength of the submitted images of past artworks demonstrating the ability of the artist(s) to complete similar or related projects will be considered critical selection factors. In addition, the selection committee is interested in a wide variety of creative solutions to the challenges of outdoor public artwork. 

Phase 1: Request for Qualifications

Application Guidelines

·        Apply online through http://www.callforentry.org

·        Current resume

·        Six (6) digital images of past public artwork in .jpg format, video file, or link.  Each file must be named with the artist's surname and image number.

·        One-page artist statement describing public art experience and interest in the project

·        For more information, please contact Nathan Zamarron, LexArts Vice President of Community Arts at nzamarron@lexarts.org 

Phase 2: Commissioned Proposals from Finalists

Successful proposals will be expected to provide:

• A written document expressing the conceptual framework and artistic point of view that will guide development of the project
• One or more drawings/3D renderings of the proposed work of art; models are optional. Drawings and/or models should illustrate the conceptual relationships between the artwork and its environment
• A timeline and budget (not to exceed $400,000) for production and installation
• A detailed list of materials and construction requirements, with attention to issues of durability, maintenance, and public safety

Mission Statement

This monument is an effort to memorialize Lexington’s history of slavery and to help the community learn and heal, to honor Lewis and Harriet Hayden, two of Lexington's enslaved who became famed abolitionists, to remember the stories of other enslaved persons in Lexington, and to commemorate paths to freedom via Lexington's Underground Railroad.

There can be no learning or healing by selectively forgetting or hiding the past, it must be confronted. This monument, to be located just a few blocks from what was Kentucky’s largest slave market, will be a constant and visible reminder of our racist history. It will honor not only Lewis and Harriet Hayden, but every enslaved Lexingtonian, and will be one of the first monuments in the city representing enslaved African Americans.

Located on a middle school property in Lexington's East End neighborhood, the monument will become an educational tool for students. Instead of trying to prevent teaching of the history of slavery, it will provide a real and honest historic perspective in plain view on the property.

Inspiration

Inspiration for the monument came from Lexington East End neighborhood activist Sherry Maddock. Sherry explains, “Our city has untold stories. The rich history of Lexington's East End has yet to be celebrated. At the corner of Fourth and North Limestone Streets, there is an open space waiting to host a new monument commemorating the historic path to freedom for many of Lexington's enslaved people. The path is the Underground Railroad.”  The path to freedom began on this site where so many travelled north to Paris Pike and ultimately, all the way to the Ohio River at Maysville. In the years prior to the Civil War, if an escaped slave reached Maysville, it was possible to cross the Ohio River to potential freedom.

Additional Background

From Slavery to Freedom

For more than 30 years, Lewis and Harriet Hayden were held in slavery in and around Lexington.  Lewis’s first wife, Esther and their child had been sold “down the river” to a slaveholder in the Deep South and Lewis never saw them again.  To prevent a recurrence of such a horrific situation, Lewis chose to escape from the bonds of slavery with his second wife, Harriet Bell, and their son, Joseph.  The family was aided by Delia Webster, a Lexington school teacher, and Calvin Fairbanks, a minister from Ohio.  Webster and Fairbanks transported the Hayden family to Maysville and across the Ohio River to a station on the Underground Railroad.  As they departed Lexington, the group passed the home where Lewis had been enslaved by Rev. Adam Rankin.   The home exists today within sight of the proposed monument on Limestone Street.  

After a stop in Detroit, the family reached Boston, where Lewis and Harriet became leaders in the anti-slavery movement.  More than 100 escaped slaves found shelter in their home that served as a “station” on the Underground Railroad.  In 1863, Lewis persuaded his friend, Massachusetts Governor John Andrew, to push for inclusion of black men in the Union army.   Eventually three regiments of black soldiers, many recruited by Lewis Hayden, represented the State of Massachusetts in the war that would end slavery.   After the war, Lewis became the first black man elected to the Massachusetts legislature.    

Unfortunately, the story of Lewis and Harriet Hayden and others who endeavored to eliminate slavery in our area has been all but lost to history.  Lexington’s monument to the struggle for freedom will testify to the courage of those persons, both black and white, who risked their lives to free themselves and others.

Application Requirements

·        Apply online through http://www.callforentry.org

·        A current resume

·        6 digital images of past public artwork in .jpg format, video file, or link.  Each file must be named with the artist's surname and image number.

·        A one-page artist statement describing public art experience and interest in the project 

·        For more information, please contact Nathan Zamarron, LexArts Vice President Community Arts at nzamarron@lexarts.org 

Eligibility Criteria

Any artist can apply. Must be 18 years or older and a professional artist with previous experience making public art. 

We are committed to a policy of providing opportunities to people regardless of economic or social status and will not discriminate based on race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, veteran status, or physical disability.