City announces Philadelphia Art Commission approval for permanent Harriet Tubman Statue

The City of Philadelphia and the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE) announce that Philadelphia’s permanent Harriet Tubman statue received unanimous final approval by the Philadelphia Art Commission during a regularly scheduled meeting yesterday, January 10.

The Philadelphia Art Commission provided the final approval needed for the City of Philadelphia to begin the contracting process with artist Alvin Pettit.

“Harriet Tubman was a beacon of light at a dark time in our Nation’s history, and she helped Black people find freedom through the Underground Railroad,” said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. “Her recognition and this work of art in her honor, created by an artist of color, is overdue and welcomed. Hundreds of thousands will see this sculpture every year outside City Hall. As the firstever Woman Mayor of Philadelphia and as a Black Woman, I am thrilled that the first piece of public art to be approved under this administration will be this statue of a Black Woman who fought for freedom here in Philadelphia -- Harriet Tubman.”