Davidson College is a liberal arts institution dedicated to cultivating humane instincts and disciplined, creative minds. Our community touchstone is the Reformed Tradition of the Presbyterian Church, a tradition rooted in the belief that all lives are valuable, equal, and deserving of dignity.
Founded in the American South in 1837, less than thirty years before the Civil War, Davidson College recognizes our participation in slavery and responsibility for the pain and mistreatment of enslaved and exploited people throughout our history.
In 2017, Davidson College embarked on a study of our institution’s ties to enslavement and the exploitation of labor. We created a Commission on Race and Slavery to undertake this multiyear project, and the Commission presented their findings in August of 2020 (full report here).
In response to recommendations from the Commission, in order to fully and honestly confront the wounds and blind spots of our past and to be true to our Statement of Purpose, a Special Committee on Commemoration was formed. The Committee was tasked to engage broadly with the Davidson College community to recommend a visible and appropriate commemoration, including the possibility of commissioning a work of art to not only honor the contributions of enslaved people and exploited laborers but to more deeply reflect on the lives affected, to celebrate them, and ground us in our commitment for just and humane action in the future.
In discharging its responsibilities, the Committee was guided by these values:
- Davidson College is committed to acknowledging our institutional history honestly and fully.
- Davidson College is committed to also acknowledging the range of ways in which individuals have contributed to Davidson’s history honestly and fully.
- Davidson College is committed to building a genuinely inclusive campus in the present and future.
In Fall 2021, Davidson College released a Request for Qualifications from creative individuals or teams that include professional artist(s) in partnership with landscape architects, architects, and/or engineers to create a commemorative project, integrating artwork and landscape. In Spring of 2022, a jury comprised of the Special Committee on Commemoration, alumni, a student, and a community member, selected five finalists to prepare a conceptual design for a permanent, interactive space and artwork sited at a highly visible and prominent location on the Davidson College campus. The completed space and artwork will serve as a nexus for healing, reflection, recovery, and a reaffirmation of Davidson’s commitment to equality and justice. Its goal is to facilitate intimate individual experiences as well as support both formal and informal collective gatherings of members of the campus and the broader community, including ongoing speaker presentations and campus events.
The design of the commemorative project should achieve a cohesive aesthetic experience that is distinguished from, yet sensitive to, the site, character, architecture, and sculpture around the college’s campus. More about the project goals can be found here.
Learn more about each finalist by clicking on their names below.
