Great Barrington — The group looking to install a sculpture of W.E.B. Du Bois in front of the Mason Public Library has announced the semi-finalists for creating the sculpture.
The sculpture will be located outside the library building in a plaza, which is planned to be redeveloped for the project.
Project chairman Julie Michaels announced the group’s “Idea Jam” event at St. James Place on Wednesday, March 29. Coverage of the “Idea Jam” event will be in a future article in The Berkshire Edge.
During the event, Michaels said that the group received 17 applicants for the project. “[The applicants] are amazing and I was so impressed,” Michaels said. “Our search committee has whittled the group down to five semi-finalists.”
As listed on the group’s website, the jury to select the sculptor for the project includes artist and writer Delano Burrows, gallerist Lauren Clark, painter, and sculptor Reginald Madison, along with a sculptor selection subcommittee that includes filmmaker Bobby Houston and entrepreneur Ari Zorn.
“The library said to us very clearly that they would like an African American sculptor, but we certainly wanted the search to be as complete as it could be,” Michaels said. “We also went to the National Sculpture Society for help in designing an RFP [Request For Proposals].” The five sculptors announced as semi-finalists are New York-based sculptor Vinnie Bagwell, Ohio-based sculptor Richard Blake, Michigan-based sculptor Erik Blome, California-based sculptor Dana King, and New Jersey-based sculptor Alvin Pettit.
From the group of five, Michaels said that the options will be cut down to three finalists. A press conference to announce the three finalists will be held at the Mason Library on Wednesday, April 19 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. “The three finalists will all be present at the event,” Michaels said. “We will take them all on a tour of Great Barrington, including the Du Bois Freedom Center at [the former Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church]. We will ask them to make maquettes [small models of their sculptures] of their design.” She said that the maquettes will be on display at the library for public viewing by mid-June and that the search committee will decide on a finalist by the end of that month.
Meanwhile, during the public comments portion of the Selectboard’s meeting on Monday, March 27, resident Karen Johnson was critical of the planned project. “I want to know whose idea [it was] to change the Mason Public Library town property into a courtyard or a plaza?” Johnson asked the Selectboard. “Where was the need for change? How can a town’s historic site be changed without a town vote? Who is paying for this? Why wasn’t a plan such as this brought forth in 2007 when a major renovation was done to the library?”
In response, Select Board Chair Stephen Bannon said that the board has not approved the plans. “But there has been a whole number of meetings that have occurred [about the plans],” Bannon said. “So this has not been approved yet. The Selectboard has the final approval, and there is no taxpayer’s money being used for this.”
In multiple past interviews with The Edge, Michaels said that donations are being used to fund the project. “I do understand that this is not a budget question, but this is private money for a public piece of property,” Johnson said. “But I am concerned about the makeup of our town. We have an open space and it’s the only town property on Main Street. I want to watch out for it. There are things that have happened that maybe should not have happened, or should have happened in a better way. But I would appreciate any help in foreseeing this project.”
