Overview
- The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs publicly unveiled six finalist proposals on Tuesday for a permanent monument to Billie Holiday to be sited at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center and opened a public comment period through the end of May.
- The shortlisted artists are La Vaughn Belle, Nikesha Breeze, Nekisha Durrett, Tanda Francis, Thomas J. Price, and Tavares Strachan, all Black artists invited after a late-2025 open call and subsequent site visits.
- Designs range from figurative to highly abstract and repeatedly use motifs tied to Holiday’s life and work, including gardenias, a tiny dog (Pepe), a reflecting pool with blood-red tiles that reference “Strange Fruit,” and vessel-like silhouettes meant to hold memory and sound.
- The commission is being handled through the city’s Percent for Art program with a reported budget of about $600,000 and a selection panel that has met with Holiday’s family and scholars; reporting differs on timing but the final choice is expected either this summer or later in the year.
- The project began under the She Built NYC initiative in 2018, stalled during the pandemic, was revived in 2024, and now includes community-facing elements such as seating, inscribed petals, and workshops that would let neighbors contribute personal inscriptions and shape how the monument serves the local community.