Overview
- The Department of Cultural Affairs released six proposals Tuesday for a permanent Billie Holiday monument at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center in Queens.
- The finalists are La Vaughn Belle, Nikesha Breeze, Nekisha Durrett, Tanda Francis, Thomas J. Price, and Tavares Strachan, all Black artists from different places.
- Designs range from realistic portraits to abstract forms, drawing on Holiday's stage presence, her signature gardenias, the protest song Strange Fruit, and a tender photo of her with a small dog.
- New Yorkers can submit feedback online through the end of May, with proposal renderings on view in JPAC’s lobby through May 31.
- Commissioned through the city’s She Built NYC effort and funded by Percent for Art, the project will move to a selection panel decision this summer.