For Immediate Release: 6/15/2021 5:11 pm
The City of Worcester is pleased to announce that Ann Hirsch and Jeremy Angier of A+J Art + Design have been selected by the Public Art Working Group to complete its Abby Kelley Foster Artistic Node Project.
The installation will feature a lighted lectern sculpture at the corner of Main and Walnut streets. The project is set for public activation in October 2021.
The City issued a call to artists for the Abby Kelley Foster Artistic Node Project October 2020. The project is part of the Main Street Reimagined Initiative, which enhances existing streetscapes and activates public spaces through public art installations. The call for an installation at this site suggested Abby Kelley Foster, the Women’s Rights Movement, or Revolution as potential themes, as the location of this installation was the site of the first National Women’s Rights Convention in 1850.
Hirsch and Angier cite Abby Kelley Foster as the inspiration for the project. Kelley Foster was a Worcester resident who served as a prominent leader in the abolitionist and women’s rights movement in the 19th century.
“She fought abuse to exercise the right to use her voice in order to bring about revolutionary cultural change,” the artists said. “Kelley Foster teaches us that the struggle for equal rights far outweighs personal costs, and her fearlessness and dedication should inspire us all, whichever cause we hold closest to our hearts.”
Hirsch and Angier’s sculpture will feature a perforated lectern in metal, illuminated from below and engraved with text taken from Kelley Foster’s records that highlights using one’s voice for social change amidst adversity. The artists noted that the sculpture will serve as “a potent symbol of Kelley Foster’s story, and will bring us closer to the woman who, in Lucy Stone’s words, ‘earned for us all the right of free speech.’”
“Between its location and its long history with activism, Worcester was the site of the first two National Women’s Rights Conventions in 1850 and 1851, and Worcester County was home to many suffragists,” said Erin Williams, the City’s Cultural Development Officer. “Abby Kelley Foster was one of these suffragists and abolitionists. Completion of this project will honor her and the courageous women who led the way for social justice, and encourage those who see it to learn more about the woman, the women’s rights movement, and Worcester’s history.”
“By tapping into the creativity and passion of artists,” City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Jr. added, “we are able to celebrate, honor, and share our history in ways outside textbooks and museums – publicly, free of charge, and accessible to all who will pass by the area. I’m looking forward to seeing the Abby Kelley Foster project once it is completed, and to similar upcoming initiatives.”
This project is an initiative of the City’s Cultural Development Division and the Department of Public Works and Parks, in partnership with the Worcester Cultural Coalition. Their objective in this project is to incorporate the arts, place-making, and Worcester’s cultural heritage into public spaces to further the Worcester Cultural Plan. In addition to these partners, Williams thanked Massachusetts Sen. Harriette Chandler for her support in this project, describing the senator as, “instrumental in procuring funding for this important public art installation.”
For more on Worcester’s Cultural Plan, please visit
http://www.worcesterma.gov/announcements/city-announces-completion-of-first-comprehensive-cultural-plan.
