Worcester Seeks Artists For Abby Kelley Foster Installation

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester is seeking a local artist to complete an art installation depicting Abby Kelley Foster, one of the city's most prominent historical social justice activists.

Foster was a 19th century abolitionist and suffragist who was radicalized by reading the work of fellow Massachusetts resident William Lloyd Garrison. Her home along Mower Street in Worcester, Liberty Farm, now a National Historic Landmark, was used as a stop along the Underground Railroad.

Worcester is seeking one artist or a team from New England to complete a sculpture that either literally represents Kelley, or represents the ideas she fought for, according to a request for proposals released this week.

"The work should be representative of, but not limited to Abby Kelley Foster, a woman with an indomitable spirit passionately answering what she felt was her 'divine call' in the midst of the gender and racial cacophony of her time," the city's request reads.

The installation will be on display near where Brinley Hall — the site of the first National Women’s Rights Convention in 1850 — once stood near Main and Exchange streets. The installation will be part of the renovation of Main Street through downtown.

The art will need to be complete by April 2021, according to the city's proposal request.