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The Road to Irvington’s 4th Annual Juneteenth Celebration | Public Art Dedication


June 10 | 11:00 am-12:00 pm 

Madam C.J. Walker Plaza, 85 Main Street, Irvington, NY 10533

Presented by: Irvington Public Library 

“YESTERDAY”
The Soul of Irvington
A PUBLIC-ART DEDICATION CEREMONY to Honor the Memory of Enslaved Africans in Irvington, New York

The eyes are commonly associated with intelligence, wisdom, and truth. Vinnie Bagwell, a renowned Yonkers-based sculptor whose public art is found throughout the United States, lures viewers into the soul of the Village of Irvington through the eyes of “Yesterday”, a pensive-looking enslaved-African girl, embellished with narrative images of enslaved Africans tilling the land as they built the foundation of the Village in bronze bas relief. In a place of honor, the sculpture will join Irvington’s other historic monuments in front of the Main Street School.

The Irvington Commemorate Committee will host a dedication ceremony and reveal for  “Yesterday”, a bronze public artwork by sculptor, Vinnie Bagwell on Saturday, June 10th from 11 AM – 1 PM at the Madam C.J. Walker Plaza located at 85 Main Street Irvington, New York.  In attendance for this historic reveal will be Brian Smith, Mayor of Irvington, Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, New York State Senator Majority Leader, Sen. Shelly B. Meyers, New York State Senate, MaryJane Shimsky: New York State Assembly District 92, Jamaal Bowman: New York’s 16th Congressional District, and David Imamura, Westchester County Leader.

The title, Yesterday, evokes the notion that while slavery ended nearly 200 years ago, the myriad legacies of slavery persist and are as close to the present moment as yesterday. Bagwell is dedicated to promoting community engagement through art in public places.  “I created Yesterday, to commemorate the people who built the foundation of what is now known as the Village of Irvington. Its purpose is to foster civic engagement, reveal history, and honor humanity. This work will foster community activism to irradiate racism and unlearn hate” states Bagwell. The bronze bas relief is affixed to a beveled black granite slab (57 inches wide and 48 inches high). A bronze descriptive plaque is affixed to the brick wall just below the sculpture. A second tribute, sponsored by the Village of Irvington, will include a memorial garden, benches, and plaque by the Hudson River to honor the area where an enslaved African burial ground was once located.

BIO:
Vinnie Bagwell was born in Yonkers, New York, and grew up in the Town of Greenburgh in Westchester County. A Morgan State University alumna, Vinnie is an untutored artist who began sculpting in 1993.  Vinnie is an accomplished sculptor with 20 public-art commissions across the country.  Bagwell won “Victory Beyond Sims”, a $1M public-art commission to replace the J. Marion Sims sculpture removed from Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street. Her notable public art mentions include: “Sojourner Truth” at the Walkway Over the Hudson’s Welcome Center, two bas-reliefs sculptures to enhance a 112-year-old piano for August Wilson’s play “The Piano Lesson”, “Liberté” for the Alabama Historical Society and the Alabama State Council,  “The Man in the Arena”  a bronze three-quarter, life-sized bust of President Theodore Roosevelt, “Frederick Douglass Circle”, commissioned by Hofstra University in Hempstead New York. Her first public artwork, “The First Lady of Jazz Ella Fitzgerald” for the City of Yonkers was the first sculpture of a contemporary African-American woman to be commissioned by a municipality in the United States. Civic engagement is the keystone of her practice. In 2020, she won the Americans for the Arts inaugural Jorge and Darlene Perez Prize for her civic-engagement practices.

photo credit: Dorinda Angelucci

Event Location and Ticket Information

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Madam C.J. Walker Plaza
85 Main Street
Irvington, NY 10533
Handicap Accessible? Yes

Date: Saturday, June 10, 2023
Times: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Ticket pricing:
Free event

Presenter: Irvington Public Library