Will Tubman statue be St. Pete’s next public art purchase?
St. Petersburg’s next public art acquisition could be a statue of 19th century activist and “freedom fighter” Harriet Tubman.
During Thursday morning’s meeting of the City’s Economic and Workforce Development Committee, City Councilmember Brandi Gabbard suggested the purchase of The Beacon of Hope, a bronze statue that’s been in the Legacy Garden of the Woodson African American Museum of Florida since January.
Photo: Wofford Sculpture Studio.
The traveling 13-foot sculpture is on loan from North Carolina’s Wofford Sculpture Studio, which, according to its website, charges $3,000 per month in rental fees.
Sculptor Wesley Wofford visited the Woodson Museum in April to talk with local middle and high school students about the legacy of the statue’s subject in the pre-emancipation Civil War era.
It’s scheduled to leave the museum in September.
Gabbard said she had made inquiries, and The Beacon of Hope would cost $250,000. “It’s a hefty price tag,” she said, “and well more than we have within our commission budget.”
She then pointed to Bending Arc, the “elevated net” sculpture created by artist Janet Echelman installed at the St. Pete Pier in 2021.
The majority of the $1.5 million cost of Bending Arc was raised through private donations. The city paid for the towering pylons and other support needs.
“I think if we look back to pieces like the Echelman, for instance, that was a collaboration between the City and donors who wanted to see that piece brought to St. Petersburg.
“I would challenge the arts commission to do that, and use that model when it comes to this piece.”
Gabbard mentioned the City’s “investment and commitment to a building even a better African American museum at some point,” and that The Beacon of Hope could be moved to the new location.
She said she’d discussed the idea with Celeste Davis, the City’s Arts Culture and Tourism Director, and hoped a broader conversation, with more participants, would ensue soon.
Davis spoke at the meeting about progress on implementing the City’s Cultural Action Plan of 2023. Former St. Petersburg Arts Alliance director John Collins, one of the plan’s architects, addressed committee members via Zoom from his home in Maryland.
Meanwhile, Bending Arc was taken down in February and crated off to a net-repair company on Florida’s east coast. The sculpture was severely damaged by strong winds during the 2024 hurricane season.
The City has not announced when Bending Arc will return.
Donna Kostreva
July 25, 2025at8:18 pm
Renters never own what they are paying for, it is not unlike throwing money away every month. We have unemployment here. Why not choose a home grown artist to craft our own historical figure to be placed appropriately using private funding. The patronage system worked very well for Michelangelo.
Laura Milo
July 24, 2025at11:53 pm
Maybe the city should stop worrying about acquiring art and use our taxpayer dollars for things that actually benefit the taxpayers such as repairing the roads and other infrastructure that we rely on every day
Hugh Hazeltine
July 24, 2025at6:00 pm
This is a beautiful statue and you should go to the Woodson Museum to see it. There is no fee and they only ask for donations.
May I recommend this could go on the pier approach, near Spa Beach. This could be an chance to rename Spa Beach. There is no Spa there and has not been for decades. There are people who live here today that could not go to Spa Beach because of Jim Crow laws. This is an opportunity to make this space more worthy of what is possible than of what was.