Portland names 3 finalists for MLK memorial design
Over a decade since it first considered creating a memorial to slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., the city of Portland is nearing selection of the designer who will build it.
The city has chosen three finalists from a request-for-qualifications process that drew nine candidates, according to a news release Thursday. The finalists are: Robert Katz, an artist in Augusta; TJD&A Landscape Architects, of Yarmouth; and Ironwood Design Group, of Newmarket, N.H.
The three finalists will each receive $2,500 from the city to help develop proposals for the memorial. Each proposal is expected to include a written project statement, visuals, models, schedule and budget, and will be followed by an in-person finalist interview and presentation on Nov. 14.
The winning designer is expected to be announced on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 20, 2020. The city has allocated $100,000 for the creation of the memorial.
Portland began exploring the idea of a King memorial in 2008, when a city council task force recommended a site along the Bayside Trail. A 17-member commission was formed to come up with a design, and issued an RFP that received four bids.
But the project, which would have cost “on the order of $750,000” according to the commission, stalled. Eventually, the city relooked at the possibility of a memorial and the RFQ was issued in May.
Cities worldwide have created monuments and public spaces to King since he was assassinated April 4, 1968. The University of Maine opened Martin Luther King Plaza near its student union in 2008, displaying 10 quotations by King.
King never visited Portland, but he spoke in Brunswick and Biddeford in early May 1964, eight months after his historic “I Have a Dream” speech.
Most Recent
Most Recent
They issued an RFQ in May, and the finalists were chosen from those submissions. There could very well have been submissions from POC, and there could be POC representation among the finalists. This article doesn't say either way. Why don't you call and find out rather than complain on the internet.
2 Comments