Goodwood Museum and Gardens seeking artists for memorial

Goodwood Museum and Gardens will be placing a permanent outdoor memorial to persons enslaved when Goodwood was a plantation, and to their descendants. From the years 1832-1865, there were some 200 people enslaved on the property. In the past five years we have identified more than 150 names of individuals. We continue to identify the enslaved and research their names.

In an effort to seek designs for the memorial, we would be grateful if you would please distribute the enclosed Request for Proposals to individuals, groups, or institutions you believe might be interested in submitting designs.

Project Description

Goodwood Museum and Gardens, a former plantation, proposes to install a memorial to all people enslaved on the property from approximately 1832 until 1865. A permanent outdoor memorial site has been chosen on a half-acre space adorned with several large live oaks and a bank of azaleas. The memorial will list the names of known enslaved persons, and will be a site for somber contemplation and remembrance. It will also be a site for meeting, teaching, community engagement, and healing. At its largest extent, Goodwood included about 8,000 non-contiguous acres; its several owners enslaved at least 200 people in the mid-1800s. Today Goodwood encompasses 21 acres and serves the community as a museum, a community green space, and a venue for public and private events. 

Goodwood is engaging the community in the development of the memorial. As a part of this, we are inviting people to submit designs for the memorial. A $1,000 honorarium will be awarded to the artist whose design is selected through juried process, and the artist will be credited at the memorial site. The final design selected for the Memorial to the Enslaved will become the sole property of Goodwood Museum and Gardens.

Goodwood is a privately owned, not-for-profit institution. Our vision is that the memorial will become a place of somber reflection, remembrance, teaching, and gathering.

We would also welcome your questions, comments, and ideas. Please contact memorial@goodwoodmusuem.org

Deadline to submit a design proposal is December 17th, 2021