Forgive me if this is a dupe! Ruth Meet the Artist-Finalists for Nineteenth Amendment Centennial Public Art in Cambridge Public Invited to a Community Meeting Feb. 12 Meet the artist-finalists designing proposals for a public artwork on Cambridge Common to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and acknowledge the long and complicated story leading to women’s right to vote. Join the City of Cambridge's Nineteenth Amendment Centennial Committee to welcome the artists and share thoughts on the project on Wednesday, Feb 12, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Citywide Senior Center, 806 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. August 2020 will mark the 100th anniversary of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women the right to vote.The four artist-finalists, chosen from 694 profiles in the City’s public art registry, will be paid to develop concept proposals for a permanent installation to honor the Nineteenth Amendment and to highlight the contributions of underrepresented Cambridge women. The four finalists are: • Azra Aksamija of Cambridge • Franka Diehnelt with Claudia Reisenberger, aka Merge Conceptual Design, of Santa Monica, California • Mags Harries and Lajos Heder of Cambridge • Nora Valdez of Boston The Nineteenth Amendment Centennial Committee is committed to commissioning art that recognizes the representative story of the Nineteenth Amendment and highlights the contributions of underrepresented Cambridge women. The Committee also aims for the project to address the ongoing struggle for voting rights and the complexity and contradictions in the story of Women’s Suffrage. The City has allocated $300,000 for the project. The Committee has recommended the artwork be located on Cambridge Common, the 16-acre National Historic Landmark park. The Committee will work with the Cambridge Historical Commission to obtain formal approval to site the artwork in this historic space. Finalists are expected to submit proposals in spring 2020. These plans will be displayed for a period of public feedback. The Committee aims to select a winning project by August 2020, when the City of Cambridge will celebrate the centennial of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. Fabrication of the selected artwork is expected to take several years. Cambridge is a city steeped in history, and its residents were involved in the Women's Suffrage Movement from the outset. The Cambridge Woman's Suffrage League was formed in 1886, becoming the first of many area organizations dedicated to winning the vote and advancing women's equality and joining a number of state and nation organizations. Pro-suffrage rallies were held in locations all over the City in 1915 leading up to a statewide ballot referendum on the question of granting women the right to vote. In 1918, the City Council passed a resolution in favor of the Nineteenth Amendment's passage. The City of Cambridge looks forward to celebrating this history and its continued importance in 2020. For more information, contact Jennifer Mathews, Assistant to the City Manager, at 617-349-4300 or jmathews@cambridgema.gov or visit cambridgema.gov/womenvote100. About Cambridge Arts Cambridge Arts is the River Festival, Open Studios, Gallery 344, Sidewalk Poetry, Summer In The City, Community Supported Art, grants to artists, street performers, more than 280 works of contemporary public art in every neighborhood of the city, and a conservation program to preserve them for the future. We are the Cambridge Arts Council, a City agency that funds, promotes, and presents high-quality, community based arts programs for the benefit of artists, residents, and visitors in Cambridge. Active since 1974, Cambridge Arts is one of the most dynamic local arts agencies in the country. Cambridge Arts exists to ensure that the arts remain vital for people living, working and visiting Cambridge. Cambridge Arts embraces a vision that welcomes and supports everyone. Believing that a multiplicity of perspectives is essential to a strong society, we are committed, both in our policies and practices, to building participation in and awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the arts and all cultures. In our ongoing work to address cultural and historical inequities, we strive to be a community anchor that reflects the entire Cambridge community and expands access, opportunities, and inclusion in every form of creative expression. We value diverse voices and people of all ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, abilities, gender identities, sexual orientations, socioeconomic situations, religions, citizenship statuses, and family configurations. The City of Cambridge does not discriminate on the basis of disability. We will provide auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternate formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to persons with disabilities upon request. 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