Five artists are finalists for the William H. Gray memorial statue to be installed at 30th Street Station
The the winning artist for the $1.2 million statute in honor of Gray will be paid a $250,000 commission fee.
From 1979 to 1991, William H. Gray represented Pennsylvania’s Second Congressional District. He was the first African American to chair the House Budget Committee and serve as its majority whip, House’s third ranking position. While in Congress, Gray advocated for sanctions against South Africa and became close friends with Nelson Mandela.
In the 1980s, he helped raise millions of dollars to renovate 30th Street Station, which was named after him in 2020. In 2013, he died unexpectedly while attending the Wimbledon tennis tournament.
On July 22, five artists will present their proposals for the William H. Gray III 30th Street station memorial at the Cira Centre’s CYTO PHL.
“The statue honoring Mr. Gray will be a living memorial,” said Licy Do Canto, executive director of the Washington-DC based William H. Gray III Memorial Foundation. “It’s about reimagining a public space to reflect the values Bill stood for: fairness, service, and commitment to community.”
The foundation announced an open call for artists in October and received 125 submissions from across the United States.
The foundation has now shortlisted five finalists — Nekisha Durrett, Nina Cooke John, Paul Ramírez Jonas, Kayrn Olivier, and Hank Willis Thomas — received a $4,000 honorarium. The winner, who will be announced in September, will be paid a $250,000 commissioning fee.
The budget for the statue is $1.2 million and the plan is to unveil it in time for Philly’s celebration of the Semiquincentennial and the FIFA World Cup games.
Here are the finalists and their designs:
Nekisha Durrett, ‘Crystal Stair’
Gray was a pastor at North Philadelphia’s New Hope Baptist Church for 35 years, following his father and grandfather to the pulpit. Washington, D.C. based artist Nekisha Durrett envisions fashioning Gray’s image into a 30-foot column-like structure that visitors will be able to enter for an interactive experience. She named it after Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes’ 1922 popular poem “Mother to Son,” oft quoted by Gray in sermons.
In the artist’s words: “Crystal Stair seeks to honor Gray’s spiritual lineage as well as [his] unshakable belief in justice, opportunity, and resilience.”
Nina Cooke John, ‘Justice Interlaced’
Jamaican born Nina Cooke John’s 22,000-pound bronze statue represents the connective power of rail travel. It speaks to Gray’s life that, she described, as grounded in Philadelphia and extending to Washington, D.C. The sculpture, inscribed with the words “DC Proud” is meant to resemble a sleek, modern railway station. (Although, we aren’t sure how the words are going to go over in a Philadelphia train station.)
In the artists words: “Intertwined with the piers are ribbons of painted steel and bronze. These elements rise, curve, and intersect — like rail lines — symbolizing connection, transit, and influence."
Paul Ramírez Jonas, ‘Our Ancestors Knew We Were Coming’
Cornell University art professor Paul Ramírez Jonas’ sculpture is a family tree with branches that represent the different elements of Gray’s life: biological, familial, cultural, and relationship based. These aspects of his life culminated in his work on earth and created a legacy for his biological sons and the lives he touched.
In the artists words: “We are holding those who came before us, and those who will come after us, in everything we do. I propose a monument that will invite members of the public to sit at the nexus where lineages pivot from ancestors to descendants.”
Karyn Olivier, ‘Platform’
For Platform, Philadelphia artist and Temple University professor Karyn Olivier imagines a church pulpit with stairs that lead to an elevated platform. The exterior of the pulpit, traditionally decorated with church symbols and biblical narratives is replaced with iconography from Gray’s career: the seal of the United States Congress, the logo of United Negro College Fund — where Gray served as president for 13 years — and the South African flag.
In 2021, Olivier’s design was selected for the Bethel Burying Ground Historic Memorial.
In the artists words: “My intention for this memorial is to allow neighbors, strangers, Philadelphians, daily commuters, and those just passing through on their journey to destinations far and wide, to ‘meet’ Gray and participate in the unfolding of his enormous legacy.”
Hank Willis Thomas, ‘Reverence’
Hank Willis Thomas, son of Philly-born artist Deborah Willis, proposes two bronze hands poised in prayer or deep contemplation, inviting passersby to pause. In 2017, Thomas’ sculpture of an Afro Pick, All Power to All People, stood on the Thomas Paine Plaza. (It has since been acquired by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and is now permanently located there.)
In the artists words: “There is a universal resonance in the gesture — it speaks to stillness, reflection, resolve, and collective hope. This concept honors the strength found in faith and the action that flows from it."
The artists will present their designs on July 22 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Circa Centre at 2929 Arch St Suite 250, Phila. The event will also be livestreamed on the William H. Gray III Memorial foundation’s website.