Vinnie Bagwell is credited with reframing public art to include historic Black images. Her first public artwork, “The First Lady of Jazz” at the Yonkers Metro-North/Amtrak train station was commissioned by the City of Yonkers. It is the first public artwork of a contemporary African-American woman to be commissioned by a municipality in the United States. “Walter ‘Doc’ Hurley”, a 7’ bronze of a Hartford local legend is the first public artwork of a contemporary African American in the State of Connecticut.

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Image description:
Top left: Artist Vinnie Bagwell standing in front of her sculpture of Sojourner Truth, at the unveiling on August 26, 2020, at the Walkway Over the Hudson in Highland, N.Y

Top Middle: Vinnie Bagwell in her studio with "the sixth-generation grandson of Sojourner Truth, Cory Mcliechey, who came from Grand Rapids, MI, to see the sculpture I am making for the Walk Over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie, which is being commissioned by New York State Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation."

Top right: Artist Vinnie Bagwell working on, "My Soul Looks Back: Vucani" - ©2012, 24”h- No. 3 of series "My Soul Looks Back...": Vukani, Zulu for "Wake up!"

Bottom left: Bagwell working on "Themba the Boatman", one-of-five life-sized bronzes for the Enslaved Africans' Rain Garden coming to Yonkers, spring 2020. Jonathan Lewis, photographer.

Bottom right: Bagwell working on I'SATTA", The first-of-five life-sized bronze sculptures for an urban-heritage sculpture garden to celebrate enslaved Africans, the Enslaved Africans' Rain Garden. Jonathan Lewis, photographer.

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Vinnie Bagwell is an American sculptor and representational figurative artist who specializes in public art.
She was born and lives in Yonkers, New York, where she resided in the town of Greenburgh for most of her early life. Bagwell was always interested in art even from a young age and began painting in high school. Completely untutored, she began sculpting in 1993 and since then has gone on to earn many awards and commissions from communities around the United States.

Vinnie Bagwell was born and lives in Yonkers, New York, where she resided in the town of Greenburgh for most of her early life.[1] She was always interested in art even from a young age and began painting in high school. Completely untutored, she began sculpting in 1993 and since then has gone on to earn many awards and commissions from communities around the United States.[1] She would go on sculpting until 1996 when she received her first real commission from the city of Yonkers for her piece The First Lady of Jazz.[3]

Art
Bagwell is known for her many works of social and representational sculptures.[4] These sculptures tend to be cast in bronze or bronze resin, which is her preferred material.[1] Her works tend to reflect important African American figures and the struggles of enslaved people who were taken from their homes and their lives to become the property of someone else.[5] Her goal as an artist is to help people be more aware of the struggles these people went through. She hopes that through her art, people will begin to fully comprehend everything that they sacrificed and had stolen away from them.[5]

Enslaved Africans' Raingarden
The Enslaved Africans' Raingarden[6] on the Yonkers waterfront is one of Bagwell's biggest projects. It consists of five sculptures depicting individuals who were some of the first enslaved people to be freed from slavery by the law prior to the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation.[7]

Each sculpture depicts a different individual each with their own story and history, based on historical records associated with the Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site located in Yonkers's Getty Square. The project was a 12-year endeavor and was completed in 2020.[6]

The sculptures are as follows:
I'Satta[8]
Themba[9]
Bibi[10]
Sola & Olumide.[11]
The Philipse Manor Hall and the Enslaved Africans' Raingarden, along with Bagwell's The First Lady of Jazz sculpture of Ella Fitzgerald are stops on African American Heritage Trail of Westchester County.[6]

Victory Beyond Sims
Victory Beyond Sims is a planned sculpture by Bagwell that is being created to replace the sculpture of J. Marion Sims in New York City's Central Park that was torn down in 2018.[12] After the relocation of the statue, the city called for a replacement sculpture. The four finalists chosen were Bagwell, Simone Leigh, Wangechi Mutu, and Kehinde Wiley. The city eventually decided on Simone Leigh in a 4–3 vote.[12] The decision caused outrage amongst the community as they believed that Bagwell deserved to win.

Simone Leigh saw the backlash and decided to withdraw her proposal in order to hand the win to Bagwell. Leigh said in response, "I greatly appreciate that my proposal was selected by the committee. However, I am aware that there is significant community sentiment for another proposal. Since this is a public monument in their neighborhood, I defer to them and have withdrawn my work."[12]

The statue is planned to be installed at some point in 2021 once the approval process and revisions have taken place.[13]

Commendations
In October 2020, Americans for the Arts awarded Bagwell the inaugural Jorge and Darlene Pérez Prize in Public Art & Civic Design award for he continued work in creating art for and supporting her community. The prize included a $30,000 prize as well as the ability to take part in additional learning opportunities and discussion with other nationally recognized artistic leaders.[2]

On April 1, 2021, ArtsWestchester awarded Bagwell with their annual Artist award alongside six other individuals. Her work on her Enslaved Africans' Raingarden project in Yonkers is what earned her the honor for this award.[14]

Awards
In 2017, Bagwell was a recipient of the Trailblazers Award bestowed by the African American Advisory Board of Westchester County.[15]

Source: Wikipedia

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Black History Month: Sculptor Vinnie Bagwell Shapes A Historical Memory Through Bronze Figures -
CBS News NY - February 13, 2020 at 6:32 pm


NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – There is an artist who takes a vision in her mind and shapes it into clay with her talented hands, then casts it in bronze to tell a story that must never be forgotten.

CBS2’s Tony Aiello shares a look at how sculptor Vinnie Bagwell is capturing a piece of Yonker’s history in metal figures and poetry.
“These are people just like you: They were stolen from their home, their lives were destroyed, and that this process went on for several hundred years,” said Bagwell about her subjects. “I want people to understand that they had lives. They had thoughts, feelings, goals and dreams, and all of that was stolen from them.”

The New York-based sculptor has spent thousands of hours over more than a decade crafting a series of statues of Colonial Era enslaved Africans.
Impressive from a distance, close scrutiny reveals the rich details that tell the story of their lives as slaves on the Yonkers estate of the Philipse family.

Gesturing to her work, Bagwell highlights the family she made into art.
“This is Bibi,” she said. “Bibi is the elder, she’s the grandmother.”
On each statue is a message in Braille. The one on Bibi says, “I believe in freedom.” The children on her skirt are crafted in beautiful detail.

“Imagine somebody takes your children,” said Bagwell. “You don’t get them back and their lives are destroyed by greed.”

Themba and I’ Satta have a temporary home at the Yonkers library.
On the back of I’ Satta, there is a schematic of captured Africans packed into a slave ship.
“On the bottom of her skirt you will see a man drowning in the ocean and a ship sailing off into the sunset,” said Bagwell.

If everything goes according to plan, come Thanksgiving those sculptures will be out of the foundry and out of the library to instead be displayed along the Hudson River, on the property that used to belong to the slave-owning Philipse family.

“It’s not just something to read in a history book,” said Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano. “It’s something to see and feel, and that happens because we have a wonderful artist that’s willing to make it happen.”
Bagwell discovered her talent a bit later in life.

“Sculpting was a surprise at the age of 36,” she said.

With this monumental project nearing completion, she’s crafting a masterwork and a legacy.
Bagwell’s work is also on its way to New York City. She’s been commissioned to create a statue to replace the controversial Fifth Avenue monument to J. Marion Sims, a doctor who experimented on enslaved women.

PLEASE Click Source Link To View Interview Video--Source Link: https://newyork.cbslocal.com/.../black-history-month.../...

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Artist Vinnie Bagwell standing in front of her sculpture of Sojourner Truth, at the unveiling on August 26, 2020, at the Walkway Over the Hudson in Highland, N.Y.

"Isabella Bomefree was born enslaved in Ulster County among Dutch people. As Sojourner Truth she became one of the nation's leading voices for abolition and universal suffrage in the nineteenth century. She "walked away by day-light," freeing herself from slavery one year before legal enslavement ended in New York. Following her deeply held religious views she traveled as an itinerant preacher, speaking 'truth' to the harsh inequities people of color and women suffered while calling for systemic change. Naming herself Sojourner Truth, she became known for her strong mind and remarkable gift of language which she used tirelessly for human rights.

Throughout her life Sojourner Truth fought for justice for all under the law. Her legacy includes some of the first successfully tried court cases around the rights of Black women, including one to regain her son Peter, who had been illegally sold and defended against slander. Her imposing stature, remarkable oratory skills and melodic voice, propelled Truth to the forefront in the national debates on abolition, suffrage, and the plight of those formerly enslaved.

When the Civil War began, she rallied men to fight for the Union cause, then during the war worked as a nurse. At its end she worked with the Freedman's Bureau with the newly freed, helping them to adjust to their circumstances. Truth battled against segregation and urged Congress to supply land for those who were liberated from slavery, so they could improve themselves and become full citizens. Following the war, she returned to the suffrage platform, speaking first for universal suffrage, then specifically for women's suffrage. Sojourner Truth died at the age of 86 at her home in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Legacy
To honor Truth's legacy, the New York State Women's Suffrage Commission Leaving New York State Parks, engaged sculptor Vinnie Bagwell Leaving New York State Parks to create a bronze statue of her. On August 26, 2020, it was unveiled on the western shore of the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park Leaving New York State Parks, in Ulster County, the area of her birth. This remarkable piece of public art speaks to not only the life and legacy of Sojourner Truth but encourages us all to consider how we can support justice in our world.

Have You Met Sojourner Truth?
Experience the story of the dynamic abolitionist, suffragist, and human rights advocate Sojourner Truth. Her accomplishments and vital contributions to American history have been recognized with the installation of a bronze statue created by the sculptor Vinnie Bagwell, at Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park."

Click Source Link To View Video

Source Link NY State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation : https://parks.ny.gov/history/women/default.aspx...

Link To News Coverage More Photographs: https://www.dailyfreeman.com/.../collection_de71e8ca-e7be...
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Vinnie Bagwell website: https://www.vinniebagwell.com/

Link to view Enslaved Africans Rain Garden: https://slaverymonuments.org/items/show/1216

Link to Enslaved Africans Rain Garden FB page: https://www.facebook.com/enslavedafricansraingarden