Harriet Tubman Mural Being Installed on Nolan Block Building in Auburn, New York
The Harriet Tubman Boosters of Auburn are delighted to announce that the fundraising goal of $40,000 for the Harriet Tubman Downtown Auburn Mural has been reached.
A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at the corner of Genesee and North Streets on Saturday, September 24, 2022, at 1 p.m. The ceremony will be followed by a celebration event at the New York State Equal Rights Heritage Center. Both events are free and open to the public.
Contributions to the mural fund came from grants, corporate donations, and personal donations from more than 200 individual donors representing 13 states and Canada. A list of the donors can be found on the mural website www.TubmanMural.org.
Installation of the mural, created by Auburn artist Arthur Hutchinson, began in early August by A&M Graphics on the west-facing side of the historic Nolan Block building. Completion is expected by Labor Day, weather permitting. The Kyle family, owners of the Nolan Block building, have generously donated the wall spaces as well as lighting that will illuminate the mural at night.
The mural is entitled Harriet Tubman: Her Life in Freedom and is the only mural depicting Tubman’s incredible fight for human rights after finding freedom and settling in Auburn—from serving in the Civil War to speaking out for women’s suffrage. The mural will look down on the heart of the city that Tubman called home for more than 50 years of her life. The mural’s dimensions of 26 feet by 61 feet make it one of the largest murals honoring Tubman.
The Boosters plan to install an informational marker and are continuing to raise funds for the marker as well as ongoing maintenance of the mural and the mural website. See the latest progress on the mural installation as covered in The Citizen here. The marker will provide details of the scenes depicted in the mural and a link to the mural website for further information. Donations can be made on the Boosters website www.HarrietTubmanBoosters.org.
The mission of the Harriet Tubman Boosters is to honor the life of Harriet Tubman and preserve her legacy for generations to come.
