'TRIUMPH OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT' Sculpture Celebrates Anniversary in Foley Square This Weekend

Dr. Lorenzo Pace announced during an interview on Eric Tait, Jr.'s Media Watch that this year's anniversary of the unveiling of the Triumph of the Human Spirit monument at New York City's African Burial Ground will be celebrated on Sunday, October 23, 2022, 11am-2pm at Foley Square-rain or shine. It will be followed by a 3pm-6pm reception at EUROPA, 125 Division Street, featuring some of Dr. Pace's early artwork in his first solo New York art exhibition entitled LORENZO PACE: SELECTED WORKS, with a special musical performance by Sun Ra Arkestra members, Marshall Allen and Knoel Scott.

Dr. Pace is a visual- and performance-artist, author, master storyteller, and lecturer who has been featured in a variety of media, including the New York Times and New York Arts Magazine. His sculptures, installations and performance art have received international acclaim and he has exhibited in galleries and museums all over the world (such as the Sunshine International Art Museum in Beijing, China during the 2008 Olympics).
In 1993, Dr. Pace and his artwork skyrocketed to national attention when he was commissioned to build a monument at New York City's Foley Square paying homage to the African slaves interred in the colonial-era African Burial Ground. In 1991, The Remains of more than 400 African slaves were discovered during preliminary excavation for construction of a federal building in the City's financial district. The City of New York wanted to create a memorial and Dr. Pace was chosen. His work resulted in a five-story, 300-ton, black-granite sculpture named "Triumph of the Human Spirit," the world's largest site-specific installation dedicated to the discourse of African enslavement. A replica of the lock that shackled Dr. Pace's great-great grandfather, Steve Pace, is embedded in the base of the monument.

Dr. Pace has also written five books. Four of them, children's books, include Jalani and the Lock, which was described by Publisher's Weekly as a "stunning debut" and chosen as a "Best Book" by the Los Angeles Times. It, along with the next three: Marching with Martin, Harriet Tubman and My Grandmother's Quilts, plus Frederick Douglass and the North Star comprise a set known as The African American Quartet. The fifth book is entitled Locked: A Full Length Play, which he co-authored with Philip Zwerling.

During the Monument commemoration, Curtis Archer, host and producer of Soul Lounge Primetime on WHCR-90.3FM, will serve as master of ceremonies and Commissioner Laurie Cumbo of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs will be the keynote speaker. Guest speakers include Her Royal Majesty Queen Mother Dr. Dòwòti Désir, The Royal Palace of the African Diaspora, Bénin Republic; Sylvea Burks Hollis, PhD, Professor at Montgomery College; Patricia King-Butler, Executive Director of the Enslaved African Memorial Committee in Teaneck, New Jersey; Rodney Leon, architect of the African Burial Ground National Monument; Patricia King Jorde, principal of KING JORDE Culturals; Debra A. James, Justice, New York State Supreme Court (Civil Branch); Daniel Pagano, PhD, archeologist - "Elk Street Parking Lot - Call of the Ancestors"; Eric V. Tait, Jr., independent documentarian and former producer of ABC's 20/20; Milton Tingling, Retired Justice, New York State Supreme Court; Lead Park Ranger Emily A. Welch, African Burial Ground National Monument; as well as Kamau Ware, founder of Black Gotham Experience and Principal of Kamau Ware Studios.

Lorenzo Pace Studio: https://lorenzopace.com