Tubman statue vandalized in Annapolis
A recently installed Harriett Tubman statue at the Banneker-Douglass Museum in Annapolis was vandalized last weekend, museum officials announced.
Entitled “Araminta with Rifle and Vévé” for Tubman’s birth name Amarinta Ross, the statue was loaned to the State of Maryland’s official museum of African American heritage in September by the Goya Contemporary Gallery in Baltimore. The museum said in a news release that staff members over the weekend noticed that the vévé, a beaded staff the Tubman figure held in its left hand, was missing and notified law enforcement immediately.
“The theft of culturally significant objects denies other people the joyful, contemplative, or educational experience of engaging with that artwork and in this particular case, attempts to take from the power of Harriet Tubman,” said Amy Raehse, executive director of the Goya Contemporary Gallery in Hampden, said this week in message to Baltimore Sun Media.
The Annapolis museum has been closed until after the holidays while the theft is investigated. City police officials did not respond to a request for comment.
“We’re saddened that this has occurred,” said Chanel Johnson, executive director of the Banneker-Douglas Museum, in its news release. “If anyone has any information connected to the theft, please let us know. We are asking for the community’s assistance in this effort. We are praying for the return of the vévé to restore the statue to its original state.”
According to the Baltimore gallery’s website, the 2017 statue is a 10-foot-tall piece composed of found objects, blown glass, and mixed media appliqués. It depicts the famed hero of the Underground Railroad, who was born into slavery 200 years ago in Dorchester County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, carrying a beaded rifle and staff. The rifle is adorned with flowers and the vévé features two birds.
In addition to celebrating Tubman’s bicentennial — Gov. Larry Hogan declared 2022 “The Year of Harriet Tubman”— the Banneker-Douglass Museum brought the statue to Annapolis as part of its latest exhibit, “The Radical Voice of Blackness Speaks of Resistance and Joy.” Featuring the work of 17 Maryland-based Black artists, the collection “explores America’s fraught history of systemic racism with thought-provoking narratives while celebrating the resiliency of a people who have persevered despite social and political devices to suppress them,” the museum said in an August news release.
“If we look to Harriet’s extraordinary life story, crimes committed against her did not mute her message or her potency,” Raehse said, “and we do hope that the recovery of the object will restore the sculpture of Tubman to her original splendor.”
Raehse added that the sculptor, Baltimore native and MacArthur Fellow Joyce Scott, has offered to recreate the stolen staff if it is not found.
“Ignorant and destructive behavior will never thwart the truth-telling voice of the arts,” Raehse said.
If anyone has any information regarding the theft, please contact the Banneker-Douglass Museum via email at bannekerdouglassmuseum@gmail.com or via phone at 410-216-6180.
“The Radical Voice of Blackness Speaks of Resistance and Joy” can be viewed at the Annapolis museum during operating hours through Sept. 30, 2023.