Basil Watson
Born 1958, Kingston, Jamaica. Attended Jamaica School of Art, Kingston, Jamaica.

Read also: "The Watson Dynasty"

London: 'The National Windrush Monument'

Maquette, Bronze
Part of the Art Jamaica Collection.
The Basil Watson Sculpture Windrush at London Waterloo Maquette at Art Jamaica

The PSSA Marsh Awards 2023
"THE PUBLIC VOTE"
2023

for the most popular new sculpture shortlisted for
the 2023 Marsh Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture

Winner: Basil Watson for

'The National Windrush Monument'
at Waterloo Station, London, Bronze:
Read more on page PRESS



A large sculpture by Basil Watson is situated at London's railway station - a national windrush monument

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'Shadow' 2008

Bronze

Part of the Art Jamaica Collection.
Basil Watson sculpture of a female nude - part of the Art Jamaica collection

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Georgia: 'John Lewis'

It stands on symbolic ground.
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The new John Lewis statue in Decatur, Georgia was unveiled on August 24th 2024, located on the site of a former Confederate monument.
Ken Makin, cultural comentator:
When I learned that a statue of John Lewis would replace a Confederate monument in downtown Decatur, I knew I had to see it, and not just because of my own battles with hate-filled artefacts.

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In many ways, the late congressman was the personification of the famous hymn “Amazing Grace.” It is fitting that a community would replace something representing a “lost cause” with a dedication to empathy.
“I once was lost, but now am found / Was blind, but now I see.”
The congressman was a mythical figure, even before he posthumously defeated the Confederacy in front of the Historic DeKalb Courthouse. He was one of the bruised heroes of Bloody Sunday. Mr. Lewis suffered a fractured skull when police attacked marchers crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, on March 7, 1965. Some 58 people were beaten for peacefully protesting for voting rights. Years before that, Mr. Lewis spoke at the March on Washington alongside Martin Luther King Jr., on behalf of civil rights. Georgia first elected him to Congress in 1986. He would serve until his death in 2020. In later years, the congressman became a comic book hero. His last address was published in one of the newspapers of record.

Continue reading The article by The Christin Science Monitor.


CNN article preview of the John Lewis statue in Georgia 2024

CNN:
A statue of John Lewis is unveiled in Decatur, Georgia, on Saturday, August 24.
A statue honouring civil rights hero and US Congressman John Lewis was unveiled Saturday outside of Atlanta, replacing a Confederate monument that had stood there for more than a century.
Renowned Jamaican sculptor Basil Watson created the statue, coined the John Lewis Memorial. It was installed August 16 in Decatur Square in front of the Historic Decatur Courthouse.
The statue stands 12 feet tall atop a granite pedestal and depicts Lewis with his hands over his heart, a gesture he frequently used to express his love for others.

Continue reading The article at CNN online

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South Carolina: 'The First Black Students'

South Carolina University, April 2024
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A statue of Robert Anderson, Henrie Monteith Treadwell and James Solomon Jr. - whose enrolment six decades ago changed the course of university history - was unveiled April 2024 on the campus's historic Horseshoe, University of South Carolina.
A 12-foot bronze sculpture, commissioned by international artist Basil Watson marks the 60th anniversary of the trio's enrolment.

Read the article of the University of South Carolina
Basil Watson Sculpture desegreation at the university of South Carolina

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Atlanta: 'Martin Luther King'

A New MLK Monument in Atlanta
on the very street that bears his name
Martin Luther King Sculpture in Atlanta
Installation of the 12-foot statue of Martin Luther King

Watch the Video ...

Alabama: 'Rosa Parks'

Equal Justice Initiative, 02.14.24
The Rosa Parks sculpture by sculptor Basil Watson
Basil Watson in Instagram:
The mission of EJI is doing a fantastic job making a powerful statement with the various developments, The Lynching Museum, The Legacy Museum and Freedom Park to come.
It’s an honour to have my work in the Legacy Plaza.
Basil Watson, February 2024
Follow Basil Watson in Instagram: @basil.sculpture
Equal Justice Initiative Preview of Article about the new sculpture of Rosa Parks by Basil Watson
This morning, EJI unveiled a new statue honouring civil rights legend Rosa Parks at Legacy Plaza, across from the Legacy Museum in downtown Montgomery, Alabama.

The sculpture of Mrs. Parks is the first of three statues that will be erected in Legacy Plaza in the coming months. EJI plans to create a major statue honouring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and will honour the extraordinary John Lewis with a sculpture.

A gathering place for visitors to the Legacy Museum, Legacy Plaza is home to a brick sculpture honouring civil rights demonstrators and a mural created by local artist Kevin King.

The new Rosa Parks statue was created by the acclaimed Atlanta-based sculptor, Basil Watson, who recently created a statue of Dr. King for the City of Atlanta, located near Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“This Black History month, on Valentine’s Day, there are many of us who want to express our love, appreciation, and gratitude to Mrs. Rosa Parks, whose extraordinary leadership inspired the whole world,” said EJI Director Bryan Stevenson. “As someone who had the privilege of spending time with Mrs. Parks, I can affirm that she had the kind of power and conviction that could absolutely change the world. We are thrilled to honor her at Legacy Plaza.”

The unveiling was attended by Mrs. Parks’s colleague and fellow civil rights advocate, Doris Crenshaw, who founded the Southern Youth Leadership Development Institute in Montgomery; Georgette Norman, former director of the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery; and Dr. Tommie Tonea Stewart, Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Alabama State University.


Read the Equal Justice Initiative Article online


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