National invitational competition to be held to redesign historic Syracuse site with Christopher Columbus statue

The Full Circle Design Competition, a national invitational contest calling for concepts related to the civic space previously called Heritage Park in Syracuse, was announced by the Onondaga Historical Association in a statement on Friday, May 1. The downtown Syracuse site includes Columbus Circle, which features a statue of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, and an adjacent vacant space that once housed the Powelson Business Institute. “OHA has selected Forecast Public Art, a non-profit consulting organization that specializes in design competitions and public art, to assist in the management of the competition ― inviting artists and designers to submit ideas for the project site,” the statement said. The design proposals will be evaluated by a community of community members in addition to professionals with experience in landscape design, urban planning, landscape design, historic preservation and more. The statement noted finalists will get funding to develop public exhibitions of their designs in the fall. The winning design will be presented to the city for fundraising and planning uses. The competition, which is being paid for via a grant from the Mellon Foundation, is set to be completed by the end of 2026, the statement said. Carrie Mae Weems, artist-in-residence at Syracuse University, will be an advisor for the contest. The Columbus monument has been a source of controversy for the city. In June 2024, the New York State Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, allowed the city to continue a resign process for Columbus Circle, including relocating the statue. “The dialogues about the Columbus Monument initiated by the City of Syracuse in 2018 and 2020 were an important step in thinking about how Syracuse displays our history in our public spaces,” Lisa Romano Moore, the historical association’s executive director, said in the statement. “One common outcome of those discussions was a recommendation to develop a heritage and education site that reflects the many people who call this place their home.” The statement also added that the contest’s guidelines “will not specify that the Columbus statue and controversial bronze elements of the Indigenous masks and plaques be removed, relocated, or remain in place.” “As a historical association, the preservation and interpretation of historical objects sit firmly within our mission. Even contentious items represent events and perspectives on our City’s history,” Romano Moore said. “OHA’s job is to tell their stories regardless of their location, and use our resources to shed light on the self-determination of the many people in our community who have fought to maintain their culture and values. Our neutrality allows for the broadest range of creative approaches to achieve this goal.”