Harriet Rising, public artwork by Alice Lovelace and Lisa Tuttle commissioned by the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs Public Art Program and Underground Atlanta, has been named as one of the 50 best public art projects by the 2012 Public Art Network Year in Review by Americans for the Arts.

The annual Year in Review program recognizes the most exemplary, innovative, permanent or temporary public art works created or debuted in the past year. The 2012 Year in Review awardees were chosen from more than 393 works from 147 cities across 40 states and three countries. Harriet Rising was originally created as a collaborative temporary installation project for the exhibition Elevate/Art Above Underground last autumn. The project was such a success that it has remained on view for an indefinite period of time.

Installed on eight columns along Upper Alabama Street, Harriet Rising combines photography, poetry, historical and educational text to honor American hero Harriet Tubman, the Underground Railroad, the Underground Railroad Quilt Code, and eight Atlanta’s women’s groups whose work mirrors Tubman’s today. Groups include Women Watch Afrika, Inc.; Tapestri, Inc.; 9to5 Atlanta; Toni Cade Bambara Writers/Scholors/Activists Collective; SisterSong SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective; Georgia W.A.N.D.;Refugee Women’s Network; and Atlanta Grandmothers for Peace.

In addition to the installation, there have been poetry readings at the site and the artists are producing an artist book, to be published in the fall, 2012, also funded by the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs. “As a visual artist and public art specialist, Lisa Tuttle designed and created the visual and physical manifestation of the project. As a poet, I wrote original works about Tubman and these women of courage. Together, as women advocates, we chose women and organizations that are in keeping with Harriet Tubman’s legacy. We are thrilled that this project has received national recognition as an exemplary public art project and the attention it may bring to these women of courage,” said Alice Lovelace. “With the Harriet Rising artist book coming out this fall, the timing is wonderful.”