The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) has revealed six commission proposals for a monument honoring legendary jazz vocalist Billie Holiday, to be installed outside the Jamaica Performing Arts Center in Queens through the Percent for the Art program. The artists in the running are Thomas J Price, Tanda Francis, Nekisha Durrett, La Vaughn Belle, Tavares Strachan, and Nikesha Breeze, and the public is invited to share input on the conceptual designs before the final selection. The monument emerged from the 2018 She Built NYC initiative, which aimed to address the lack of historical monuments dedicated to influential women in the city, and was revitalized in 2024 after delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This monument matters because it not only commemorates Billie Holiday's profound impact on jazz and civil rights—including her haunting protest song "Strange Fruit"—but also represents a broader effort to correct historical gender and racial imbalances in public art. The participatory design process, which invites community input and incorporates elements like inscribed petals for personal stories, emphasizes the power of public monuments to serve as collective voices. The project highlights ongoing conversations about representation, memory, and who gets memorialized in public spaces, making it a significant cultural and civic milestone for New York City.