Chicago Park District seeks artist for statue of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable for namesake park

The Chicago Park District is searching for an artist to create a statue of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable for the city founder's namesake park.

DuSable's name is on many well-known landmarks — including DuSable Harbor on the lakefront at Randolph Drive, the DuSable Bridge on Michigan Avenue over the Chicago River, DuSable High School in Bronzeville, the DuSable Black History Museum and Cultural Center, and most recently and notably, DuSable Lake Shore Drive. But DuSable Park has gone by its name longer than many of those landmarks, and is more obscure than any of them.

The three-acre park is located where the north bank of the Chicago River where it meets Lake Michigan, east of DuSable Lake Shore Drive. It is near the site where as early as 1772, DuSable himself set up a trading post that eventually became the city of Chicago.

The park was dedicated with the DuSable name by Mayor Harold Washington in 1987, as the land was donated to the Chicago Park District by the Chicago Dock and Canal Trust. But nearly 40 years later, the park remains undeveloped and closed to the public.

That will be changing soon, and the statue is part of the grand plan for the park.

A request for qualifications is open to artists or artist teams to apply for the honor of creating the full-body statue. Priority will be given to Haitian artists or teams, particularly those with strong connections to the Chicago area, as DuSable was born in what is now Haiti.

Artists must submit their applications by April 13 at 11:59 p.m.

The park will also feature public art installations honoring DuSable, his Potawatomi wife and cultural ambassador Kitihawa, and indigenous voices, the Park District said.

The park is expected to open in the middle of 2027.