Lorraine Hansberry Statue to Be Unveiled in Times Square

Artist Alison Saar has created a sculpture of Lorraine Hansberry, To Sit Awhile, to be installed in Times Square, New York City from June 9 through June 12, 2022 before touring the United States through 2023.

The sculpture is a part of the Lorraine Hansberry Initiative, which honors the playwright, who was the first Black woman to have a show produced on Broadway. You can learn more about the sculpture here. As Sarah Bahr notes in the article for the New York Times:

“The statue, a life-size likeness of Hansberry surrounded by five movable bronze chairs that represent aspects of her life, and, Saar said, invites people “to sit and think with her,” will be unveiled in Times Square on June 9. The event will include performances and remarks from Nottage and Hansberry’s 99-year-old older sister, Mamie Hansberry. It will remain in Times Square through June 12, and then begin a tour of the country over the next year or so on its way to its permanent home in Chicago, Hansberry’s birthplace.”