Fredericksburg, VA (February 18, 2025) — The Fredericksburg Area Museum, in partnership with the City of Fredericksburg, is thrilled to announce the official selection of a design team for Fredericksburg’s Auction Block Memorial Installation at the corner of William and Charles streets. After distributing the Request for Proposals across the country, the Auction Block Committee selected three teams to interview, all with direct ties to the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Selection Committee then voted unanimously to contract with eo Studio, led by internationally renowned artist Eto Otitigbe, to lead the design phase of this innovative project.
Background: On June 5, 2020, the City of Fredericksburg removed a 1,200-pound piece of sandstone from its prominent location in the center of downtown Fredericksburg. Fredericksburg’s Auction Block was originally installed at the corner of William and Charles Streets around 1843 and witnessed at least twenty sales of enslaved people between 1847 and 1862, involving more than three hundred enslaved individuals overall. The Block remained at its original corner for 177 years, a consistent source of pain and suffering for many in Fredericksburg’s African American community.
In 2017, following the violent “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, City Councilor Charlie L. Frye, Jr. asked Council to relocate the Block. Though City Council members voted 6-1 to leave it where it was, they initiated a citywide conversation about the Block and representation of African American history in the city, led by the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC). The ICSC convened focus groups and public forums to gather community feedback and found that, for many, the Auction Block was a symbol of the ongoing pain of racial inequality.
On June 11, 2019, the City Council voted to remove the Block and relocate it to the Fredericksburg Area Museum (FAM), while focusing on telling a more complete history of Fredericksburg. More information on the Auction Block relocation is available at Auction Block | Fredericksburg, VA – Official Website (fredericksburgva.gov).
In November 2022, the FAM opened the exhibition A Monumental Weight: The Auction Block in Fredericksburg, Virginia with an accompanying digital exhibit, available at Fredericksburg Area Museum | A Monumental Weight Home Page (famva.org). Simultaneously, members of the museum’s African American History Committee have worked to develop a general concept plan for interpretive materials at the Auction Block’s former site.
eo Studio: Founded by Eto Otitigbe, eo Studio is a creative team that builds projects and conceptual proposals for public art. eo Studio collaborates with an expanding network of artists, designers, researchers, and cultural workers. Core team members Eto Otitigbe, Michael DiCarlo, and Amanda Kerdahi have collaborated on community engagement and installation of large-scale public art projects since 2014. Eto also served as a member of the Design Team for the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers at UVA (Charlottesville, VA, 2019) where he contributed to the creative expression on the memorial’s exterior surface.
Timeline: Eto and the rest of the eo Studio team will be visiting Fredericksburg to commence the project in February 2025. From Thursday, February 27th through Saturday, March 1st, the team will be attending Black History Month events facilitated by Dr. Sims and learning about the community. Please visit famva.org and follow us on social media for more information. Eto will be returning to Fredericksburg several times as he continues working on the design and is very excited to meet with community members.
While the timeline of the actual installation remains in flux, we anticipate a series of public presentations for design review in early summer 2025. Stay tuned for more information by following the Fredericksburg Area Museum on social media or checking the website: famva.org.