The Art

Vinnie Bagwellʼs vision for the Enslaved Africansʼ Rain Garden is focused on remembering the lives, the feelings, and the legacy of men, women, and children who were imbruted and stripped of their human rights. The viewer is invited to wonder about enslaved Africans: their origins and families, their languages, their daily routine of life, their religious beliefs, their music, the songs they sang, and their thoughts. These candid images of daily life, rendered in the vernacular of bronze sculpture, are a testament to the resounding triumph of the human spirit.

IʼSatta
Liberian name pronounced “I-Sat-tie” The first sculpture was designed as an icon and a canvas upon which to tell a story. Read more »

Themba
Zulu name means “faith, hope, trust.” There was a small group of Africans defined more by their participation in maritime activities than by their enslavement experience. See more »

Bibi
Swahili for “Grandmother” The second sculpture was designed to represent the elder group of enslaved Africans. See more »

Sola
Pronounced “Sho-lah.” Yoruba abbreviation of Olusola, which means “God made grace.” Most of those captured and enslaved were very young.

Olumide
Pronounced “O-lu-me-day” Yoruba means “God has arrived.” “Olumide” was a friend of Sola. See more »