In a move to honor the late right-wing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, New College of Florida announced plans last week to commission a bronze statue for its Sarasota campus. Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed during a speaking event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
The initial design, depicted in an AI-generated image shared on social media, shows Kirk seated at a table with a microphone in hand, gesturing while “speaking” to three empty chairs. This scene is reminiscent of Kirk’s nationwide Turning Point USA events, where he invited college students to peacefully discuss political issues as he sat behind a table.
The college emphasized that the AI-generated image is a preliminary concept and that the final statue will be a cast-bronze sculpture. This AI-generated rendering is part of a broader trend of using artificial intelligence to create tributes and representations of public figures. The final statue will be erected by the end of the year at New College of Florida.
Privately funded by community leaders, the statue is intended to symbolize New College’s commitment to defending and promoting free speech and civil discourse. There is no public information identifying which community leaders are funding the statue.
At a press conference in Sarasota that day, announcing New College’s plans for a Kirk statue, DeSantis warned, “If a student defaces the statue, then the student will be sent packing. Go ahead, make my day!”
The announcement follows a broader movement to memorialize Kirk across the United States. In Montgomery County, Texas, a crowdfunding campaign has been launched to construct a memorial statue in Kirk’s honor. Pinellas County Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who spoke at Kirk’s memorial service last week, requested that a statue of him be placed in the U.S. Capitol.
A version of this story first appeared in our sibling publication Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
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