Steven Barber to unveil Jimmy Carter statue at Naval Academy

Monument maker Steven Barber is set to present a statue of former President Jimmy Carter at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis on Oct. 1, 2026, which would have been Carter’s 102nd birthday. The event adds to Barber’s expanding portfolio of presidential and national monuments, including a planned second Trump monument in Huntington Beach.

Why it matters: - The Carter statue adds another presidential monument to Steven Barber’s portfolio, which already includes tributes tied to Apollo 11, Apollo 13 and Sally Ride. - The unveiling lands on what would have been Jimmy Carter’s 102nd birthday, giving the ceremony added historical and symbolic weight. - Barber is also pushing a second Donald Trump monument in Huntington Beach, signaling that the project extends beyond a single tribute and into a broader public-monument effort.

What happened: - Steven Barber is scheduled to present a statue of former President Jimmy Carter on Oct. 1, 2026, at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. - The event is being framed as a birthday tribute to Carter. - Barber said the Carter statue is his 18th national statue commissioned to honor the country.

The details: - Barber is an award-winning filmmaker and founder of Vanilla Fire Productions in Santa Monica, California. - Barber has produced more than 10 feature film documentaries and has received three Oscar short list nods. - Barber has commissioned the Apollo 11 Monument at Kennedy Space Center, the Apollo 13 monument at the Houston Space Center and the Sally Ride Monument at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. - Barber is described as having commissioned the 45th and 47th presidential monument of President Donald John Trump. - The release says Barber is the first person in 250 years to build a monument for a sitting president while in office. - Barber has commissioned a Thomas Jefferson statue built and conceived by George and Mark Lundeen of Loveland, Colorado. - The Jefferson statue was presented to the president at the White House last Thursday in the Rose Garden, where the statue will reside. - Barber is working on a second Trump monument in Huntington Beach at a 7-acre site called Patriot Park next to the Huntington Beach police station. - Barber is working with former Huntington Beach Mayor Pat Burns to get the Trump monument built and unveiled before the November election. - Barber is actively seeking funding for the Huntington Beach monument. - Barber has invited the president of the United States to attend the November unveiling.

Between the lines: - Barber’s projects blend commemoration, politics and public space, which makes the monuments as much civic statements as works of art. - The timing around Carter’s birthday and the push to finish a Trump monument before the election suggests Barber is using date-driven symbolism to amplify attention. - The release leans heavily on Barber’s national-tribute record to position him as a major figure in monument building.

What's next: - The Carter statue presentation is set for Oct. 1 at the Naval Academy. - Barber’s next major push is securing funding and approvals for the Patriot Park Trump monument in Huntington Beach. - The Huntington Beach unveiling is intended to happen before the November election, with an invitation extended to the president.

The bottom line: - Barber is turning presidential and national remembrance into a steady monument pipeline, with Carter’s birthday tribute as the latest high-profile stop.