Ribbons: Leeds Artist will Honour Local Women in Feminist Sculpture
If you could choose to publicly commemorate one influential woman, who would it be?
A spotlight is being shone on the meagre representation of historical women in the world’s statues and monuments. The She Built NYC initiative was one of the first of its kind to attempt to redress the problem, selecting 7 trailblazing women (out of over 2,000 public nominations) to be commemorated in statue form across New York. Marsha P. Johnson and Shirley Chisholm are among those to be honoured by the project.
The gender imbalance of statues is no better in the UK, as discovered by Caroline Ciado-Perez OBE in 2016. Her research revealed that less than 9% of British monuments depict women with names, and even fewer of those are genuine historical figures (rather than the Virgin Mary, or decorative naked nymphs).
The representation of Britain’s influential women is clearly lacking in our cities’ statues, but an important Leeds sculpture project will soon do its part to recognise the achievements of local women. In 2019, MP Rachel Reeves and Leeds Arts University came together with the idea to commission a feminist sculpture for the city.
Of four shortlisted local artists, Pippa Hale was chosen for her idea to create a sculpture titled ‘Ribbons’. Pippa’s sculpture will bear over 200 names of inspiring local women, which are to be nominated by the public. Any woman who has lived or worked for one year within the Leeds city boundaries will be eligible for nomination, and the final names will be chosen by a panel.
With nominations open until 30th November, this is your chance to ensure that your favourite Leeds women are recognised for their contributions to the city. If chosen, your heroine’s name will decorate a 16ft sculpture located near Leeds Playhouse, looking down over Eastgate and the Headrow.
"The idea is that these ribbons would weave their way through the city, through the pavements and so on, perhaps rising up in places to create little benches or low-level walkways for kids to play on, but at Quarry Hill they'll sort of come together, rise up out of the ground and [create a] fluttering dance type thing," Pippa explains.
Like any city, Leeds has been home to all sorts of incredible women, whose contributions to the area are undeniable. Take Gertrude Paul, Leeds’ first black teacher and headmistress, who also went on to found Leeds West Indian Carnival. Hers is one of many historical names that has been raised in suggestion for ‘Ribbons’.
But it’s not just the names of historical figures that will decorate the groundbreaking sculpture. You may know women of today who are worthy of recognition. Whether they have achieved significant success in a particular area, or contributed in more humble ways, all nominations are welcome.
Find out how to nominate your Leeds heroines here.
You can find a more detailed breakdown of Caroline Criado-Perez’s research here.
Title image sourced via Pippa Hale. Quote from the Yorkshire Evening Post.
