Gender and racial inequality is among the most critical issues facing the world today. Now, artists around the world are banding together to spark the change for equality in a beautiful way, with Statues For Equality.
This global movement is on a mission to balance the gender and racial representation in public art and create tangible change one statue at a time. By creating everlasting bronze statues of some of the most inspirational women of our time, Statues For Equality honors women’s contributions to society and spreads their inspiration to the world. The goal is to reach complete gender equality of public sculptures (50%) across the globe by 2025.
Global public artists and activists, Gillie and Marc created Statues For Equality after a reflection of their own work. They discovered that over the past 15 years they had many sculpture commissions of men but only 1% of woman! They dug a little deeper and found that this was not unique for them but a global issue.
NEW YORK CITY LAUNCH
OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED ON WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY AUGUST 26th, 2019, NEW YORK CITY
Up until recently, New York City had less than 3% of their public statues depicting females. This statistic is seen all across the world with Sydney and London following suit with 4% and 3% respectively. In fact, there are more statues called John in the UK than there are of historical women!
Statues For Equality is on a mission to even out these statistics, starting with 10 larger than life statues of inspirational women.
The launch was met with overwhelming support and applause. Globally covered by the press it had over 250 million unique visits in August alone! Presidents and governments across the globe applauded the mission as well as members of the public, thrilled to finally be able to see inspiring female faces in the art of the city.
Next Statue: Justice Ginsburg
The Justice Ruth Bader Ginburg will be unveiled on March 15, 2021 at City Point, the mixed-use development located at 445 Albee Square in Downtown Brooklyn, where it will be permanently installed. The event will take place during Women’s History Month, and commemorate Justice Ginsburg’s posthumous 88th birthday.
Chris Conlon, EVP and Chief Operating Officer of Acadia Realty, partner in the City Point development, comments, “In her lifetime, Justice Ginsburg championed countless crucial causes. This statue is just a small reminder that we all need to set the highest possible standards for ourselves and society.” He continues, “From the people who work here, to the diverse shoppers and shopping at City Point, everyone feels welcome, equal and respected. We are honored to have this great statue grace our property, and to bring Justice Ginsburg’s ‘pathmarking’ spirit back to Brooklyn to inspire us for generations.” Brooklyn
Borough President Eric Adams who will declare March 15th Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Day in Brooklyn adds, "No one can dispute the towering achievements of this judicial giant and the value of adding her likeness to the landscape of our city.” He continues, “There is nothing more fitting than to have the sculpture and, one of the most important buildings in our borough, the Brooklyn Municipal Building, named after this beloved trailblazer. We are pleased to champion these tributes to her commitment to justice, Brooklyn birthright, and enduring legacy.
For more information
Erica Roseman
Statues For Equality proves how immediate change for gender equality can happen. With the addition of the 10 statues in NYC, the number of female statues of women went from 3% to 10% overnight!
The New York project is just the start of Statues For Equality and the initiative is now worldwide, with projects starting in many different countries, including Australia, the UK, and the US. As the project expands, it will include a broader diversity of race, class, ability, sexual orientation, and gender expression, celebrating all the differences found in women-kind.
Gillie and Marc are the founders of this project but it is not theirs to own. Statues For Equality involves the entire world so it belongs to everyone. Gillie and Marc cannot do this alone, they need your help!
The public are the best people to decide who should be honored with a statue. With already over 1 million nominations, the public are once again asked to again nominate the next women that they think deserve the recognition of being immortalized in bronze!
There is also a call for corporations, cities, towns and anyone else who has a public place to become a part of history and host the next Statues For Equality.
Finally, the call has also gone out to all artists, sculptors, and creators to get involved and help them to create the hundreds of statues still to come. Gillie and Marc desperately need the talent of the artistic community to jump on board if they are to reach gender equality in public art.
Sculptures inspire. They illustrate history, and they express stories of achievement that motivate generations.
Everybody can be a part of this global movement. Help Gillie and Marc continue their mission to balance gender representation in public art by hash-tagging #StatuesforEquality and nominating the next woman you’d like to see immortalized in bronze!
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Gillie and Marc recognize that the selection of women for this project is neither all-inclusive nor comprehensive in its scope. The artists began creating imagery of individuals the public voted for and who agreed to be depicted.
We do, however, know that this is only the beginning.
As the “Statues For Equality” project expands and its profile increases, they hope to have more commissions, which will eventually represent a broader diversity of race, class, ability, sexual orientation, and gender expression.
The journey is just now underway and we need your help! Who would you like to see honored in bronze? Are you a community leader, activist, ground breaker, or earth shaker who identifies as female and wants to be involved in this project?
