Pink for Equality

Twenty-first-century pop idol P!nk is a three-time Grammy award winning singer and songwriter who has released seven studio albums, had 15 top 10 singles, sold over 50 million albums worldwide, and sold out tours all over the world, making her one of the most widely respected and popular musicians across the globe.

As outstanding as she is influential, P!nk received mass acclaim for her raw, honest, and subversive approach to pop music combined with her distinctive and commanding vocal performance that has inspired countless others to pick up a microphone and be themselves. 

Outside of her highly decorated music career, P!nk is a UNICEF Ambassador, an outspoken animal activist, LGBTQ advocate, and campaigner for women’s rights, with a focus on body positivity and female representation.

 Standing tall in an aster, a flower loved for its hardiness and variety of blooming colors, P!nk chose the aster flower as a symbol of her diverse audience from around the world as well as her transformative career. 

Artists Gillie and Marc Schattner, on August 26, Women’s Equality Day 2019, are bringing to life a dream, the move towards equal representation in women statues.

In a moment of deep self-reflection, they realized they had been contributing to the lack of women representation in their public art. However, the artists decided they could not sit back and let history repeat itself. Something has to change, and so with their new project, ‘Statues for Equality’, they have self-funded ten new women statues.

Because of this project, New York is becoming the first city to change the dynamics considerably - as the ten women are launched as statues the number will jump from 3% to 9%. The project will launch at RXR Realty’s iconic Avenue of the Americas.

Joining ‘Statues for Equality’ are ten portraits of each woman in a groundbreaking new show that expresses diversity and gender equality. Exhibiting alongside their permanent statue sisters at 61 Broadway, NYC, they will be on show for the public for 12 months.

The women are painted on fabric from around the world, just as they as women represent the diversity of womankind, as does the soft materials that embody strength. Each piece has its own texture, shape, and feel.

The women’s faces are depicted in black and white, revealing the fine attention to detail from the artists; each line becomes part of the narrative of the portraits. However, their hair and clothes are full of colour and patterns. Flowing from the women they extend these versions and ideals of how women present themselves in society.

The use of fabric can take literal meaning; even though the material is soft, beautiful, and used as a way to express individuality. Fabric is also a carrier, babies are held close to us in wraps of material; goods and objects are transported for when we cannot hold everything; and it dresses us, for warmth and support.

The metaphor extends into the roles of women, and Gillie and Marc’s clever use of this medium, reminds us again, how important women are to our lives and the basis of society. Fabric is also another way to show our individuality.

Just as the ten women statues, made out of bronze, who will stand larger than life can teach us something about diversity and gender equality; as can these softer, tender moments of intimate and feminine representatives.

For the next 12 months, Gillie and Marc are aiming to paint 100 women, voted for by the public, who inspire greatness in our societies.

#womenforequality will become an extension of #statuesforequality – use the hashtag to vote for the most inspirational women you know, and take a photo with the paintings and statues to share Gillie and Marc’s message of equality.