Addressing Historical Gender Imbalance in Manchester – The Stature Project
UPDATE: This post was published in 2013, you can more pictures and info about the final project via the Manchester Evening News.
I’m so intrigued with Manchester-based artists Helen Davies and Jenny White right now. Together they’re working on a project called the “Stature Project” which “aims to draw attention to the achievements of eight inspirational women and their hitherto ‘hidden’ status in formal public commemorative art.”
They explain further, “the ground floor of Manchester Town Hall is brimming with portrait busts of people of achievement – the sculpture cafe hosts 16 busts; and a further 8 line the entrance corridor. However it’s an all-male cast; representations of women are conspicuously absent.”
“Through the Stature project, we’re interested in reframing or revisioning the past; finding ways of bringing women’s achievements from the margins to the centre of culture so they are celebrated and valued accordingly.”
“We will quite literally weave the achievements of notable Mancunian women into the fabric of Manchester town hall.”
The pieces go up in October. What a fabulous way to call attention to this historical lack of representation.
Read more about it over at the Stature Project blog.
