While Manchester’s public spaces are bulging with bronzes of important men, there’s no statue celebrating the achievements of a local woman. We thought this was a total stitch up and our 2014 craftivist installation aimed to highlight this monumental gender imbalance.
February to March 2014 we transformed eight man busts in Manchester Town hall into celebrations of local women of achievement.
June 2014 we were super excited when councillor Andrew Simcock contacted us to say that partly inspired by our yarnbombing he was proposing a council resolution to erect a statue honouring a women of significance to Manchester. He invited us to restage our exhibition in the Town Hall on the day of the debate.
The Council voted unanimously in support of the statue which is set be launched for International Women’s Day in March 2019. It won’t cost local taxpayers a penny. A group of councillors and external advisors will oversee the fundraising, artist commission, and choice of women to be portrayed. The selection of artist and woman will be down to a public vote.
Check out the aims and background to our town hall yarnbombing.
Warp & Weft 