ABOUT
Gillie and Marc’s Statues for Equality aim to balance gender representation in public art, and honor women’s contributions to society. Gender inequality is among the most critical issues facing the world today.
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In New York City, less than 3% of statues are female, 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.
Gillie and Marc are on a mission to even out these statistics, starting by creating 10 larger than life statues of inspirational women which will be unveiled at RXR Realty’s 1285 Avenue of the Americas, NYC on Women’s Equality Day: August 26th, 2019, in New York City. These powerful women were voted for by the public and include; Oprah Winfrey, P!nk, Nicole Kidman, Jane Goodall, Cate Blanchett, Tererai Trent, Janet Mock, Tracy Dyson, Cheryl Strayed and Gabby Douglas.
The New York project is just the start of Statues For Equality and the initiative is now worldwide, with projects in many different countries, including Australia the UK and the US. Gillie and Marc are keen that the sculptures are representative of all women and know that the public are the best people to ensure this happens!
“We hope that as the project expands, it will include a broader diversity of race, class, ability, sexual orientation and gender expression,” says Gillie.
They are asking the public to again nominate the next women that they think deserve the recognition of being immortalized in bronze!
“In order to truly honor the cause, it was crucial we cast the statues in bronze,” explains Marc, “they will live on, much like the statue itself, beyond your lifetime and the lives of your contemporaries.”
Sculptures inspire. They illustrate history, and they express stories of achievement that motivate generations.
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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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It's a global project!
CALLING ALL NOW!
Following the launch of the project in NYC, Gillie and Marc are calling upon the world to continue creating women sculptures.
IMPACT
USA-Wide Statistics
The issue of gender equality has been in the headlines in the US frequently over the last few years; from the Women’s march to the #metoo movement, people everywhere are pointing out the gender inequalities that have yet to be addressed. This has been backed up by the World Economic Forum who in their 2018 Global Gender Gap Report found the USA to be ranked 51st.
It is perhaps unsurprising that this is reflected in the representation of women in public art, as it is in many other countries around the world.
According to the Smithsonian American Art Museum Inventories Catalogue, there are around 5193 public sculptures of named individuals across the country. Of these approximately 394 of these depict women; this is equal to 7.5%.
Of the 394 statues of historical women, only around 12 of these depict African American women. This means the percentage of statues across the country that depict African American women is 0.2%
Statues for Equality Impact in Numbers
In August 2019 10 statues of modern, influential women will be unveiled in New York City. This will change the statistics of women in public spaces.
NYC
Increase: Currently there are 5 statues of women in NYC. After the Statues for equality launch there will be 15; an increase of 200%!
How far until equality?: This means the overall percentage of women statues in NYC will change from 3% to 9%.
The only statue of an African American woman in NYC is Harriet Tubman. After the Statues for Equality launch there will be 5, an increase of 400%.
How far until equality?: This means the overall percentage of statues of African American women in NYC will change from 0.6% to 3%.
USA
Increase: Currently out of approximately 5193 public statues of named individuals, 394 are of women. After the statues for equality launch there will be 404, an increase of 2.5%.
How far until equality?: This means the overall percentage of statues depicting women across the USA will change from 7.5% to 7.7%.
Increase: Currently out of approximate 5193 public statues of named individuals, 12 depict African American women. After the Statues for Equality launch there will be 16, an increase of 33%.
How far until equality?: This means the overall percentage of statues depicting African American women across the USA will change from 0.2% to 0.3%.
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