Woman to create statue of suffragist heroine in Parliament Square
TURNER PRIZE-WINNING artist Gillian Wearing will become the first woman to create a statue for Parliament Square when she makes her likeness of Millicent Fawcett.
Ms Wearing will be funded by the Government, following the Prime Minister’s announcement of support for the statue earlier this month.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced yesterday that Ms Wearing had been commissioned to create the artwork of the suffragist leader.
The statue will be both the first of a woman, and the first created by a woman, to stand in Parliament Square. It will be unveiled to coincide with the centenary celebrations of women’s suffrage in the UK through the Representation of the People Act 1918.
The campaign for a statue in Parliament Square was launched by Caroline Criado-Perez in May last year, with a petition which was signed by almost 85,000 people.
Mr Khan said: “As a proud feminist at City Hall, I’m delighted to anounce Gillian Wearing as the artist who will create the firstever statue of a woman in Parliament Square, right in the heart of British democracy. It’s simply not right that, nearly a century after women’s suffrage, Parliament Square is still a male-only zone.
“I’m thrilled that this is soon to change, thanks to Caroline’s inspired campaign. This will be a historic moment.”
He added: “I have no doubt Gillian’s talent will do great justice to the movement and Millicent Fawcett’s legacy.”
Ms Wearing said: “Millicent Fawcett was an incredible woman and by honouring her in Parliament Square I believe she will continue to inspire generations to come.
“I for one am truly grateful for her contribution towards securing the vote for women and I am really thrilled to be working on a monument for her.”
Suffragist Millicent Fawcett, led the campaign for women’s votes in 1866 and her statue will stand alongside the likes of Sir Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela.
Fawcett Society chief executive Sam Smethers earlier said: “We are delighted that Millicent Fawcett, the woman who led the constitutional campaign for votes for women, will finally be honoured.”