Vote for your ‘hidden heroine’
VOTING is now open in the bid to erect Wales’ first outdoor public statue of a real woman. The Hidden Heroine initiative is the brainchild of a group of businesswomen, journalists, academics and leaders in the arts working under the Monumental Welsh Women banner.
It is proposed that Wales’ first statue of a historic Welsh woman should be placed in the new plaza built as part of Cardiff’s Central Square development. This means she will be seen by the thousands of visitors and commuters who visit the capital each day, entering and leaving the city’s Central railway station.
A shortlist of five was drawn up by a panel of experts from a list of 50 historic Welsh women, which was put together by the Monumental Welsh Women group and the Wales Women’s Equality network last May as part of the 100 years of women’s suffrage celebrations.
The women on the list epitomised and illustrated the achievements, talents and successes of Welsh women over the years. And the five shortlisted were considered by the panel to be great examples of the impact and contribution made by Welsh women across a number of different fields.
They are:
■ Elizabeth Andrews (1882-1960), a Welsh-speaking Rhondda seamstress who left school at 13, and became one of the most politically active Welsh women of the early 20th century;
■ Betty Campbell (1935–2017), who became Wales’ first head teacher to be a woman of colour and championed her nation’s multicultural heritage throughout her life;
■ Sarah Jane Rees – Cranogwen (1839-1916), a master mariner, head teacher and journalist described as “the most outstanding Welsh woman of the 19th century” and known by her bardic name of Cranogwen. She was the first female winner at the National Eisteddfod;
■ Elaine Morgan (1920-2013), an author, television dramatist and evolutionary theorist who excelled in both the arts and science and won worldwide recognition but never abandoned her Valleys roots, and;
■ Margaret Haig Thomas – Lady Rhondda (1883-1958), a daring women’s rights campaigner, she became known as the “persistent peeress” whose four decades of campaigning ensured females could finally take their seats in the House of Lords, plus as a journalist and the greatest global businesswoman of her era.
Voting opened last night and will close on Wednesday, with the winner announced live on BBC Wales’ Wales Today and WalesOnline next Friday.
Helen Molyneux, one of the Monumental Welsh Women group leading the campaign to erect the statue, said: “Everyone has been very supportive of the project and keen to share the fascinating histories of the five women – Elizabeth Andrews, Betty Campbell, Cranogwen, Elaine Morgan and Lady Rhondda. Lots of schools have been getting involved too.
“The voting is open now and we are hoping that people will vote for their favourite. We want the statue to be a popular choice that the people of Wales will feel proud to have as their first statue of a real Welsh woman. We also hope that this initial project will encourage other local authorities to think about recognising the women who deserve recognition throughout Wales.”
Once the vote has taken place, an artist will be commissioned to implement the statue. There are three world-class artists in the running for the commission – Laura Ford, a native of Cardiff, Lucy Orta, and Eve Shepherd. They will each produce concept designs for the statue after the announcement of the winner of the vote and one design will be chosen to take forward to installation on site.
The statue, which will be partly funded by Welsh Government, is due to be erected in the summer of 2020.