City of Melbourne Council is calling for public nominations for remarkable Victorian women to be commemorated as part of a project to boost the number of statues of women in the city.
Council says only nine of the city’s 580 statues depict and celebrate women from Melbourne’s history, while five of the 25 statues on City of Melbourne land depict women.
In December, Councillors passed a motion to create at least three new statues of significant Victorian women.
“When you look around town, it’s clear more needs to be done to publicly recognise the significant achievements of Victorian women,” said Lord Mayor, Sally Capp.
“There are so many remarkable women who have shaped our great city – and we want to celebrate them for generations to come.
“Three new statues will be developed in the coming years, and we won’t stop there. We’ll continue to look at more ways we can better represent and recognise women across our city.”
To mark International Women’s Day, Council is inviting all Melburnians to have their say by nominating the women they want to see publicly recognised and celebrated for generations to come.
“The underrepresentation of women in public spaces is a national issue, in every state and every capital city – and we’re proud to be leading the way by taking action to rectify the imbalance here in Melbourne,” said Deputy Lord Mayor, Nicholas Reece.
“There are more statues of fairies and nymphs in Melbourne than there are of actual real women who lived in this city. We want the gender gap to be narrower than the clearance of the Montague St bridge.
“We’re calling on people to have their say about the remarkable women who should be immortalised in statues. This a fantastic conversation and debate for Melbourne to have – for too long the women who built this city have been airbrushed out of our history. This program will help give proper public recognition to their outstanding achievements.”
As part of the selection criteria, nominations must consider the individual’s lasting contribution to Melbourne and Victoria, and reflect the strong values, diversity and inclusive nature of our city.
Council is calling on private landholders and companies, philanthropists and the Victorian Government to help facilitate the development of the statues in every way possible, such as access to land for the installation of statues.
“We’re doing everything we can to ensure our city is an inclusive and welcoming place for everyone,” said Creative Melbourne portfolio lead, Jamal Hakim.
“That’s why we’re inviting Melburnians and our creative sector to help us celebrate the monumental impact of more Victorian women across the City of Melbourne.
“We’ll work closely with local artists to ensure more statues around the city depict women, addressing this damaging long-standing underrepresentation.”
To nominate a remarkable Victorian woman, visit Participate Melbourne.
