A sculpture capturing the role of local women in the city’s textile trade was unveiled today (Thursday, 6 February) at the Green Heart.
The piece, entitled Standing In This Place, is the work of sculptor Rachel Carter and community history group the Legacy Makers. It depicts two women in period costume – an enslaved Black woman working in the American cotton fields and a white woman in an East Midlands textile mill.
The life-sized statue is the first example of civic art of its kind in the UK and has been made possible through donations exceeding £250,000. It was commissioned by the National Justice Museum.
Nottingham City Council was delighted to find space within its new Green Heart area to permanently house the artwork.
The project received funding from many supporters, including the Art Fund, Sir Harry Djanogly CBE, Nottingham Regeneration Limited Trust, Nottingham Civic Society, Gedling Borough Council, Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd, T. Bailey Asset Management, RL Management Ltd, Hallam Agency, Townshend Landscape Architects, and the Framework Knitters Guild, along with many public donors.
Standing In This Place addresses the imbalance that fewer than five per cent of Britain’s sculptures portray non-royal women.
Casting of the bronze piece took place at the Pangolin Editions sculpture foundry in Stroud, which casts and fabricates sculptures for many prominent artists, including Jonathan Yeo, David Bailey, and Damien Hirst.
The piece was unveiled at lunchtime today during a ceremony at the Green Heart, attended by a number of dignitaries and representatives, including Castle Ward councillor Matt Shannon and the City Council’s Director of Planning and Transport, Paul Seddon.
Councillor Neghat Khan, Leader of Nottingham City Council, said:
“This new sculpture is such a powerful physical representation of the important role that working-class women have played in the cotton industry, both here in Nottingham and further afield.
“I’m also proud that our forward-thinking city has taken such a positive step to address the fact that so few statues around the country celebrate non-royal women. We know how important the cotton and lace industries were to Nottingham’s rich history.
“I’d like to congratulate Rachel on this stunning piece of artwork that will stand in our fantastic Green Heart, as well as the National Justice Museum for all their work, and thank all those who made donations.”
The National Justice Museum will be the custodian of the new bronze sculpture, which is the first piece of public art it has acquired.
Sculptor Rachel Carter said:
“We have been on quite a journey to discover the history of slavery in our region. This sculpture will give representation to the under-represented and provide voice and recognition to the contributions of thousands of unnamed women who were the driving forces behind the East Midlands cotton textile industry during industrialisation.”
Bev Baker, Senior Curator and Archivist for the National Justice Museum, said:
“We are extremely grateful for the support from donors towards making this unique public sculpture a reality.
“The National Justice Museum represents justice in all spheres of life, so this is especially meaningful at a time when there has been divisive reaction to public sculptures associated with the history of the transatlantic trade of enslaved people.
“We have a collection and heritage site that is designed to challenge these narratives, so it is essential that such a powerful and evocative piece of work is displayed in a public space to raise awareness and foster discussions on the history of enslavement, both historical and contemporary.”
Jenny Wizzard, from the Legacy Makers group, said:
“This project highlights for me the important economic, social, and cultural forced-labour contribution of people of African descent.
“We are delighted that this project brings long-overdue recognition and the legitimate right to claim our role in British and world history. Standing In This Place acknowledges the triumph of being; it sees the two women’s resilience while experiencing exploitation as enslaved Africans and as white women mill workers in an era that laid the foundations of the societies we now live in.”
Council Leader Neghat Khan and Councillor Sam Lux, Executive Member for Carbon Reduction, Leisure, and Culture, are seen at the statue ahead of its unveiling.
