Over £187, 000 has been raised to install a very special sculpture in the rejuvenated park planned for Broad Marsh. But £20,000 is still needed to make sure the bronze of two women is cast life-size.
‘Standing in this Place’ is a beautiful piece of civic art which celebrates the role women have played in the economic heritage of the Midlands textile industry. It depicts a black enslaved woman uprooted to the American cotton fields and a white mill worker; both are in period costume.
Planning permission has been granted by Nottingham City Council for the piece to stand in the former Broad Marsh and Narrow Marsh areas which were inhabited in the 18th and 19th centuries by impoverished mill workers, immigrants, and paupers. The project has been several years in creation by Bright Ideas Nottingham with the black-led community group Legacy Makers Group, and local sculptor Rachel Carter.
Rachel says: “We are thrilled that so many individuals, grant-making organisations, and companies have generously given to the fund-raising campaign. We are so close to our target that we want to send out a call for a further £20,000. Then I can instruct the foundry to start casting the life-size piece.”
Rachel and the Legacy Makers have some serious supporters including the National Justice Museum who will be the custodians of the bronze and are managing the funds raised. The wider project includes the development of educational resources, exhibitions, and talks which will provide opportunities to learn from the past and encourage open discussions about how the region’s economy developed.
Full details of the project are available on the website www.standinginthisplace.co.uk
