Broad Marsh Green Heart: New sculpture unveiled in Nottingham city centre after £250k donation
The sculpture captures the role of local women in the city’s textile trade
A “powerful” sculpture which captures the role of local women in Nottingham’s textile trade has been unveiled in the city centre.
The piece, entitled Standing In This Place, is the work of sculptor Rachel Carter and was formally unveiled at the Broad Marsh Green Heart site on Thursday, February 6.
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 mills.
The life-sized statue is the first example of civic art of its kind in the UK and has been made possible after more than £250,000 was donated.
It has been commissioned by the National Justice Museum.
Casting of the bronze piece took place at the Pangolin Editions sculpture foundry in Stroud, which casts and fabricates sculptures for many prominent sculptors including Jonathan Yeo, David Bailey and Damien Hirst.
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 so few statues stand around the country which 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.”