Hopes ‘deep lessons’ will be learned on place of African and Caribbean women in history as statue unveiled
By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
There are hopes a new statue in Nottingham’s city park will give better recognition to the thousands of unnamed women who were the “driving forces” behind the East Midlands’ cotton textile industry.
The sculpture, called Standing In This Place, depicts an enslaved black woman working in the American cotton fields alongside a white woman from an East Midlands-based textile mill.
It has been placed in the Green Heart city park, on the site where a section of the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre once stood.
The piece comes from sculptor Rachel Carter, and community history group the Legacy Makers, who officially unveiled the sculpture on Thursday (February 6).
Ms Carter said: “The Legacy Makers and I have been on this amazing journey for three years and to see it come to fruition now is just amazing.
“I can walk through Weekday Cross and think about my two-time great grandmother who was a lace runner. I can walk down Fletcher Gate and remember my four-time great grandfather, but then here in this place was a slum area which housed thousands of Nottingham people that worked in the textiles industry.
“You had workers, immigrants, paupers, a whole plethora of life living here, and it’s about making those connections and delving through the layers of history.”
The National Justice Museum, the custodian of the statue, says its inclusion in a public park makes the city a leader in acknowledging the significant contribution women have made to Britain – particularly in their roles as enslaved workers in the Americas and Caribbean and as factory workers in industrial Britain.
Jenny Wizzard, of the Legacy Makers, said her group was set up in 2014 to “bring together members of the African-Caribbean community to look at their history” – in terms of Transatlantic enslavement and how their ancestors contributed to the history and development of Britain.
“It is a great achievement,” she said. “It is a combination of our work over a number of years.
“A statue can speak on so many levels. The connection is so important to realise, acknowledge and celebrate, and at the same time draw some deep lessons in terms of how women are undervalued and seen, and how black African women, women of African descent and Caribbean descent, are just eradicated from that history in the first place.”
Bev Baker, head of collections and research at the National Justice Museum, said the statue also highlights a need to better represent women in public art.
Fewer than five per cent of Britain’s sculptures portray non-royal women.
She added: “It is about the role the women played in the industry, but also how women need to be represented in public art, so trying to tip that balance from being only five per cent of statues in the country to more, so that we can start to recognise what women contributed to within society, within all walks of life throughout history.”
The project was funded by numerous donors, including £100,000 from the Art Fund, £20,000 from Sir Harry Djanogly, £15,000 from the Nottingham Civic Society, and £5,000 from Gedling Borough Council.
Explore more
