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Views sought for planned mural on Maid Marian Way to represent ‘first feminist’ legend

Nottingham residents are being asked to share their thoughts on what a new mural depicting one of the world’s ‘first feminists’ could look like.

A piece of street art is being installed on the side of the Premier Inn hotel on Maid Marian Way, paying tribute to the busy road’s namesake.

Maid Marian is often considered to be Robin Hood’s lover and is the subject of her own films, books and plays despite not being mentioned in the early medieval versions of the legend.

Although there are many statues, memorials and references to Robin Hood around Nottinghamshire, artists say Maid Marian is often forgotten despite her role in the folktale.

Artists at the city’s Backlit art gallery are now working alongside Nottingham City Council and business improvement district group It’s In Nottingham to honour the legacy as part of wider ongoing works in the area.

A survey launched by the city council yesterday (Monday, February 25) is asking residents what they want the mural to look like and which local artist they want to design it.

Suzanne Golden, the co-director at Backlit art gallery, says Maid Marian is one of the world’s ‘first feminists’ – something she hopes the new piece of street art will pay tribute to.

“There’s not really anything in the city that celebrates Maid Marian – we thought this was a great opportunity to celebrate her and the character,” she said.

“Thinking of her as maybe one of the first feminists and of that rebellious and resilient nature – that’s incredible to explore and find out”.

The mural is part of the area’s ongoing ‘Maid Marian Way Project,’ which saw the road’s old roundabout turned into a T-junction in October to make extra space for pedestrians and cycle lanes.

This has previously led to criticism from bus operators in the city, including Nottingham City Transport (NCT) – which is majority owned as an arms-length company by the council itself – who claimed “traffic flow in the city had much worsened” since work for the T-junction began.

Council leader Neghat Khan says she thinks involving the public in projects like this plays an important role in improving the city. She said: “I think it’s important that it’s not just the council saying ‘this is what we want to see’.

“The city is everybody’s and we want to make sure everybody comes together to make the future of what that will be for us. This will hopefully also open extra opportunities for local artists.”

The Maid Marian Way Project is being funded by the Government and is due to finish this summer.

The survey over the mural will end on March 28, when residents will vote from three designs by local artists. The final design will be announced in summer and the artwork installed later this year.