A landmark statue of Manchester icon, Emmeline Pankhurst is all set to be unveiled in St. Peter’s Square to mark the 100th anniversary of women first voting.
The bronze statue designed by sculptor, Hazel Reeves was the winning design amongst six other designs chosen to represent Manchester’s new statue of suffragette, Emmeline Pankhurst. The sculpture will be unveiled on December 14th, 2018 and is earmarked for a spot opposite the Central Library in St. Peter’s Square.
Didsbury councillor, Andrew Simcock who originally launched the campaign for an iconic figure in 2015 said “I am delighted to have £200,000 extra funding confirmed from a pot designed to mark the centenary of women’s suffrage.
“I would like to thank Anne Milton, minister for women, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer for this support”
“They join the many Mancunians who sponsored me on my Land’s End to John o’Groats cycle ride in 2015, our gold sponsors Dennis Morgan and Edwina Wolstencroft who purchased limited edition copies of Hazel’s maquette design along with Property Alliance Group and Manchester Airport, who have contributed very generously as corporate sponsors” he added.
Matthew Jay, managing partner of Alliance Group, commented: “The statue of Emmeline Pankhurst will immortalise a significant event in the history of women’s rights in the UK and we are extremely proud to support the cause”
Emmeline Pankhurst’s great-granddaughter Helen, a trustee of the Pankhurst centre said “The next step will be to embark on a crowdfunding campaign to raise more money for the educational and future engagement aspects of the project”
Furthermore, the government’s Centenaries Cities fund has granted £144,000 to Manchester’s Pankhurst Centre for two additional projects inspired by the milestone.One will help to record and capture the way Manchester marks next year’s centenary of the 1918 legislation that granted all men and some women the right to vote for the first time.The second aims to turn the centre into a leading international authority on the fight for women’s rights.
The statue of Emmeline Pankhurst in Manchester will stand as an enduring reminder of the struggle for the vote, encouraging everyone to keep going forward as we continue the journey towards gender equality.
Hazel Reeves, designer of the Pankhurst statue said she cannot wait to start working on the project adding “I want to do justice to Emmeline, and make the women of Manchester proud”
