Pride in Broadmarsh

If you’re from Nottingham you’ll know the Broadmarsh area of Nottingham well. It’s a gateway to the city and doesn’t currently represent the amazing people of Nottingham or their history. At the moment it is a building site in need of love.

This community-driven sculpture is going to be placed in the green heart of the new Broad Marsh redevelopment. A space where people from Nottingham can come, relax and connect with each other, and will be one of the first areas new visitors to the city will see.

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New statue will highlight connections between East Midlands cotton mills and slavery 

A new statue will highlight the contributions and connections between white mill workers in the East Midlands and black enslaved women who grew the raw cotton supplies in the Americas. 

The life-size, bronze ‘Standing In This Place’ statue will be placed in Nottingham’s redeveloped Broadmarsh area in summer 2024. It will highlight themes of sorrow, strength and resilience as it portrays the historical links between East Midlands cotton mills in the late 18th to mid 19th century and the raw cotton supplies that were sourced from estates that used enslaved labour.  

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Challenge the 5%

Did you know less than 5% of statues in the UK represent women! We want to change that, with not one but two statues of women.

In 2016 Caroline Criado-Perez researched how many statues were of women out of the 826 across the UK and commented “That leaves us with 25 statues of historical, non-royal women (one of whom is a ghost and only there because she’s looking for the spirit of her murdered husband). Meanwhile, there are 43 statues of men called John.”

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RSA Event: Standing in this place: diversity and public art

As the city contemplates proposals for a new statue in the Broad Marsh area, we held a stimulating evening of learning, conversation and connection on the 27 Mar 2023 at Nottingham Playhouse.

Historically many of our statues have been erected by leading civic organisations, businesses and public subscription. They celebrate and commemorate events and people that have helped shape our cities and nations. But did you know only 5% of public statues in the UK represent women and even fewer women of colour? What does their absence signify?

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