Leeds sculpture celebrates 400 women, from suffragists to boxers

A public sculpture celebrating nearly 400 inspirational women has been unveiled in Leeds.

The work by the artist Pippa Hale, titled Ribbons, features the names of women voted for by the public. “It stemmed from this idea of celebrating lots of women, and also naming them,” Hale said .

“We’ve got lots of old Victorian statues of men, particularly in Leeds, and I think there was an ambition to redress this gender imbalance in public art in the city. So, other cities were commissioning figurative sculptures of historic women, particularly the suffragettes, or women who’d been involved in social reform. I think the idea was to do something different … where we could name not just one woman, but many women.”

Among the names are the social reformer and suffragist Isabella Ford, the former Olympic boxer Nicola Adams and the founder of Leeds West Indian carnival, Gertrude Paul.

The sculpture also pays homage to the unsung heroes of the city and those who have dedicated their lives to helping others, such as Tina Suryavansi, who runs Homeless Hampers, and Rebekah Wilson, who set up the charity Zarach to address child poverty. A full list of names of the women featured can be found on the sculpture’s website .

The artist said in a post on Instagram: “After 5 long years Ribbons is finally in the ground!! I cannot express how happy and relieved I am as there have been so, so, so, so many challenges along the way.”

As the name suggests, the artwork is made up of several lengths of steel with the names of women cut into them. It is located at the top of the gardens between Leeds city college’s Quarry Hill campus and Leeds Playhouse, at the gateway to the Soyo development.

The work was initiated by Rachel Reeves, the MP for Leeds West and Pudsey, and led by Leeds Arts University in collaboration with Leeds city council and Leeds city college.

Earlier this year, Reeves, who is now the UK’s first female chancellor, lauded the project as an opportunity to celebrate the city’s inspiring women and their accomplishments.

“I am so proud to be part of this amazing project,” she said. “This sculpture is a chance to honour inspiring women from all walks of life, and celebrate the achievements of the many women who have made Leeds the wonderful city it is today.”