Statues honouring some of Perth’s most inspirational women have been unveiled in the city ahead of a new art trail launching.
The 20 wire sculptures will be placed across the city this summer, each one inspired by a female from Perth and Kinross.
Designed by Scottish artist Vanessa Lawrence, some of Perthshire’s most celebrated daughters will be recognised.
The list includes athletes Eve Muirhead and Eilidh Doyle, as well as historic women including Kate McNiven, one of the last witches burned in Scotland.
The project has been funded by both Perth and Kinross Council and EventScotland, and is part of the wider Scotland Year of Stories celebration.
Vanessa said: “Being a woman artist, and creating statues of women who haven’t really been recognised by history is just incredible.
“These women have been effectively forgotten in history.
“It’s bringing to light these women’s history, in a metaphorical and literal sense. When the sun shines through the wire, the statue is literally brought to light.”
What are the statues for?
The sculptures form an art trail called Raise the Roof, launching early in July.
Digital and paper maps will show where each are located, with a short description of the women each one represents.
Each sculpture will also have a plaque, telling the woman’s story in English and Gaelic.
Full versions of the stories will be placed on the hoardings outside Perth City Hall, until they can be moved inside when work on the £26m new museum is complete.
Vanessa said: “I like the idea that with the wire, you can sometimes see them, and sometimes it’s harder to see them – I think that really represents how women have been portrayed in history.
“Sometimes women have been acknowledged and sometimes they have not.”
Precise locations have yet to be decided.
Community effort
The project has also been mostly organised by women.
Community groups made up of local women were also responsible for researching the history of each of the 20 females.
Anna Day, programme manager for Culture Perth and Kinross, said: “We wanted to celebrate women in Perth and Kinross’s history.
“It has been underrepresented in the past and we want to change that.
“We reached out to local community groups to help us create these statues.
“We’ve had mental health groups, LGBTQ+ groups, not just in the city centre.
“We have made sure there is a group in every area. The community chose which women they wanted to celebrate.
“People have really gotten into it, and visited graves of some of these women, to really understand their stories.
“It’s been wonderful to see.”
Who do the statues represent?
The sculptures do not visually depict the women, but represent them and their efforts.
Some of the women featured are:
- Margaret Robertson: Helped her husband to invent the early-detection radar that was vital to the RAF in the Battle of Britain
- Effie Gray: Artist and author, born in 1828
- Queen Annabella: Queen Consort of Scotland in 1390
- Victoria Drummond: First female marine engineer in the UK
- Belle Stewart: Poet
- Eve Muirhead: Olympic gold medal-winning curler
- Elizabeth Haldane: First woman to be appointed a justice of the peace in Scotland
- Eilidh Doyle: Olympic bronze medal-winning track and field athlete
- Georgina Ballantine: Caught the largest salmon ever caught by a rod in 1922
- Isabel Moncrieff: Driving force behind Monart Glass
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