Out of roughly 150 public historical statues in New York City, only five depict female leaders. So naturally, when Fearless Girl appeared in front of the Wall Street Charging Bull, a lot of positive buzz was generated. The bronze statue, created by Kristen Visbal, was erected the day before International Women’s Day in 2017 to send a message about gender diversity in the workplace. Though the commission was only intended to stay on view for a week, it has long passed its scheduled run. Now, just a year after its initial installation, Fearless Girl, is making headlines again: very appropriately on International Women’s Day 2018, she was spotted donning a flower cape.
But Fearless Girl isn’t the only statue that received a cloak: the remaining female historical statues across the city — of Gertrude Stein, Harriet Tubman, Eleanor Roosevelt, Golda Meir and Joan of Arc — all received their very own flower installation, courtesy of Old Navy, which has a leadership team that is 65% female. According to the company, the “Flower Empower” installations are a nod to the social, political and economic achievements of women around the world.
Like the Fearless Girl statue, which was commissioned by State Street Global Advisors via McCann New York, there is of course a commercial component to the installations. Old Navy mentions that they’re inspired by the colors and patterns of its floral spring dresses, Fortune reports.
Next, check out 10 Unconventional Ways to Celebrate National Women’s Month 2018 and read about how Public Art Gets Commissioned.
