‘Fearless Girl’ Might Be Out Of A Home As Permit Approaches Expiration
Photo 115314105 © Marcos Souza | Dreamstime.com
The famous Fearless Girl statue at Wall Street that’s been making a statement about gender diversity in leadership roles since 2017 could be evicted as early as this month.
As reported by the New York Times, the hearing to turn the installation into a more permanent one (its owners are hoping for a 10-year permit) has been delayed until at least December. That’s not so frightening until you learn that the statue’s own three-year permit with the Landmarks Preservation Commission will expire on November 29.
Commissioned by financial firm State Street Global Advisors for International Women’s Day in 2017, the statue had previously held a short one-week permit in Bowling Green, but its acclaim entitled it to a three-year stay at Broad Street, where it aptly stared down at the New York Stock Exchange.
Now that the three years are almost up, the four-foot sculpture’s fate entirely relies on the Public Design Commission, a group set up by the New York mayor to manage and approve the city’s public art. However, the meeting will happen on December 13 at the earliest, and the panel will only hear from State Street if the landmarks report is submitted ahead of this date.
“We are being left in limbo,” the statue’s artist Kristin Visbal told the Times.
According to the news outlet, statues seeking permanency would typically have to consult the Public Design Commission as the first step, as the panel would have a say on the artwork’s potential design and location. However, Fearless Girl has been around for four years without going through the typical public design process.
The unusual way that the statue came into being means the Landmarks Preservation Commission will have to send an advisory report to the panel for assessment. Hopefully, that will come in on time.
[via The New York Times, Untapped New York, cover photo 115314105 © Marcos Souza | Dreamstime.com]
