We are happy to announce Pippa Hale as the artist chosen to create a new public sculpture setting out to champion the achievements of women, and redress the gender imbalance of statues in the city of Leeds.

Caddick Developments., are proud to have been a partner, alongside Leeds City College, LeedsBID (Leeds Business Improvement District), Leeds City Council and Caddick Developments. and Leeds Arts University, in selecting Pippa for this new feminist public sculpture located at the gateway to SOYO.

The Artwork.

Women make a massive contribution to our city – creatively, economically and socially – and this is an opportunity to celebrate them.”

Pippa Hale

Pippa’s design, Ribbons, has been chosen in response to a project which aims to redress the gender balance of public sculpture in an innovative way, celebrating the achievements of the women of Leeds with an avant-garde approach.

The work comprises several metal ribbons that weave their way through the space, the metal structure rises up in places to create benches and low-level walkways. The ribbons meet at the gateway to SOYO where they create a 5m high central sculpture that appears to swirl and flutter in the wind. The metal ribbons carry the names of notable Leeds women celebrating those who have made a contribution to our city, both past and present.

The Project.

Four artists were shortlisted and had the opportunity to exhibit models of their proposed designs at the Blenheim Walk Gallery at Leeds Arts University. Visitors to the exhibition were given the chance to contribute to the selection process, providing feedback which was taken into consideration by the judging panel.

This is a joint project developed by Rachel Reeves (Member of Parliament for Leeds West) in partnership with Leeds City Council and Leeds Arts University. Supporters of the project include Leeds City College, Leeds BID and Caddick Developments.

The panel were very pleased that the artists had such a diverse and thoughtful approach to the sculpture and how it would contribute to the new public areas and celebrate women across Leeds. The quality of the shortlist was extremely high but Pippa’s concept was chosen unanimously, and was also the favourite with the public vote.

The chosen artwork will be located between Leeds City College’s new Quarry Hill Campus and the newly redeveloped Leeds Playhouse, in the gateway to SOYO, providing a scenic entranceway to the wider area which is undergoing significant regeneration. The sculpture will be sited prominently at the top of a green landscaped, tiered public space visible from Eastgate and The Headrow as part of the wider SOYO development at Quarry Hill, also home to BBC Yorkshire and Northern Ballet.

The exhibition at Leeds Arts University will remain open until Thursday 04 July, giving visitors the chance to see work by the four shortlisted artists, Briony Marshall, Pippa Hale, Wendy Briggs, and Zsófia Jakab, alongside examples of work from other cities to highlight the broader context for women’s visibility in the public realm across the UK.