HomeDanish PoliticsDanish government launches initiative to increase representation of prominent women in public...

Danish government launches initiative to increase representation of prominent women in public spaces

A national initiative aims to increase the number of statues of prominent women in public spaces across Denmark. With support from Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt (Moderate Party), a project is currently underway to map the artistic representations in urban environments to illuminate the existing number of female statues. The Minister notes that there are currently more statues of mythical creatures than women in Copenhagen, and he intends to gain an overview of the situation throughout the country.

The mapping is being conducted by KØS – Museum of Art in Public Spaces, and will result in recommendations for new statues of historically significant women that have, until now, been overlooked. Engel-Schmidt emphasizes that this is not an attempt to create numerical equality, but rather to challenge a significant imbalance in representation.

A considerable part of the project’s success depends on local willingness to support and finance new statues. The government’s initial engagement is currently estimated to be between 1 and 50 million Danish kroner (approximately $150,000 to $7.5 million), and the Culture Minister plans to engage in discussions with municipalities across the country to advance the initiative.

The Minister, who has received numerous positive responses since first proposing the idea in the spring, hopes to see the first results within a few years. To co-finance new statues, a fund with a modest multi-million Danish kroner allocation will be made available later this year. The project also requires approval from the Finance Committee of the Danish Parliament (Folketinget) and will be funded through grant funds.

A survey conducted by Jyllands-Posten, a major Danish newspaper, in the summer of 2023 revealed that only 31 out of 321 statues and busts in Danish urban spaces depict women, highlighting the need for this initiative.

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