Inspirational Women Portrait Unveiling - University of Leicester

www.le.ac.uk

University unveils three portraits of their women of influence created by female artists.

The University has recognised, on its walls and in its paintings, the contribution of three women who have, through their work and lives helped to create the University.

The University is built on the contribution of thousands of remarkable women and men, staff, students, alumni and contributors. The University has today unveiled three portraits of its women of influence painted by three talented female artists at an event attended by staff, students and invited guests. Marking this year’s International Women’s Day on 8 March, the paintings are just a few of the inspirational stories of women working in universities and science that will be told this week to encourage staff and students to #pressforprogress in gender equality.

The chosen women all represent watershed moments for the University in its history: its first female Professor, Olive Banks; its first female graduate, Wendy Hickling; and the first black female President of its Students’ Union, Esuantsiwa Jane Goldsmith.

In 2017, working with colleagues from Attenborough Arts, the University commissioned the three portraits and received more than 50 applications from artists keen to be part of this historic change.


This film was produced by External Relations, University of Leicester in 2018.

Filmed & Edited by Hayley Evans
Produced by Vic Russell and Dr Kate Williams

Transcript:
This project is really about diversifying our visual landscape

This is really important within a University and organisation of this type is that the pictures we see on our walls represent our student body

We wanted to celebrate women who are part of our history and we thought it was hugely important that this history would be celebrated by commissioning three portraits of women, by women artists

These three people are really important to our organisation
They are Wendy Hickling who was our first female graduate, Olive Banks our first female professor,and Eswar Goldsmith who was our first female, black student union president

This is the most amazing project to be part of and I remember when I was in the students' union at Leicester in the 1970s, we were part of the women's liberation group and we wanted change, and its taken 40 years

It's not about being honoured and being on the walls along with the men

It's actually about saying we need more images so that we can inspire the future generation of young women to come forward and to lead movements and to fulfil themselves

and that is what it means to me

We are really pleased today to unveil these three portraits

It's essential to any institution to recognise the contribution to not just to the men who you see around these walls already, but to the women

These three women played a really special part in our history and it's important that we recognise that

so were very pleased today that it's gone so well