Mary Seacole © Mary Seacole Trust
A campaign has been launched to install the first statue of a black woman in one of Liverpool’s most iconic buildings.
To mark International Women’s Day, St George’s Hall Charitable Trust has announced its intention to install a statue of Mary Seacole in the Great Hall – a woman believed to be Britain’s first nurse practitioner who devoted her time to nursing soldiers during the Crimean War.
The trustees believe this statue will not only pay tribute to the heroine, but it will also act as a ‘thank you’ to the NHS and the extraordinary sacrifices they have made in keeping everyone safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
An application process for artists is now open to register interest towards creating a marble portrait statue that will take pride of place in the stunning Great Hall.
The Mary Seacole statue will be the second female represented in St George’s Hall – the first was of pioneering health campaigner, Kitty Wilkinson, which was installed in 2012.
Find out more about the Mary Seacole Statue Campaign and the fantastic new commission at stgeorgeshallliverpool.co.uk/mary-seacole-statue-campaign.
Top image: Amoret Tanner / Alamy
In-text image: Mary Seacole Trust