Put Her on a Pedestal Art Contest Winners
This spring, Monumental Women announced the Put Her on a Pedestal initiative. Through this community-driven art and history project, we invited young artists to explore the stories of diverse women whose contributions have helped move history forward. They created artwork featuring women from the past who they researched and would like to honor in a public space.
A panel of judges with representation from the New York State Museum, Girl Scouts of Greater New York, and Monumental Women reviewed the submissions based on criteria including creativity, originality, and how well the artwork reflected the theme of “Celebrating Women’s History.”
We received many exceptional submissions from artists aged 4 through 14 years old, whose artwork reflected a diverse range of historical female figures. We are pleased to announce the following winners of this year’s Put Her on a Pedestal art contest:
Kate Mironenko, 7 years old, honoring Emily Warren Roebling
Parker Tardy, 10 years old, honoring Josephine Baker
MB Nuzzi, 11 years old, honoring Élisabeth Vigée
Abbie Bollinger, 11 years old, honoring Jane Austen
Artwork of Emily Warren Roebling
by Kate Mironenko, 7 years old
“I want to honor Emily Warren Roebling…We should honor her important work on the Brooklyn Bridge.
She encouraged other women to be engineers, and her story teaches us to not give up!”
Artwork of Josephine Baker
by Parker Tardy, 10 years old
“I want to honor Josephine Baker…for being brave because she was a dancer, spy, and activist.”
Artwork of Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun
by MB Nuzzi, 11 years old
“I want to honor Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun because she painted portraits of Marie Antoinette
and pushed to get into the academies. She was one of the best artists of her time.”
Artwork of Jane Austen
by Abbie Bollinger, 11 years old
“I want to honor Jane Austen because she inspired others, and people found comfort in her writing.
She was also a feminist and ahead of her time.”
“Through educational initiatives like Put Her on a Pedestal, Monumental Women seeks to promote curiosity, creativity, and a commitment to historical justice,” said Ariel Deutsch, Monumental Women Secretary. “When young people learn about the vast and varied experiences and contributions of women throughout history, especially those whose stories are often overlooked, it can expand their sense of what is possible for themselves and society. By uncovering knowledge of the past, we can better work together toward reimaging our public spaces so they reflect and respect all of us.”
Monumental Women thanks all the participants for their extraordinary works of art and for sharing the many inspirational female leaders, artists, activists, engineers, and educators who inspire them. We also extend our gratitude to our judges, along with our many supporters, whose support fuels our educational work, including Put Her on a Pedestal. We invite you to stay tuned and join us in continuing our “10 for 10” Celebrations in 2024!