New York launches She Built NYC to fund public monuments honoring women

New York City has announced a $10 million public art initiative called She Built NYC, funded by the Department of Cultural Affairs over four years, to install monuments dedicated to women who significantly impacted the city. The project was launched on June 20, 2018, by First Lady Chirlane McCray, Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen, and Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl. Deputy Mayor Glen noted that about 90% of the city's monuments honor men, often of questionable morality or linked to slavery; for example, Central Park has 24 monuments, with only one fictional female character, Alice in Wonderland. The public was invited to nominate women via the website women.nyc until August 1, with newspapers like The New York Times also soliciting suggestions. The resulting list includes Shirley Chisholm, Lillian Wald, Inez Milholland, and Dorothy Day. The DCLA will select the subject, while the artist and location will be announced in January 2019. New York has a history of public art installations, such as Anselm Kiefer's spring installation at Rockefeller Center's Channel Gardens, and annual Valentine's Day works in Times Square, like this year's "Window to the Heart" by Aranda\Lasch with Marcelo Coelho, and March's "LOOP" in the Garment District.