New York Lets ‘Fearless Girl’ Hold Its Place for Now


The popular “Fearless Girl” statue will continue to stand outside the New York Stock Exchange after city officials voted Monday to extend the statue’s temporary permit by 11 months. This decision comes on the condition that the city returns within six months, through a process that will determine the ultimate fate of the artwork, the owner and artist of the sculpture.

While the vote alleviates concerns in the short term, critics continue to question how the bronze sculpture survived the city’s normal public art process over the course of five years. Critics also question why hedge fund sponsor State Street Global Advisors is trying to exclude the statue’s creator in discussions about the statue’s future. (The artist is in an ongoing legal dispute with State Street.)

“To overcome the cynicism about the growing corporate power, New York City must defend its public spaces,” Todd Fine, the historian who backs the statue, said in an interview. “Today’s decision was a victory for fundamental justice and artist rights.”

“We are grateful that the ‘Fearless Girl’ statue will remain in its current location in front of the New York Stock Exchange,” State Street said in a statement Monday. To the Department of Transportation, PDC and the artist regarding our desire to keep the ‘Fearless Girl’ sculpture in its current location for a long time.

In November, State Street asked the Landmarks Preservation Commission to continue the work. in place for the next 10 years, assures that the company will finance its maintenance and repair. Instead, the board unanimously decided that the statue should remain on the historic cobblestones of Broad Street for another three years, deferring the final decision to the Public Design Commission, a board appointed by the mayor to oversee the city’s art collection.

The commission on Monday seemed inclined to include the artist.

“I want to put people’s feet on fire and solve this,” Signe Nielsen, head of the commission, said at the meeting. “How are we going to move forward here to ensure this piece stays in the public domain, as well as advancing a process where the artist can regain control over his work?”

When “Fearless Girl” first appeared in the Financial District in 2017, it received a mixed response. Where some saw the statue as a brash act of corporate feminism by a company with its own history of gender discrimination claims, others saw it as a symbol of economic empowerment. After the statue was moved to the steps of the New York Stock Exchange, thousands of people continued to gather each year for a selfie with the girl in place.

Like the ongoing legal dispute over copyright and trademark deals between State Street and “Fearless Girl” sculptor Kristen Visbal, the statue’s popularity definitely outweighed the Public Design Commission vote. company in 2019 sued the artist, claiming that these agreements were violated and that Visbal had done “significant and irreparable harm” to “Fearless Girl” by selling bronze copies. The artist filed a counterclaim alleging State Street hindered her artwork’s ability to spread the message of gender equality.

“What happened to me was wrong,” Visbal said of his deal with State Street. “I was drunk.”

(State Street did not immediately respond to questions about the ongoing lawsuit.)

In an interview last week, Visbal said he changed his legal representation after spending $3.2 million on the case. He said he still plans to release it. set of immutable tokensor NFTs, according to the statue in the coming months to further offset their costs.

And because State Street applied directly for the original city permit for “Fearless Girl” through the Department of Transportation, Visbal said she was largely excluded from discussions about her work’s fate—unusual in a public art process that typically prioritizes artist ideas.

State Street has worked hard to secure the future of “Fearless Girl.” According to this government disclosure formsThe company spent $15,000 directly lobbying the Landmarks Preservation Commission chairpersons Nielsen and Sarah Carroll.

Edward Patterson, spokesman for the hedge fund, said the company hired a consultant because of the city’s complex public art process.

Meanwhile, elected officials complained that their views on “Fearless Girl” were not taken into account prior to the Public Design Commission’s decision. The chairman of Community Board 1 said in a letter to the panel that the hedge fund is not sufficiently interested in local residents.

“A major step forward in the public consultation process is being missed as the review continues,” said President Tammy Melzer. “There are greater concerns about the precedent this sets for other applicants in sending a message that it is acceptable to set aside Community Board and public participation.”

Congressman Christopher Marte, a Democrat in a district that includes the Financial District, also wrote with concerns about the deal while supporting a permanent plan for the statue. “It does not seem appropriate for a private entity to exist as a temporary artifact owned indefinitely,” he wrote.

Public design commissioners seemed to agree with the councilor on Monday, making it clear in their statements prior to the vote that the limited timeline would force the artist, hedge fund, and city to work together on a process to get them to find “The Fearless Girl.” permanent home.



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