Monumental Welsh Women launch portrait exhibition

To mark International Women’s Day 2025, Monumental Welsh Women has joined forces with artist Meinir Mathias and the Senedd to create an exhibition celebrating the first four statues of Welsh women in Wales, ahead of the unveiling of the fifth and final statue – of Elizabeth Andrews – in 2025.

Monumental Welsh Women was formed in 2016 to change the fact that not a single statue of a ‘real’ Welsh woman existed in a public place in Wales. Despite the remarkable contribution of Welsh women, female achievements had not been commemorated with statues in the way that men’s successes often had been.

The group set out to erect five statues of ‘real’ Welsh women over a period of five years, following their national campaign to honour Wales’ hidden heroines, broadcast by BBC Wales in 2019.

The five women being commemorated are: Betty Campbell (statue unveiled in 2021 in Cardiff) Elaine Morgan (statue unveiled in 2022 in Mountain Ash), Sarah Jane Rees, known as Cranogwen (statue unveiled in Llangrannog in 2023) Lady Rhondda (statue unveiled in Newport in 2024) and Elizabeth Andrews (statue due to be unveiled in 2025)

For the Senedd exhibition, Meinir Mathias has painted original portraits of the five women honoured by the Monumental Welsh Women project, which will be accompanied by photographs of the statues, the histories of these monumental Welsh Women and the story of the Monumental Welsh Women project.

Helen Molyneux, chair of Monumental Welsh Women said: “​​Our Mission is to celebrate female ambition and success by commemorating the achievements of great Welsh Women, and to encourage the next generation of great Welsh women. We hope that the statues of our monumental Welsh women will address the imbalance in the celebration of women’s achievements through public art in Wales.

“Before the statue of Betty Campbell was unveiled in Cardiff, there was not one single statue of a named Welsh woman in Wales. Now we have four with the fifth being unveiled later this year.”

Meinir Mathias, an artist who lives and works in Ceredigion, West Wales said: “I believe that the work by the Monumental Welsh Women team in addressing the need for monuments of women in Wales is an incredibly important step forward for our society as a whole. Recognising and honouring female historical figures in art is essential as it helps to correct the gender imbalance in our historical narratives.”

Elin Jones MS, Llywydd of the Senedd, added: “The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Accelerate Action” towards gender equality, so it is appropriate that we’re celebrating five Monumental Welsh Women who were pioneers in their field.

“I am particularly pleased that the Senedd is hosting this exhibition by the talented female artist Meinir Mathias whose exciting work will give us a new perspective on five important historical figures.

“I hope that the exhibition will attract and inspire new audiences, and that the campaign to celebrate Wales’s many remarkable women will continue to gather momentum.”

The Monumental Welsh Women Portrait Exhibition is taking place in the Senedd in Cardiff Bay from February 22 – May 7 2025 and is sponsored by Acuity Law

Find out more about the Monumental Welsh Women campaign at: www.monumentalwelshwomen.org