Save the Date: 16.11 Unveiling of the Virginia Woolf Statue in Richmond

After a five-year fundraising campaign, it’s finally happening! The first full-size bronze statue of Virginia Woolf in England will be unveiled by Virginia's great niece Emma Woolf and her 2-year-old son Ludovic Cecil Woolf. The ceremony will take place on the 16th of November 2022, at 2:30 PM in Richmond. Designed by acclaimed artist Laury Dizengremel, the sculpture will be located on the upper terraces of Richmond Riverside (TW9 1EH).

The future bronze statue of Virginia, nearby Heron Square, overlooking the Thames (Photo credit: aurorametro.org)

Virginia Woolf, the world-famous writer and champion of women's rights was named an icon of the 20th Century by the BBC. A century after she lived and worked in Richmond with husband Leonard, she is now being honoured with a public statue in the town where they lived between 1914 and 1924.

The latest recent audit of statues in London found that there are more monuments depicting animals than there are in honour of women. Aurora Metro Arts and Media Charity have spent five years campaigning for the funds to create this memorial.

The list of supporters includes Margaret Atwood, Jodi Picoult, Caitlin Moran, Deborah Frances-White, Caroline Criado Perez, Sarah Gristwood, Elizabeth Day, Mark Haddon, James O'Brien, Neil Gaiman, and Phillip Pullman.

The public has expressed overwhelming support for the project with over 250 individual donations.

The Sculptor – Laury Dizengremel

Award-winning artist Laury Dizengremel has been commissioned to create the artwork. The piece will feature Woolf in repose on a bench. People can sit next to her while enjoying the views over the Richmond riverside.

Laury’s notable public artwork commissions include:

• The life-size bronze sculpture of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown – 18th century’s greatest landscape designer (located near Hammersmith Bridge);

• The Tennis Terracotta Warriors (in Wimbledon Museum);

• A bust of Mary Church Terrell for the National Association of University Women in the USA.

• Memorial statues in honour of Tony Socks Byrne and Joey Maher in Drogheda, Ireland, Ken Jones in Blenaevon, Wales, Sir George Carteret in Jersey, David ‘Bomber’ Pearce in Newport, Wales;

About Aurora Metro Arts and Media

Fundraisers and campaigners Aurora Metro Arts and Media who made this possible are a registered charity based in Richmond-upon-Thames, championing diversity and equality through arts and educational projects both locally and globally. The charity's sister company is Aurora Metro Publications, a local publisher with three decades of publishing original voices and promoting work in translation. The charity is located in Books on the Rise, a new local bookshop, where all things related to Virginia Woolf will be available, from books to maquettes and merchandise. Speaking of Books on the Rise...

At 4 PM - Virginia Woolf in Richmond - Talk and Book Signing by Peter Fullagar

After the unveiling, if you'd like to learn more about the decade that Virginia Woolf spent in Richmond, you're invited to Peter Fullagar's talk - 4 PM at Books on the Rise. (unlike the unveiling, this event is ticketed. Read more and purchase tickets from here).

Looking forward to seeing you all in Richmond on the 16th!

📆 When: 16th November 2022, 🕜 2:30 PM

📍 Where: Richmond Riverside, TW9 1EH

🚇 The closest London Underground station is Richmond (on the District line and London Overground).

*Photo credits: aurorametro.org and artist Laury Dizengremel.