'Coppergate Woman' Sculpture

Description

York Trailblazers is a city-wide sculpture trail, launched on Yorkshire Day (1 August) 2024 (following workshopping from 4 July). The sculptures lie across the city, including many in the city centre, where they will be seen an engaged with by thousands of local residents and tourists.

This unique sculpture trail celebrates York’s unsung heroes. Centred around the tansy beetle, each sculpture has a different design to capture the legacy of these inspirational people who have made a difference to people’s lives.

We contributed by working with a local ceramicist, Sarah Schiewe, in her production of a sculpture to tell the story of the Coppergate Woman: a migrant woman living with disabilities in York 1000 years ago, and discovered by archaeologists in the 1970s. This sculpture received a lot of attention, and was used for the launch of the whole event. It sood on Parliament Street until 6 August and wasthen moved to Coppergate Centre, close to the site of her discovery.

There are 17 sculptures to see and discover their stories throughout the city until Monday 30 September 2024. You can collect a trail map from the Visitor Information Centre on Parliament Street, plus, once you’ve completed the trail, you can collect a limited edition ‘I’m a trailblazer’ sticker.

The trailblazers were nominated by local groups, who worked with local artists to create something unique and meaningful to them to honour these remarkable individuals.

The tansy beetle, an emblematic symbol of York, was chosen due to its unique connection to the city. York is one of only two places where tansy beetles are found. This vibrant and resilient beetle mirrors the spirit of the Trailblazers – each sculpture not only pays tribute to these changemakers but also brings their stories to life along the trail.

The York Trailblazers Project is a partnership between York Civic Trust, Make It York and a wide range of community and heritage groups, artists and residents of York funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Some of the sculpture artwork may only exist for a few weeks but the beetle structure itself and an accessible digital record of the artwork will be able to continue to celebrate York’s Trailblazers.

Period	4 Jul 2024 → 30 Sept 2024
Event type	Exhibition
Location	YorkShow on map
Degree of Recognition	Regional