Financial firm, State Street, has started conversations regarding the fate of the ‘Fearless Girl’ statue that’s staring down the iconic and much larger Bull of Wall Street.
A five-day permit costs State Street close to $20,000. The statue of a child facing the iconic Bull confidently was installed at Broadway’s southern base. Earlier this month on the International Day of Women, thousands of pictures were taken of the statue and posted online for the entire world to see. It has been regarded as the metal monument to women’s flesh and blood. The ‘women’ referred to are those who are calling and marching for equality in the streets of Manhattan.
Since the sculpture touches a nerve, it is believed that the ‘Fearless Girl’ statue is successful in catching the attention of huge Wall Street firms. However, critics question the real motivations of the installation, especially when anyone can witness the name of the firm that commissioned the sculpture, which was State Street Global Advisors. Although there are labels at the bottom part of the ‘Fearless Girl’ statue, passersby were not dissuaded from taking pictures of it.
When spectators pose in a defiant stance similar to that of the statue, it is not hard to imagine that they are now more confident in facing the bulls of our planet. The administration of Bill de Blasio extended the temporary permit of the statue to 30 days, but still billed State Street a little bit above $60,000. As of now, a lot of people are looking for ways to make the installation permanent, making this topic tricky. This may or may not be political. One thing is for sure, however, and that is the fact that State Street is getting a lot of popularity and publicity from the entire event.
Last Friday, a letter containing signatures of those who are in favor of making the statue a permanent installation was presented to the office of de Blasio. In the letter, the signatories requested to let the Fearless Girl statue, She, stay in her current location. Rep. Carolyn Maloney also conducted her own campaign last Saturday. The campaign was about the same purpose of making the installation of She a permanent one.
The spokeswoman of de Blasio, Natalie Grybauskas, praised the crucial conversations that the sculpture has raised. However, she told the press that a permanent installation of the sculpture will demand a thoughtful review.
According to Grybauskas, de Blasio’s administration is exploring the rules and regulations that may come with the statue’s permanent installation. Nothing is for certain as of this moment other than the fact that officials are now considering the idea of keeping ‘She’ longer than permitted.
Anyone can see what the impact will be on the Mayor if he allows the sculpture to stay indefinitely. A rash of headlines and annoyance from elected officials will all be pointed at de Blasio. However, the same will take place if he chooses to take out the statue.
