The first public statue in Milan dedicated to a woman will be unveiled in 2022: Margherita Hack

In Milan, the city’s first sculpture will be installed on public land dedicated to a historical female figure and the ultimate expression of the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) world: it will be dedicated to Margherita Hack, on the centenary of her birth. The initiative is conceived and promoted by Fondazione Deloitte in co-project with Casa degli Artisti and is supported by the City of Milan - Office of Art in Public Spaces. After a careful selection by Fondazione Deloitte in order to identify the most suitable figure, Margherita Hack, an astrophysicist, academic and popularizer of science of the 20th century, was chosen as a pioneer in her field, a symbol of redemption able to inspire entire generations and a bearer of universal values and freethinker even outside the field of STEM subjects.

The sculpture will be donated and unveiled to the city of Milan in the spring of 2022, but the project for its realization has already begun. Casa degli Artisti is inviting a select group of Italian and international female artists to participate in the ideas competition.

The project ideas received will be presented to the public in the spaces of Casa degli Artisti, and the winning project will be selected by a jury of experts next fall. The winning artist will be in residence at Casa degli Artisti, where she will have the necessary support for the creation of the work. The sculpture will then be donated to the City of Milan and Fondazione Deloitte will take care of the necessary maintenance in the following years.

Paolo Gibello, president of Fondazione Deloitte, said, “The first sculpture on public land in Milan, in the name of an extraordinarily important female figure, represents a milestone, but at the same time also a starting point. With the hope that it will be the first of a long series of works intended to finally fill a gap in regard to women, STEM in particular, who are little or almost never represented in monuments of this kind. Not only in Milan, but also in Italy as well as around the world. Back in July 2020, our first Observatory highlighted the fact that only a quarter of those enrolled in STEM faculties are women, with a heavy gender gap for these profiles. Margherita Hack’s testimony and redemption of life must be a model for all STEM women of the future because we need to push harder and harder to attract and train female talent and make it a pillar of our growth.”

Valentina Kastlunger, President Ats Casa degli Artisti, added, “This project is an extraordinary opportunity to give body to that exchange and mutual support between art and society that Casa degli Artisti hopes will characterize its work. It gives the city a work that is dense with meaning and stimulation for new generations. It concretely supports artistic work by formulating a clear commission, within which artistic choices can be left free. Involves Italian and international artists in a competition of ideas in which each proposal can be told and enhanced. It accompanies the creation and installation of the chosen work in the public space of one of Europe’s most important cities. A project that we hope will generate listening, reflection and debate, so that from the movement we generate change.”

Filippo Del Corno, Councillor for Culture of the City of Milan, concluded, “This Administration has always been committed, on various fronts-from art to science, from toponymy to sports-to the recognition of multifaceted female talent: a commitment that concerns the history, present and future of our communities. This is why we are proud to have accompanied Deloitte Foundation in this project, which, thanks in part to the support of the Office of Art in Public Spaces, will see the creation of a new contemporary work capable of enhancing not only the contribution of humanity and ability of a great scientist, but also the work of the women artists called upon to design the monument dedicated to her.”

The first public statue in Milan dedicated to a woman will be unveiled in 2022: Margherita Hack

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