Political statement. Inspirational statue. Award winner. The “Fearless Girl” in lower Manhattan is garnering quite the resume.
In the latest turn of events for the famous statue, the creators behind the “Fearless Girl” have won an armful of awards at the Cannes Lions 64th International Festival of Creativity.
The annual festival, which takes place in Cannes, France, from June 17 to 24, celebrates standout work in the marketing, entertainment, communications, design and tech fields.
During Monday’s awards ceremony, McCann New York and State Street Global walked away with the top prize in the Outdoor, Glass and PR categories, among other accolades.
The festival’s jury presidents in each category lauded “Fearless Girl” for its immediate global impact, Adweek reported.
Wendy Clark, jury president in the Glass category, said the statue “gripped the world’s attention.”
“Its simplicity in the use of symbolism transcends geography, it transcends language, it transcends culture,” Clark told Adweek. “For us, while it is a girl, it elegantly captures women’s journeys and our path to empowerment. And it also encapsulates our hopes and our ambitions for every little girl in the world.”
A request for comment from State Street Global on the awards was not immediately returned.
McCann New York, the ad agency behind the “Fearless Girl” concept, and State Street Global, which commissioned the statue, quietly placed artist Kristen Visbal’s 4-foot bronze statue opposite the “Charging Bull” at the tip of Bowling Green Plaza on the eve of International Women’s Day back in March. Since then, the girl defiantly staring down the Wall Street bull has become a symbol of the women’s rights movement. State Street Global has said the statue is meant to bring light to the lack of gender diversity on corporate boards.
The statue instantly became a tourist hot spot and local officials, in addition to several online petitions, have called for it to remain there permanently.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in late March that the statue would remain a Manhattan fixture until February 2018.
The placement of the statue, however, has not gone without controversy. The sculptor of “Charging Bull” has asked that “Fearless Girl” be removed, arguing that its placement violates his copyright to the bull because it hinders his sculpture’s original positive message.
