New York Lets ‘Fearless Girl’ Hold Her Ground, for Now

The popular “Fearless Girl” sculpture will continue to stand outside the New York Stock Exchange after city officials voted on Monday to extend the sculpture’s temporary permit for 11 months. This decision comes with the stipulation that the city, the owner of the sculpture and the artist return in six months with a process for deciding the artwork’s ultimate fate.

While the vote has resolved worries in the short term, critics continue to question how the bronze sculpture circumvented the city’s normal public art process for five years. Critics also question why its hedge fund sponsor, State Street Global Advisors, they say, tried to sideline the sculpture’s creator in discussions about the sculpture’s future. (The artist is in an ongoing legal dispute with State Street.)

“To overcome cynicism about growing corporate power, New York City must defend its public spaces,” Todd Fine, a historian who rallied support for the statue, said in an interview. “The decision today was a victory for basic fairness and for artist rights.”

State Street said in a statement Monday, “We are appreciative that the ‘Fearless Girl’ statue will remain at her current location in front of the New York Stock Exchange,” adding that given the outcome of the hearing, it would work “together with the Department of Transportation, PDC and the artist regarding our desire to keep the ‘Fearless Girl’ statue at her current location for an extended period.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/11/arts/design/fearless-girl-statue-new-york.html