2019 senior class gift to be unveiled in Memorial Union on May 6
Posted: 05/03/19
On May 6, the University of Wisconsin–Madison 2019 senior class, with support from the 4W Initiative (Women, Well-being, Wisconsin and the World), the UW Foundation and the Wisconsin Union, will unveil the 2019 senior class gift, which will be a sculpture, called “The Monarch,” that celebrates the 150th anniversary of women earning undergraduate degrees at UW–Madison.
An open house will be held 10 a.m. to noon on May 6 in the Hamel Family Browsing Library at Memorial Union. The open house will include light refreshments.
The unveiling program will begin at 10:30 a.m. during which the sculpture will be revealed. The program will include remarks by 4W Director Lori DiPrete Brown, Senior Class Philanthropy Director and UW senior Zachary Klayman, and the sculpture’s creator and UW–Madison alumna Victoria Reed.
“We hope that the sculpture will inspire people for generations to come, and it will remind people of the great strides we have made towards equality and empowerment in our generation,” Klayman said. “Having the opportunity to have a lasting art addition with the intention of promoting women's empowerment is very unique and something that we can all be proud of as a class.”
Reed made the sculpture with fabricated steel. In this piece and all of her metalwork, she is inspired by craft-based design ideas and, with this in mind, includes patterns that aim to add layers of meaning. For “The Monarch,” Reed incorporated patterns based on crochet.
“I hope to convey a sense of strength in this work, to portray a woman of power and dignity through the female form, while simultaneously removing sexuality as a defining characteristic,” Reed said. “She is more than her biology, untethered and ethereal, but human still. Deceptively delicate, but made of steel, immobile, persistent and strong."
The sculpture will be available for viewing in the Hamel Family Browsing Library following the unveiling.
The class will also make a gift to the In Her Honor Chancellor’s Fund. This fund will help support campus programs aim to promote gender equity, make life better for women, and make the world better for all.
More information about the 2019 senior class gift sculpture unveiling is available at facebook.com/events/448613342610745.