Amidst heated debates about the role of public monuments, a former student at Morley College has set the bar high.
Renewal, Dr Patsy Hickman’s celebratory black metal sculpture, was unveiled by the renowned sculptor Sokari Douglas Camp in a moving ceremony. Standing high and proud on the “Fifth Plinth” outside Morley College in Lambeth. Renewal is her tribute to the college as a positive social institution. Hickman’s lively white on black steel cut-outs depict students of all kinds engaging in a range of arts, music, crafts and literature. They highlight the inspiration of lifelong education, for diverse learners, especially women and mothers.
Speaking to a small crowd, as curious passersby looked up, Hickman thanked all college staff, including canteen and cleaning workers, for making the college a hub of art, for its friendly atmosphere and fellow artists for encouragement. She paid emotional tribute to the college for making education about “much more than the ‘3-Rs’”. Instead at Morley it was about the “four Cs: curiosity, creativity, critical thinking and courtesy”. She shared artist William Kentridge’s opposition to cuts in state funding cuts for arts institutions.
Renewal can be viewed any time outside the Morley Centre for Adult Education: 61 Westminster Bridge Road SE1 7HT.
- Our Manifesto24 condemns blunting of children’s natural curiosity and the business orientation forced upon educators by government education policies. Read more here: Culture, education and sport for all – Real Democracy Movement