The Betty Campbell Monument, located in Cardiff City Centre has been shortlisted for a prestigious Public Statues and Sculpture Association Marsh Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture. 

The Betty Campbell Monument, designed and created by renowned figurative sculptor Eve Shepherd was unveiled in Cardiff city centre in September 2021 following a campaign by the Monumental Welsh Women group.

The Public Statues and Sculpture Association Marsh Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture is decided by a judging panel. This year, the body is also giving the public a chance to vote for its favourite work. 

People are invited to vote from a shortlist of nine public works of sculpture from across the UK. The Betty Campbell Monument is the only work nominated from Wales.  

Voting is taking place online at the Public Statues and Sculpture Association website HERE

The shortlist is as follows:

• Alex Chinneck, A Spring in your Step, Circus Street, Brighton, Sussex
• Alexandre da Cunha, Sunset, Sunrise, Sunset, Battersea Power Station Underground, London SW8
• Laurence Edwards, A Rich Seam, Print Office Street, Doncaster, West Yorkshire
• Laurence Edwards, Yoxman, The Suffolk Colossus, Cockfield Hall, Yoxford, Suffolk
• Diane Lawrenson, Contemplation, Anne Lister, Piece Hall, Halifax, West Yorkshire
• Veronica Ryan, Custard Apple (Annonaceae), Breadfruit (Moraceae) and Soursop (Annonaceae), Narrow Way Square, Hackney, London E8
• Eve Shepherd, The Betty Campbell Monument, Central Square, Cardiff, Wales
• Lee Simmons – The Tay Whale, Dundee Waterfront, Dundee, Scotland
• Ben Twiston-Davies, Ebenezer Howard, Howardsgate, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire

The Awards are decided on by a Judging Panel made up of individuals (practitioners, academics, conservators, art critics and sculpture specialists) knowledgeable in the fields of public sculpture, fountains and conservation.

The Judging Panel will consider each work put forward to assess whether it meets all of the eligibility criteria relevant to its category. If it does, the Panel will consider the relative merits of each against the judging criteria.

This year the organisers introduced a Public Vote to gauge which of the shortlisted Public Sculptures you would choose.

The Betty Campbell Monument is the first of five statues of named Welsh women being erected by Monumental Welsh Women and was the first ever statue of a non-fictionalised Welsh woman erected in a public space in Wales.

The Monument is truly iconic and is unlike any other statue in Cardiff.  The response to the unveiling has been overwhelming, with coverage on every news channel and major newspapers.

Voting is taking place online HERE and the winner will be announced at 6pm on November 24th in an online ceremony. 

To look back at the unveiling of the monument, head over to our feature HERE.