The Wire Woman statue was created as a creative response to the fact that there are few statues honouring women in Cape Town. This International Women’s Day, she transformed with pieces of peace, including a rainbow solidarity skirt filled with messages of support against GBV.
Cape Town, South Africa (14 March 2025) — In light of International Women’s Day, the famed Wire Woman statue got a new outfit—this time donning pieces of peace.
For those unfamiliar with the lore behind the statue, the Wire Woman was created in 2016 and designed by Lovell Friedman and Sue Kramer in honour of all women in Cape Town.
The Wire Woman came as a creative response to the fact that there are few statues honouring women in the City—much as is the case all over the world. At 2 metres high, she stands proudly as a signature of appreciation and as a canvas for important messages.
Last year, during Women’s Month, the Wire Woman turned into a work of wooly art as women from all over Cape Town knitted and crocheted items (everything from scarves to toys) to dress her up as part of Artscape’s Women’s Humanity Festival.
She became a kaleidoscopic symbol of unity—something her guardians (Woman Zone CT) are all about!
To celebrate International Women’s Day this year, the Wire Woman became a Wire Warrior Woman and Peace Lover.
With a makeover, she became an important symbol for the STEP-UP for Peace campaign against gender-based violence at Artscape; brought to life thanks to Anne Bisset and Emily Ilunga, who adorned her with origami doves.
In variants of loosely-fitted white fabric, the statue complimented notions of purity, while the centre of her dress skirt revealed colour messages to create the ‘Solidarity Skirt’.
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Artscape shared that this skirt was signed by “the many women and men who care to help stamp out violence wherever it occurs.”
Of the peace symbolism, they shared:
“[International Women’s Day] strives to raise the possibility of a gender-equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated.
“It calls for action that can unlock equal rights, power and opportunities for all, and a feminist future where no one is left behind. Through the conduit of the ‘arts’, Artscape, the country’s leading cultural institution seeks to find, not just equality, but PEACE.”
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