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Artist Brenda Council Says Monument Shows 'Women of Action' Across Eras
Summary
Brenda Council, the selected artist, described the Ohio Women’s Monument as nine realistic but representative figures in dynamic, active poses with granite pedestals that provide historical context and quotes.
Brenda Council, the sculptor chosen by a unanimous selection committee, described her nine-figure design as deliberately representational: "They are dynamic figures on top of large granite columns," she said, explaining that the figures are intended to depict marching, petitioning and lobbying across different decades of Ohio’s women’s movement.
Council told the Columbus Metropolitan Club that the design breaks classical monument tropes by showing women in motion and that the pedestal inscriptions — quotes and featured names — will provide historical context for each figure’s era. When asked whether any of the figures depict specific named women, she said the statues are realistic but representative rather than identifiable individuals.
She said the design process included dozens of sketches and months of immersion in historical research; Council noted a child figure in the composition meant to signal intergenerational legacy. The artist also described the emotional difficulty of "letting go" after years of work and said the public unveiling will be the culmination of a multi-year creative process.
