About Completing The Story

Throughout our communities, people have taken steps to document our history and share the stories of past leaders in public places. Unfortunately, women are not fairly represented in these images. This is, in part, because women’s contributions were not acknowledged for centuries. Where women are currently represented, it is often as mothers (or other stereotypical roles) or mystical creatures.

It is time to profile the powerful women who have built our communities. We want to see women recognized in public places – including statues, monuments, public art, street names, and place names – so that we have representation of what women leaders are and can be. We want our daughters to know that they have an important place in this world. These women can be from all walks of life who have contributed in a variety of ways to build and improve our communities.

We also note the significant lack of representation of BIPOC women (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour), and the need to re-examine, remove, and/or replace existing monuments to people who upheld systemic racism, atrocities at home and abroad, and human rights violations.

Completing the Story seeks to improve the visual representation of women in public spaces. It began as a small, grassroots initiative in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and has quickly grown and expanded across North America as a social media campaign, spreading the news about examples (both good and bad) of the visual representation of women in places around the world. As well, we feature the latest news concerning statues, monuments, and public art featuring women. For the latest, please follow us on FacebookTwitter, and Instagram.