Sculpture of escaped slave to be revealed

The unveiling date has been set for a sculpture of an enslaved woman who crossed an ocean to find freedom on Tyneside. TONY HENDERSON reports

- TONY HENDERSON

Sculptor Keith Barrett

THE unveiling is to take place of a bronze sculpture of an enslaved woman in the Tyneside town where she made a new life after fleeing from America.

The image of Mary Ann Macham will be installed above the new Riverside Embankment Walkway linking North Shields town centre with the Fish Quay and views out to sea.

The artwork will be officially unveiled this Thursday at 1pm by the Elected Mayor of North Tyneside, Karen Clark.

The three-metre high bronze figure, created by North Shields artist Keith Barrett, will be sited close to where Mary Ann once lived. The project is supported by the North East Combined Authority through the Transforming Cities Fund.

It portrays a moment of freedom and resilience and is part of the North Shields 800 celebrations - a yearlong programme recognising the town's diverse history.