Day of the dads: baby slings placed on London statues in push for improved paternity leave

A statue of the actor Gene Kelly in Leicester Square sported a new look on Tuesday
Photo: The Dad Shift
Some of London’s most recognisable public sculptures were given the daddy treatment yesterday after campaigners hung baby slings—complete with model babies—around their necks.
The stunt, reported in the Guardian, was part of a new campaign calling for the new Labour government to improve paternity leave in the UK. The organisers, the Dad Shift, point out that at present, the amount of time fathers are given by the state to be with their newborn is the least generous in Europe (only two weeks, paid at £184.03, which is less than the minimum wage).
The group have penned an open letter to prime minister Keir Starmer on the issue, calling on him to “give dads the time they need to spend with their kids and figure out the fathers they want to become.” Longer leave is “good for mothers, good for babies, good for fathers and good for society,” they add.
Metallic likenesses of the footballer Thierry Henry and the civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel were among those given the proud dad look. Non-celebrities featured too, such as Allan Sly’s The Window Cleaner, located outside Edgware Road station.
Admittedly, not all of these characters are shown doing things that would necessarily be advisable while a child is strapped to your chest—Henry is on his knees, mid-celebration, while the actor Gene Kelly is spinning around a lamppost—but this is part of the point.
A statue of Thierry Henry outside Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium was also part of the campaign
Photo: The Dad Shift
“Public sculptures often celebrate the achievements of well-known men or tell stories about them through their work,” the Dad Shift co-founder Alex Lloyd Hunter tells The Art Newspaper. “By adding baby slings to these statues, we’re emphasising that their roles as fathers should be valued and recognised too.”
The campaign is also, he continues “pushing for more nuanced stories about male identity—ones that go beyond work and public life to include caregiving and fatherhood as important aspects.” Cheers to that.

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