Males dominate Miami's monuments

• Efren Nunez, Miami's public art manager, tells Axios that the two monuments of women in the city's inventory that he's aware of are: the statue of Julia Tuttle in Bayfront Park and the bust of Mary Brickell on Brickell Avenue.

Why it matters: Monuments have historically represented our values by putting concepts and people on literal pedestals, then enshrining them with protective status and decades-long upkeep, Axios Local's Chelsea Brasted writes.

• Across the nation, women are deeply underrepresented in public monuments, according to researchers. And despite increased awareness around this lack of diversity, bridging the gap will take time — and a lot of money.

The big picture: Only 6% of American monuments feature real women as their subjects, according to research by Sierra Rooney, assistant professor of art history at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

• When women are represented in monuments and statues, they are often allegorical or fictional characters, like the depiction of Little Nell alongside Charles Dickens in Philadelphia.

Zoom in: Tuttle, one of the two women commemorated in Miami public art, is known as the Mother of Miami because she owned much of the land on which the current city was developed. She also lobbied Henry Flagler to run his railroad through the area.

• Brickell has been referred to as the "other mother" of Miami. She, too, was a landowner and helped convince Flagler to come through South Florida.
• Some of the male figures depicted in Miami's monuments include Simon Bolivar, Toussaint Louverture, Rubén Darío and José Martí.

What we're watching: A new monument to Miami environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas will soon be installed at Peacock Park in Coconut Grove, Nunez said.

• The permanent installation was commissioned by Hulu in 2021 as part of the launch of season 3 of "The Handmaid’s Tale." Miami is one of three cities to receive artwork from the project.
• Nunez described the public art as an "interactive" gazebo, featuring two chairs facing Biscayne Bay and sculptures of Stoneman Douglas' signature hat and her book "Everglades: River of Grass."

Between the lines: The monument won't depict Stoneman Douglas herself but artist Saya Woolfalk "conjured her memory by offering a space to sit in — where you can be surrounded by the landscape she cherished," a Hulu spokesperson tells Axios.

• The monument will feature a mosaic of white water lilies, blooming wildflowers and a brass inlay that includes a passage from "River of Grass."

What they're saying: "One of our goals is to be able to tell the story of who we are," Nunez said. "And we're working to incorporate monuments and tell stories of figures about who we are."

• The city is also working with female artists on new art installations at the Shenandoah Park aquatic center, he said.

City Commission Chairwoman Christine King, the first woman to hold the leadership title, told Axios in a statement that she admires the statue of Tuttle because it shows the "profound effect we can have on our communities as women."

• "There is always more that can be done to show and remind future generations about the strength, resilience, and fortitude of significant women in our Miami history," she said.