Bloomington, Indiana — the future birthplace of “Star Trek: Voyager” character Captain Kathryn Janeway played by Kate Mulgrew — just unveiled a statue recognizing the character’s excellence as a Starfleet officer. The bust, which was crowdfunded beginning last year by the Captain Janeway Bloomington Collective (CJBC), honors her positivity and inspiring nature.
Peter Kaczmarczyk of the CJBC reflected:
“Captain Janeway consistently demonstrated integrity and humanity in the face of many challenges. She led her crew home without compromising her principals and became a role model to a generation of young women. Captain Janeway deserves to be recognized in Bloomington, the place of her future birth.”
Mulgrew, who portrayed Captain Janeway (primarily on “Star Trek: Voyager,” but in other media as well), appeared via a virtual call for the dedication of the monument. She was able to interact with fans at the event, even answering a few questions.
Additionally, Mulgrew promoted the upcoming “Star Trek: Prodigy,” an animated series that will air on Nickelodeon for which she will return as Janeway.
“I have invested every scintilla of my being in Captain Janeway, and I can’t wait to endow her with nuance that I never did before in Star Trek: Prodigy. How thrilling to be able to introduce to these young minds an idea that has elevated the world for decades. To be at the helm again is going to be deeply gratifying in a new way for me,” Mulgrew remarked at the ceremony.
A similar monument to Captain James T. Kirk was constructed in Riverside, Iowa in the 1980s. However, the exact town in Iowa where Kirk was born wasn’t made canon until 2009 (when it was confirmed in the reboot film). As it happens, Kate Mulgrew is an Iowa native as well; she was born in Dubuque in 1955.
A video of the unveiling presentation, shared on Facebook by the WonderLab Museum (near which the statue is located), shows both the ceremony and a “Making Of” clip detailing the process of sculpting and crafting the bust and its pedestal.
Mulgrew assured fans at the event that once the pandemic has passed, she looks forward to visiting the site in person — as does Captain Janeway herself (though she “will not be able to see herself for some time to come,” noted Mulgrew, to laughs from the gathered crowd). Janeway’s canon birthdate is May 20, 2336.
The Captain Janeway Monument is located at 308 W. 4th Street in Bloomington, Indiana.
