Coming this summer, a free, family art trail that leaves an impression will be stomping into Southend-on-Sea.
Herd In The City – created by Havens Hospices and Wild in Art – will have over 45 large elephant sculptures dotted around the city from Friday 14th July to Monday 4th September, including Shoeburyness and Leigh-on-Sea, each one sponsored by a local business and painted by a professional artist in varying styles.
Alongside these will be ‘mini herds’ of baby elephants, adopted and decorated by a school or community group, making art accessible to all.
Visitors can navigate the route using the Herd In The City app and collect rewards along the way. A map will also be available, which can be purchased from the Havens Hospices Charity Shops in Southend-on-Sea, Prittlewell, Leigh-on-Sea and Shoeburyness.
At the end of the trail, the elephants will be sold at auction, raising money for Havens Hospices.
The decision to focus on elephants for this project was made by colleagues working and volunteering at Havens Hospices.
They felt that elephants depict many of the values of hospice care – they never forget, much like the families making treasured memories together and saying goodbye to loved ones at Havens Hospices. Elephants are also sensitive, caring and nurturing, much like the Care Teams who work tirelessly, ‘Making every day count’ for the hospices’ patients and families.
Two elephants have already been decorated to give a flavour of what’s to come. Essex artist Neil Fendell has created ‘Rock n Glow’ as homage to Southend-on-Sea’s iconic seafront.
Using acrylic pens and spray paint, Neil says, “Southend is very much about the lights, atmosphere and the evening vibe. That’s why I wanted to try and recreate it on the elephant, something that would really celebrate Southend becoming a city. Trying to capture that feeling of light and energy was very much what this design is about.”
The vibrant patchwork of ‘Duke’ was decorated by Essex business Surfex, with a team of six people working shifts over five days to complete. The company normally vinyl wraps surfaces such as those within cruise ships and hotels, so the elephant sculpture was a departure from the day job!
Liam Cousins, a Director at Surfex, says, “It’s not every day you get to wrap an elephant – it’s a very awkward shape. The colours are much more vibrant than we tend to use, you wouldn’t see them in a lift!
“We’re really looking forward to seeing Duke on the trail next year. It’s been a pleasure to do and give back to our community.”
Lauren Eagle-Allen, Senior Project Officer for Havens Hospices, said: “We are so proud to bring our parade of elephants to nestle amongst Southend-on-Sea’s iconic attractions, bringing colour and fun to the city.
“Herd In The City will offer everyone a great day out, exploring parts of the city they may not have visited before, as well as raise thousands of pounds for the free, specialist hospice care Havens Hospices provides for local adults, children, and their families.”
The Herd In The City app will be available from the App Store and Google Play from the start of July (cost TBC). To keep up with the herd and to post your ‘ele-selfies’ from the trail, visit www.herdinthe.city or follow on social media – herdinthe.city on Instagram, @herdinthecity on Twitter and Facebook.
Herd In The City is made possible thanks to Presenting Partner Southend-on-Sea City Council. The Official Event Partners include BTMK Solicitors, Method IT, Ayers & Cruiks and c2c. Rickard Luckin is the Learning Programme Partner, Atlantic Pacific is the Logistics Partner, Echo Newspaper is the Media Partner, Main Media is the Photography and Videography Partner, and 6rs is the Creative Partner, which has produced the brand for the project.
