Musician Jools Holland, actress Joanna Lumley, Britain’s foremost hat designer Philip Treacy and Bristol graffiti artist Inkie have today been named among the final line-up of top-flight artists and celebrities taking part in the city’s ground-breaking charity initiative Gromit Unleashed.
With less than two weeks to go before 80 individually-decorated giant Gromit sculptures fill the streets of Bristol and beyond, organisers Aardman and Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal have revealed further prestigious names supporting the highly-anticipated tourist attraction.
Joining Jools Holland, Joanna Lumley, Philip Treacy and Inkie in the major, public arts trail, which will raise funds for Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal, are, among others, Irish TV gardener Diarmuid Gavin, Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park and artist, designers and celebrities Sir Quentin Blake, Axel Scheffler, Cath Kidston, Sir Paul Smith, The Beano, Harry Hill and Zayn Malik
They have each decorated the 5ft tall Gromit sculptures with their own unique range of creative, imaginative and colourful designs.
Jools Holland is bringing the sound of the big band to Gromit Unleashed with his musical Gromit, Bumble Boogie. Featuring a specially-recorded soundtrack based on the Flight of the Bumble Bee, the interactive sculpture will bring the boogie-woogie beats of Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra to the trail.
The Royal Mint has produced National Treasure Gromit, which will be covered from head to toe in nearly 10,000 new 1p coins with a specially-commissioned Gromit medallion, designed by Nick Park, taking pride of place on the sculpture.
Pixar Animation Studios has worked on a life-size sculpture at its multi award-winning animation facility in California, famous for a wealth of CGI-animated feature films including Toy Story, The Incredibles and this year’s Monsters University. It was air freighted for the 10,752 mile return journey from the UK and back.
Gromit’s creator Nick Park said: “It is really touching that so many amazing artists have come on board to design a sculpture for Gromit Unleashed. I am overwhelmed by the level of creativity being shown and can’t wait to see all the different versions of Gromit brought together in this unique arts trail.”
The high-profile event, supported by tourism agencies Destination Bristol and VisitEngland, hits the streets of Bristol for ten weeks from July 1.
After the trail, the Gromit sculptures will be auctioned off to the highest bidders in aid of Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal. To register an interest in bidding, email auction@gromitunleashed.org.uk.
All funds from Gromit Unleashed will go towards the charity’s appeal to support the expansion of Bristol Children’s Hospital, one of the leading multi-disciplinary children’s hospitals in the UK.
The Grand Appeal is working with Wild in Art, a leading arts and education company which produces mass participation events in cities, to deliver Gromit Unleashed.
For a map showing the positions of the Gromits, go to www.gromit-unleashed.org.uk.
