Elephant-astic designs chosen for art trail

November 23, 2022

Almost 100 elephant designs have been revealed for the first time at a private viewing for the sponsors and partners of local art initiative Herd In The City.

Representatives from more than 35 local businesses attended the Artist Selection Event at The Roslin Beach Hotel on Thursday 17th November to choose which designs will be brought to life and grace the streets of Southend-on-Sea, Shoeburyness and Leigh-on-Sea in the summer of 2023.

The designs were shortlisted after receiving nearly 200 impressive submissions made by local and national artists, all keen to be a part of the spectacular art trail. Styles ranged from illustrations, portraits, graphics and abstracts.

Rachel Hawksworth, Project Manager for Havens Hospices, says, “We have been overwhelmed with the quality and variety of entries received from the artists, and proud to have many of our shortlisted designs come from the local community.

“It’s great to see everyone coming together to raise money for Havens Hospices and to start seeing the project come to life.”

The sponsors and partners previewed all the shortlisted submissions and had the difficult decision of choosing their top three favourite designs.

Codey Gill from BTMK Solicitors, an official event partner for Herd In The City says, “We are so glad to be involved with Havens Hospices’ art trail again - the work they do is absolutely incredible.

“It was such a hard decision to choose our favourite three. Credit goes to all artists who submitted their designs – they were all fantastic!”

Artists will be contacted over the coming weeks to let them know whether they have been chosen to be a part of the art trail and what sponsor or partner they have been matched with.

Charlie Langhorne, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Wild In Art, says, “It’s so important for businesses to be a part of the trail because they are at the heart of the community. It’s been lovely to meet everyone, there’s such a joyous feeling in the room and everyone is excited for next summer.”

Herd In The City – created by Havens Hospices and Wild in Art - will see more than 40 large elephant sculptures dotted around the city, including Shoeburyness and Leigh-on-Sea, each 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.

At the end of the trail, the elephants will be sold at auction, raising money for Havens Hospices. This follows the success of the charity’s ‘Hares About Town’ trail in 2021, which raised more than £447,000 for local hospice care.

To keep up to date with developments, follow the trunk and trail on Facebook and Twitter @herdinthecity and on Instagram @herdinthe.city or visit www.herdinthe.city