18/02/2013

Gromit Unleashed

Gromit template. © and TM Aardman Animations 2012 

Today, several SWillustrators will be looking in their Inboxes to see if their designs have been shortlisted to decorate a 'Gromit'.

70 decorated Gromit sculptures will be 'Unleashed' on the streets of Bristol this summer after the tremendous success of the Wow Gorilla sculptures which 'roamed' the city's streets in 2011 to celebrate Bristol Zoo's 175th birthday.  The project raised £427,300 for gorilla conservation & The Grand Appeal. The organisers Aardman & Wild in Art are hoping to raise even more money for the Grand Appeal in aid of Bristol Children's Hospital this year.

It was announced recently that entries had been received from over 500 artists - and some people submitted several designs - 1000+ entries probably?   3 of the gorilla-sized sculptures have been allocated as Gromit's creator Nick Park, and the illustrator Axel Scheffler (The Gruffalo), and author/illustrator Raymond Briggs (The Snowman) have been invited to each decorate a Gromit.

There are long odds against any artist getting a sculpture, but who knows...  SWillustrators have got some 'form' for decorating Bath pigs & lions, Bristol gorillas, Wells swans, as well as elephants.  Good luck to SWILL.

For further information on the Gromit Unleashed project, see their website, Twitter feed and This is Bristol website.

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