Cath Kidston & Sir Paul Smith design Gromit Unleashed for Bristol

Designers Cath Kidston and Sir Paul Smith; Simon Tofield, the award-winning illustrator and animator of the cartoon series Simon’s Cat; and Richard Williams, director of animation of Disney’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit, are among a host of internationally-renowned artists supporting Gromit Unleashed, the high-profile public arts trail that will take place in Bristol this summer.

 

Organised by Aardman and the Bristol Children’s Hospital charity, Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal, and supported by Destination Bristol and VisitEngland, the project will see around 70 giant Gromits take to the streets of Bristol, helping to raise the profile of the city across the UK and beyond.

 

The 5ft (1.5m) high sculptures of Aardman’s triple Oscar-winning character, which have each been sponsored by individual businesses, will form a trail across the city for ten weeks from 01 July and will then be auctioned to raise funds towards Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal’s campaign to support the expansion of Bristol Children’s Hospital. The Grand Appeal has already raised over £22 million for the hospital and has now pledged to raise an initial £3.5 million for state-of-the-art equipment, including an intraoperative MRI scanner; family facilities; and child-friendly artwork to enhance the £30 million investment by the NHS.

 

Visitors to the city over the ten weeks that the sculptures will be on display can expect to see unique designs by around 40 local artists from Bristol and the south west as well as the work of celebrities including children’s author and illustrator Quentin Blake; the man behind the Snowman, Raymond Briggs; Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler and many more, including Aardman’s Nick Park, Peter Lord and Richard ‘Golly’ Starzak.

 

Sir Paul Smith, whose design features his trademark ultra-contemporary stripes, has commented on the project, saying “I am delighted to help support this worthy charity; I tried to make Gromit happy and optimistic! I hope you like it”, while Cath Kidston says “We are proud to be part of Gromit Unleashed – a brilliant project by Nick Park with a wonderful mission to raise funds for the Grand Appeal, Bristol Children’s Hospital Charity.”

 

For further information and the latest news on the project visit www.gromit-unleashed.org.uk.

Article from http://www.guide2bristol.com/news/2850/Cath-Kidston-and-Sir-Paul-Smith-design-Gromit-Unleashed-for-Bristol

Official Wallace and Gromit artwork available at Union Art!