Big Sleuth Trail sees bears raise funds for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity
Melanie May | 20 July 2017 | News
The Big Sleuth Trail is taking place across Birmingham and the surrounding area this summer to raise funds for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity.
Organised by Wild in Art and Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, the ten-week Big Sleuth Trail sees more than 100 sun bear sculptures placed in a variety of locations for people to spot.
The Big Sleuth went live on 10th July, and is the region’s largest ever free public art trail, covering around 70 miles in and around Birmingham and its surrounding areas of Solihull, Sutton Coldfield, Sandwell and Resorts World. People can use the map on the trail site or download an app for £1.99 to help them find the bears, and are asked to share their photos on social media using #TheBigSleuth.
The trail is called The Big Sleuth because ‘sleuth’ is the name of a group of bears. Each one has been designed by an artist or celebrity, including artists Temper and Reuben Colley, pop-rock star Bradley Simpson from The Vamps, actor Adil Ray A.K.A Citizen Khan, Birmingham Bears and England cricketer Chris Woakes, adventurer Bear Grylls, and a Peaky Blinders bear endorsed by the show’s writer Steven Knight.
137 bear cubs sculptures have also been designed by school children from over 130 schools, and placed inside museums, shopping centres and libraries to mark the start of the schools Big Sleuth Learning Programme trail, which saw the schools participate in a range of activities as well as experimenting with pattern, texture and colour to bring their bear to life while also fundraising for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity. The cubs can be seen until 17th September, with a cluster of 22 cub sculptures on display at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and a sleuth of 18 at Millennium Point before being returned to the schools that created them.
Sally-Ann Wilkinson, Director of Wild in Art, said:
“We’re delighted that this year’s exciting trail is here. We very much hope that The Big Sleuth will bring hours of enjoyment discovering the wonderful world of creativity – celebrating Birmingham’s talent, rich culture and heritage. We would like to thank everybody who has supported this important project. The contribution from communities, schools, artists and sponsors is at the very core of the success of The Big Sleuth, and for that we are immensely grateful.”
At the end of the trail, the large bears together with the special celebrity bear cubs will be auctioned off in October to raise vital funds for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity. The Big Sleuth’s predecessor, The Big Hoot, raised over £500,000 for the charity at auction, with The Big Sleuth aiming to do the same.
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.