Big Hoot Ipswich 2022 raises over £270k for hospice, & other charity art trail news
Melanie May | 23 February 2023 | News
St Elizabeth Hospice’s Big Hoot Ipswich 2022 has raised a record-breaking £270,316, surpassing the money raised by its previous art trails Pigs Gone Wild 2016 and Elmer’s Big Parade Suffolk 2019.
The Big Hoot Ipswich 2022 saw 115 decorated owl sculptures make their nests throughout Ipswich, between June and September last year. Featuring a range of designs, the 50 Big Hoots and 65 Little Hoots were part of the third art trail brought to Ipswich by the hospice, in partnership with creative producers Wild in Art.
The summer’s trail was brought to its culmination by the Big Hoot auction, which alone raised over £160,000 for St Elizabeth Hospice – the equivalent to funding four, full-time hospice nurses providing clinical care and support to patients and their families for one year.
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Five months on, the following results collated from the Big Hoot user app and a survey of Big Hoot Ipswich trail participants conducted by Zing Insights have been released by St Elizabeth Hospice:
- £270,316 total raised by the trail – through the auction, sponsorship and corporate support
- 60 schools and youth groups raised over £45,000 for the hospice through the art trail
- 315,900 people took part in the Big Hoot Ipswich 2022
- 80% of trail visitors felt the Big Hoot created a sense of civic pride and community
- Over 405,000 sculptures collected by supporters using the Big Hoot app
Celia Joseph, Community Relationships Fundraising Manager at St Elizabeth Hospice, said:
“The Big Hoot Ipswich 2022 brought so much creativity and fun to Ipswich last summer, while raising vital funds and awareness for the hospice.
“The art trail leaves a fantastic legacy which, as this data highlights, has had a positive impact on the town, St Elizabeth Hospice and the local community. We thank the community, local businesses and supporters for getting behind the Big Hoot and helping make sure it was an ‘owltastic’ success.”
5 fundraising art trails for 2023
Unicornfest
- For: Leukaemia Care
- Where: Bristol
- When: 3 July – 3 September
Unicorns will be spread across Bristol and the South West, from the Clifton Suspension Bridge to Weston-Super-Mare pier. The nine-week trail will end with a Unicornfest Auction Preview Festival for unicorn fans to say their farewells before the unicorns are auctioned to raise funds for Leukaemia Care. There will be physical maps available, as well as a pdf map on the site, and an app.
The Big Dog Art Trail
- For: Julia’s House Hospice
- Where: Swindon
- When: 15 July – 3 September
More than 30 larger than life balloon dog sculptures – the Swindogs – will be unleashed in Swindon by Julia’s House Children’s Hospice with Wild in Art for The Big Dog Art Trail this summer. There will also be more than 30 smaller Swinpups joining the eight-week trail. The sculptures will be auctioned off to raise funds for the hospice after the trail closes.
Scotties by the Sea
- For: Maggies
- Where: St Andrews and north east Fife coastline
- When: September for 10 weeks
Scotties by the Sea is coming to St Andrews and the Northeast Fife Coastal Community in September, brought to the area by St Andrews Business Improvement District (BID), in collaboration with Wild in Art. More than 30 giant Scottie sculptures will appear across St Andrews & The Northeast Fife Coast, forming a free 10-week art trail of discovery for locals and visitors of all ages to explore and enjoy. The trail will raise funds for Maggie’s Everyone’s Home of Cancer Care.
Castles in the Sky
- For: Wales Air Ambulance Charity
- Where: Swansea
- When: 8 July – 16 September
Over 40 uniquely decorated giant castles and 30 miniatures will form a public art spectacle, intertwining Welsh culture, art and history in Swansea this summer. A new sculpture, this will also be Wild in Art’s first time in Swansea and working with an air ambulance charity. There will be a map and an app to help people find them.
Morph’s Epic Art Adventure London
- For: Whizz-Kids
- Where: London
- When: 19 June – 20 August
This summer’s Morph’s Epic Art Adventure London will be hosted by Whizz-Kidz in partnership with Wild in Art and Aardman. This is the second trail from the creative partnership between Wild in Art and Aardman. Up to 50 super-sized sculptures of the children’s TV character will form London’s first step-free art trail, spanning London landmarks including St Pauls, Tate Modern, Tower of London, Shakespeare’s Globe and Borough Market.
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.