Latest News

26 Sept: We'll Never Forget Go Elephants!

Sadly, Go Elephants! has come to an end. Click here to find out more about this hugely successful project, including information about our incredible Go Elephants! Charity Auction.

28 August: Go Elephants! Auction Sold Out
23 September 2008 
7.15 - 10pm
The Forum

16 July: Go Elephants! The first few weeks…

 In the early hours of the morning of Sunday 22 June, the Go Elephants! team with the able support of work crews from RG Carters installed fifty-three elephants across the streets of Norwich, beginning this summer’s urban art trail.

The response was immediate. Within hours, the public could be seen, with trail maps and cameras in hand, flitting from elephant to elephant.

We’ve received a host of positive comments via the website from public:

“Thank you so much.  The elephants have given so much pleasure since they arrived in Norwich."
“…the masses of visitors, parents with children, etc, all with maps and information seeking out the elephants was heartwarming.”
“An excellent example of good public art unifying the City institutions and engaging its people.”
“I am planning a trip to Norwich specifically to go “on safari” in search for your fifty-three baby elephants.”

We quickly benefited from some excellent coverage in the Evening News and EDP and three slots on Anglia News within the first week. The elephants could also be seen across Europe too with as many as 10 TV stations in Germany, Italy, Spain and Turkey taking coverage of the event.

Sadly, the first week was not without incident as the first full weekend saw serious damage to two of the herd. Vandals managed to drive a hole through the flank of ‘Golden Child’ on Gentleman’s Walk and ‘poached’ the ears of the Sainsbury Centre’s ‘Parallelephant’ on Theatre Plain. Both elephant were quickly removed and our thanks to artists Shelley Marshall-Nichols, Nigel Purdy and ‘Ele-vet’ Matt Reeve for getting them back on their feet and on the streets again so quickly.

The vandalism sparked a feverish response from on-line community network site, Facebook where a group ‘Stop vandalism of Norwich Elephants’ has been set-up by heroic ‘Elephant Defender’ Laura Morgan! To date, more than 3500 people have joined the group. To join, visit http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=844315413&k=Y4AZ64QZSY5M5AAGWA3TYR

16 July: Elephant activities out and about

Riverside celebrated the arrival of their elephant, Oscar with some movie based celebrations on Saturday 27 June. Schools involved in our education project joined celebrity look-a-likes and some scintillating Bollywood dancers to welcome what is definitely the largest elephant in the herd. 

Robert Warner, Creative Director for X-Leisure, owners of Riverside entertainment said: "We are thrilled to support and be a part of Go Elephants! in Norwich. Our elephant has caused quite a stir since he arrived on the red carpet on Monday. We've decorated Oscar to mirror the theme of the Odeon cinema, with images from Bollywood movies on one side and Hollywood classics on the other.

The Sainsbury Centre’s joining in with the ele-activities with their annual fun day.  This year’s theme is Carnival of the Animals, which links to Go Elephants! and to large animals in the Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection. The fun day on Sunday 3 August runs from midday until 4pm is free admission and will take place on the lawns outside the Sainsbury Centre.

During the afternoon there will be an exciting array of fun and creative activities suitable for all the family. There will be the chance to decorate a ‘Go Elephant!’ in the pink elephant tent, be transformed by the Fabulous Beast face painters, make your own jungle drum and take part in the African percussion workshops being run by Community Music East.

There will also be free admission to the Sainsbury Centre’s three current special exhibitions including Constructed: 40 Years of the UEA Collection, which features a Gerrit Rietveld chair, the inspiration behind Parallelephant, the Sainsbury Centre’s contribution to Go Elephants!

16 July: Elephants are ‘Go!’

Go Elephants! got off to a bang when more than 200 people attended the Launch Event at the old Bally Shoe Factory on Friday 20 June. The herd was unveiled to an exciting drum roll from Batterie, who provided some lively African music to start the night off.

After arriving on a classic Routemaster double-decker bus, guests entered the venue through a quirky jungle corridor to an eclectic range of period music provided by DJ:78. Guests were also able to enjoy a hog roast, beer, wine and… elephant sweets!

Welcomes and introductions to the project were made by Mark Hand, Marketing Manager of The Forum Trust, Elli Chapman from NR5, Charlie Langhorne from Wild in Art and special guest, Will Travers CEO of the Born Free Foundation.

The reaction to the elephants was fantastic. It was an exclusive opportunity for artists, sponsors and other guests to meet each other and discus the work behind the herd before they went on ‘safari’ across the city.

Our thanks to Go Elephants! sponsors First Eastern Counties for the Routemaster Bus and to TargetFollow for the use of the factory.

16 July: Elephants – a ‘novel’ success!

One talented young artist has earned a place at Norwich School of Art & Design with help from his involvement in Go Elephants!.  Ian Pickering, a YMCA hostel resident worked with our Community Partner, the NR5 Project as a Peer Mentor. “I’ll always remember meeting Ian for the first time,” says Elli Chapman, NR5 Project Youth Arts Manager. “Within 10 minutes of Ian being at the project he was surrounded by about 10 staff just in awe of his amazing portfolio.”

In his early 30’s Ian was too old to take part in the YMCA’s project as a young artist. Keen to gain experience in the creative industries and find ways to combine his own life experiences and artistic ability, he instead became a Peer Mentor. Working alongside Eli and artist Mik Richardson he got involved in all elements of the project including recruitment, helping to develop ideas and painting. Ian designed a recruitment poster for the hostel and was commissioned by the NR5 Project to create a graphic novel about the creation of the YMCA elephant.

“It’s been a learning curve”, says Ian, “I’ve enjoyed it all though some bits were hard! It has helped me a lot with my confidence, communication and other skills that I think will help me with employment” says Ian. “I’ve gained a place at Norwich School of Art & Design to study Games Design which I’m really proud of. The elephants and all the work I did certainly gave me a lot to talk about at interview!”
Click here to download a PDF version of Ian's graphic novel.

23 June: Community Project News...

Go elephants! is all about bringing together and celebrating the many different aspects of Norwich and Norfolk life. Nowhere is this is better demonstrated than with our ten elephants decorated by community groups from across the county.

Participants were recruited from some of the more deprived areas in Norwich, Great Yarmouth and South Norfolk, giving these enthusiastic young people a chance to flex their creative muscles and get involved.

 “[Go Elephants!]  has given the young people who access MAP the opportunity to get focused and create some art to be truly proud of. Moreover, it will … enable … anyone who visits to see just how positive, creative and talented these young people are.” Julie Webber, Children’s Rights Worker, Mancroft Advice Project

Inspired by a range of subjects from memories to maps, chocolate to shoes, and decorated using paints, patchwork, and even electrical tape, the resulting elephants are an expression of the talent and enthusiasm of all those who took part.

Go Elephants! Community Partner: NR5 Project

Additional Community Projects: SeaChange Arts and South Norfolk Youth Action

Organisations without whose support these projects would not have taken place:

19 June: Elephants ready to launch!

After nearly eighteen months of planning, Go Elephants! finally hits the streets this Monday (23 June). The team are preparing for the mammoth logistical operation of moving fifty-three elephants from their temporary home at the old Bally Shoe Factory out on to the streets.

Prior to that, sponsors, artists and friends of the project will get the chance to meet the elephants at an exclusive preview and launch night this Friday at the factory. Guests will be able to enjoy African drummers, entertainment, wine, beer and a hog roast for sustenance.

Go Elephants! is the result of  productive and creative relationships between many different people and organisations. The project has proven a unique collaboration of business, cultural and community sectors from across Norwich and Norfolk. 

The roll call of sponsors is exciting. More than forty sponsors and partners have come to the project from the worlds of media, retail, construction, culture, finance, leisure, education and beyond. 

More than fifty artists – professional and amateur have been involved. In addition, over sixty young people from community groups across the county have also taken part. We’ve had nearly twenty schools contribute towards a herd of smaller baby elephants, to be exhibited in The Mall, and an exciting and exotic contribution by children from Ol Moti School in Kenya.

The project has been beautifully documented in the Go Elephants! Souvenir Guide which features images of all fifty-three elephants plus stories, competitions and the trail map. The guide will be available at £2.99 from Monday at The Forum, The Mall ‘Ask me Point,’ Jarrold, Borders, John Lewis, the Odeon at Riverside and both the Anglican and Roman Catholic Cathedrals.

A massive ‘thank you’ is due to all those who’ve given their time, effort and imagination to the project… Go Elephants!

19 June: Planes, Trains… and Elephants!

Back in April, Born Free put one of our elephants on an aeroplane with the foundation’s  founder, Virginia McKenna OBE and packed them off to Kenya. On arrival, they travelled overland in a Landover to the fringes of Amboselli National Park where it was decorated by children of Ol Moti School using traditional Maasai materials.

The resulting elephant, ‘Meiluami’ returns to Norfolk this week and will be met at London’s Liverpool Street Station by Go Elephants! organisers before making the journey by rail to Norwich courtesy of National Express East Anglia. Upon arrival in Norwich, Meiluami will be received by Dean of Norwich Cathedral, the Very Reverend Graham Smith.

Our thanks to Meiluami’s sponsors, Hunters Landrover, Norwich and Kenya Airways for making this fantastic project possible.
 

19 June: Elephant Gunn!

We’re delighted to announce one of our elephants has been designed and decorated by one of the region’s rising artistic talents, Susan Gunn. Since graduating from Norwich School of Art and Design with a First Class BA Hons degree, Susan’s art has been exhibited in Europe and the UK, some of which has been acquired by the Sovereign Art Foundation. Her abstract paintings have been exhibited alongside works by artists such as Damien Hirst and she now sits on the East of England Regional Arts Council. Susan says of the project: "Go Elephants! brings together community and school groups, charities, professional and amateur artists, and businesses; promoting Art and Culture within the city and making this accessible to the public.

"Having seen the idea come together in other European Cities, I am sure the spectacle will be a hit with the public and enhance the city's rich cultural reputation. The project encourages inclusivity, excellence and business and public involvement. I’ve been impressed with the elephants I’ve seen so far and believe they mirror the diversity of the project. Be prepared to be surprised, challenged, and captivated!"

Susan took time out from preparing for a major public exhibition at Norwich Castle Museum to paint her elephant, Jemima. The design is a fun aside to Susan’s painting practice and reflects her pre-occupation with cracked earth. 

19 June: Start tracking down your favourite elephant…

The fifty-three elephants located around Norwich form a trail across our fine city. You don’t have to see them all in one day… but ‘it’s a must’ to see them all! 

To help you track them down, the Go Elephants! Trail Map is an essential guide to where all the elephants are located and is now available from outlets throughout the county including Tourist Information Centres, The Forum and other venues. Trail Maps can also be downloaded by clicking here.

19 June: Parallelephant takes shape!

As the Go Elephants! team rounded up the last few stragglers this week, we took delivery of one of the most radical and distinctive members of the herd. The ‘Parallelephant’ is the Sainsbury Centre’s contribution to Go Elephants!   

The Parallelephant is unlike any other elephant in the project as it does not use the fibreglass elephant template. Designed by Andrew Johnson from East Publishing and inspired by works in the ‘Constructed’ exhibition, the most extensive exhibition of the UEA Collection of Abstract and Constructivist Art, the elephant is a constructivist re-interpretation of the standard Go Elephants! sculpture. The exhibition which runs at the Sainsbury Centre from 1 July to 14 December features work from the likes of Gerrit Rietveld, Charles Eames and Marcel Breuer. Parellelephant was built by talented local modelmaker Nigel Purdy. 

Kate Carreno, Deputy Director at the Sainsbury Centre, says “We are delighted to be participating in Go Elephants! which is a fun way to engage people with art and will also raise lots of money for charity… We hope that our elephant will encourage people to visit the Constructed exhibition and see the Rietveld chair that inspired the Parallelephant.”

During Go Elephants! there will be other elephant celebrations at the Sainsbury Centre. On Sunday 3 August the Family Fun Day, Carnival of the Animals (sponsored by the Evening News) has been themed to link to the elephant art project and to large animals in the Centre’s Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection. There will be creative activities, live performances, the chance to enjoy a BBQ or bring a picnic and time to explore the Sainsbury Centre inside and out – and it’s all free! Other elephant fun at the Centre will include a special gallery trail which will be launched to coincide with Go Elephants! and an art competition for children. Check the Sainsbury Centre’s website for up-to-date news – www.scva.ac.uk.

The Parallelephant is sponsored by the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts and East Publishing.  

24 April: John Lewis staff get creative...

As one of the sponsors of Go Elephants! John Lewis is taking a different approach to the design of their elephant. Working with Arts & Business they are making the most of the creative talent that exists within their Norwich store by getting John Lewis staff directly involved in their project.

Presented with an elephant sculpture and a stack of blank paper elephant templates, staff were tasked with creating a design to represent ‘Norwich commerce’. These were entered into an in-house competition and two entries were chosen. Professional artist Tim Edwards is now working with staff through a series of workshops, to bring the final design to life.

 Laura Allen, Promotions Manager at John Lewis: “This has been a great project to get our staff involved in. Whilst they are learning all about art and design, it has also been a great chance to have lots of fun and get to know colleagues in an informal setting.”

Arts & Business’ purpose is to enable business and its people to be more successful by engaging with the arts and to increase resources for the arts from business and its people. John Lewis, Norwich and The Forum Trust have received an investment from A&B to develop their creative partnership. The A&B Investment Programme is funded by Arts Council England, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Scottish Executive.

24 April: Artist and Sponsor update

The last month has been a busy time, selecting artists, securing new sponsors and running various projects.

There’s been a flurry of new sponsors joining the project since our last update. We’re delighted to welcome on board as ‘Official Partners’ major bus operator, First Eastern Counties and purveyors of wholesome, natural foods, Pret A Manger and, we're pleased to announce, Norwich City Council.

We’re also glad to welcome into the fold locally based construction company May Gurney, Norwich Arts Centre, Snelling Business Systems, Folio Hotels and R.G. Carters. The Harleston and Waveney Art Trail, supported by South Norfolk Council will be providing a wonderfully surreal elephant offering and we’re delighted that we’ll also have representation from Great Yarmouth in the form of SeaChange Arts.

Property developers, Targetfollow also join the project, kindly providing our ‘Ele-centre’ at Harford Place (the old Bally Shoe Factory), where some of our artists are already hard at work painting pachyderms!

By the time we reached the artist submission deadline, we had received more than 350 designs from amateur and professional artists, schools and community groups.

Once we’d opened lots of envelopes, catalogued and mounted all the entries, Go Elephants! sponsors attended a selection evening to choose designs for their elephants, resulting in around twenty five commissions being made.  

23 April: Community Project news

April starts with some good news - The Forum Trust were successful in securing a grant for £7650 from Awards for All, allowing the NR5 Project to co-ordinate an additional two community projects as part of their ‘One City… One Herd’ scheme.

The additional funding means a total of eight projects will now take place around the city. The latest groups to join the scheme are Hub4 (a partnership project between Artswork, BBC Blast and The Prince's Trust, funded by the Big Lottery) and the United Kidney Patients Association. Members of these groups will work alongside professional artists to create ideas and designs to decorate the elephants.

 23 April: Jumbo on a Jumbo? 

One of our herd has made the epic journey from Norwich to Nairobi in the company of Born Free founder Virginia McKenna OBE.

The special elephant cargo journeyed from Norwich to Heathrow Airport before being loaded onto the Kenya Airways flight to Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport last week.

On arrival in Nairobi, Virginia, and the elephant sculpture were met by Kenyan Minister for Forestry and Wildlife, Hon. Noah Wekesa and showcased at a press conference, highlighting the need to protect Kenya’s wild elephant population.

11 April: Artists start work on elephant herd

Local artists have turned a vacant shop unit at The Mall in Norwich into a public painting space this week as the creation of a ‘mammoth’ herd of baby elephants gets under way. In what is likely to be the city’s largest ever public art event, Go Elephants will feature up to fifty baby elephant sculptures, each uniquely decorated by artists, forming a picturesque public art trail across Norwich from 23 June to 31 August 2008.

A number of the artists will be working in the painting space over the course of the next few weeks allowing the public to see their works take shape.  Norwich based artist Amy Dibben is at work in the space and commented: “It makes a nice change to be able to work in such an open way as often an artist’s work can be quite solitary. It’s great to get feedback from the public during the process”

The public visiting the painting space will be able to see the creativity at work with designs that see the elephants covered in local landmarks, turned into football fans and even double-decker buses! 

26 February: Go Elephants designs are in!

More than 400 designs from local Norfolk artists have been submitted to The Forum Trust for selection for the Go Elephants! exhibition which will take to the streets of Norwich this summer from 23 June to 31 August. The submitted designs will be catalogued and go through an initial selection process this week before being put on display in The Forum on Thursday 6 March.

Business sponsors, partners and supporters of the Go Elephants! exhibition have been invited to a special preview and selection evening on Thursday 6 March. Sponsors will be able to choose from the range of wonderful designs – which range from artistic masterpieces with inspiration taken from African, Indian and local work, to designs which incorporate puns around the elephant and other wild and wacky ideas.

Members of the public are welcome to come to The Forum anytime on Wednesday 6 March to view the designs, however the exhibition will only be open to sponsors and partners from 6pm to 8pm.

29 Jan: New partners for the pachyderms…

There’s been much activity in the elephant HQ recently and we’re delighted to welcome on board a host of new partners from the business, cultural and public sectors.

The herd will enjoy representation from the Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts in partnership with East Publishing. Marketing and Press Officer at the Sainsbury Centre, Sally Goldsmith explained “East Publishing regularly edit and design print for the Sainsbury Centre - their client list also includes the Norfolk & Norwich Festival and the Victoria & Albert Museum. We’ve decided to use their creativity to produce a design for the elephant canvas, inspired by the Sainsbury Centre’s UEA Collection of Abstract and Constructivist Art, Architecture and Design. Objects from this collection are always on display but a special exhibition of the entire collection will open on 1 July and run until 14 December”. Anthony Denny, East's Publishing Director, said "we're delighted to have joint custody of an elephant with the Sainsbury Centre. This is an enormous opportunity to create a truly unforgettable elephant, which is, after all, what they're all about.”

Popular leaflet distribution firm Leisure Target have agreed to be the official Go Elephants Distribution Partner. They will be distributing trail maps when they become available in June and also providing a delivery service once the elephants have been auctioned off in September.

But there’s more… also on board are Anglia Television… (or should that be Ele-vision?!), the University of East Anglia, Aim Higher, Norwich City Centre Management Partnership, South Norfolk District Council’s Youth Action Project and the aptly named elephant.co.uk.

29 Jan: One City... One Herd - Lottery boost!

NR5 Project has been awarded £24,000 from Heritage Lottery Fund's Young Roots Programme for their 'One City...One Herd' community project.

One City...One Herd will work alongside Norfolk County Council's Libraries and Museum Services to link with Norwich's rich cultural heritage. Young People aged 13-19 from six areas around the city will be given the opportunity to work in Norwich Museum Study Centre and libraries alongside artists to create ideas and designs to decorate six elephants.

The NR5 Project is a community based registered charity working with young people and adults in Norwich. They provide an open access venue, based in the Larkman Estate that delivers services and activities including: education, leisure, media training, community radio broadcasting and wider community engagement. www.nr5project.co.uk

Paula Sanchez, Business Development Director at The NR5 Project said "It is fantastic that the Heritage Lottery Fund have awarded us funding to bring a community and heritage element to this city wide event. We are delighted to be able to offer this opportunity to a variety of community organisations, young people and artists and look forward to their interpretations of Norwich's rich cultural heritage".

NR5 will be working with young people from their own area as well as projects including a Youth Service Young Mum’s Group, the Mancroft Advice Project, the YMCA, Blythe Jex High School and young people taking part in carnival activity in Mile Cross.

Watch out for more news on Go-Elephants! Community Projects coming soon!

29 Jan: What’s up Doc?

Star of Doc Martin and Men Behaving Badly, Martin Clunes met up with some of our elephants at a Born Free event in London recently. Martin’s love of wildlife led him to become a Patron for the Born Free Foundation, one of the nominated charities for Go Elephants! He even auctioned off his beloved camper van for the benefit of the animals at a Born Free fundraising Ball!

Martin travelled to Tanzania in 1997 with Born Free to release a captive elephant called Nina back to the wild for the major BBC programme, Born to be Wild and has named a baby elephant calf from Amboseli National Park after his own daughter, Emily Kate.

Martin was enthusiastic about Go Elephants! and we hope to get him more involved with the project over the coming months. Find out more about the work of Born Free at www.bornfree.org.uk

29 Jan: Artists stampede to Go Elephants!

More than 350 artist application packs have been sent out over recent weeks as word spreads about Go Elephants! We've had requests from across the region and as far a field as Cornwall and even Spain! Word about the event is obviously spreading!

There's still plenty of time to get involved though. If you haven't already got one, all you need to do is to get yourself an artist aplpication pack, come up with an 'elephant-astic' design and get it back to us by 23 February 2008.

Designs will be shortlisted before going forward for selection in March. Successful artists will then be invited to turn their vision into reality, for which they'll receive an honorarium of £750.

If you'd like to receive an artists' application pack, please email events@theforumnorwich.co.uk with your name and postal address. if you've already got a pack, we look forward to receiving your submission. Good luck!

29 Jan: Young people tell elephant 'tail'

South Norfolk Youth Action project has signed up to Go-Elephants!, helping trumpet their achievements and raising the profile of their work.

South Norfolk Youth Action (SNYA) is a young person’s forum which aims to bring together the views of youth in South Norfolk and implement their decisions to benefit young people within the area. Together they work closely with the local district council to adapt any documents specifically for, or about young people as well as being consulted on allocation of the budget. The team have regular ‘residentials’ where they partake in group activities, learning to work as part of a team and enjoying the rewards. The group work closely to strengthen their voice in local democracy.
 
In addition to decorating their elephant, the group are developing a story around their elephant which will be headed by avid writer and SNYA member, Toby Limbach. The story will be posted on their website www.snyouthaction.org.uk for everyone to enjoy. The team will be launching their project with a post card which will be distributed through High Schools, telling the story of why the elephant has been split from the herd.

 Please email info@theforumnorwich.co.uk to receive further information about Go Elephants!