Shaun the Sheep fever reaches Bristol

First there were gorillas, then Gromits, now thousands of visitors are expected to take part in Bristol’s next public art trail involving 70 giant Shaun the Sheep across the city. Two University of Bristol locations – the Victoria Rooms and the Botanic Garden – have been unveiled as locations on the eagerly-anticipated Shaun in the City trail.

An army of 50 eye-catching Shaun sculptures has been capturing the public’s attention in London since the end of March, and the Bristol leg looks set to be just as popular when it gets underway on 6 July.

Sheep spotters will be on the lookout for the Shaun the Sheep statue outside the Victoria Rooms, home to the Department of Music, which is being sponsored by the University.

They’ll also be able to tick off its neighbour, stationed outside the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) on Queens Road, which is being sponsored by the Children of the 90s project.

The University of Bristol Botanic Garden, a 1.77 hectare garden in Stoke Bishop, will be home to another one of the colourful creatures, sponsored by Dunkley's Chartered Accountants. It will be outside the welcome lodge at The Holmes on Stoke Park Road.

Each of the 5ft sculptures has been individually designed by a whole flock of artists, designers and famous faces. Details of the artists and their designs will be unveiled at the start of the trail, which runs until 31 August.

Nick Park CBE, creator of Shaun the Sheep, Aardman Animations, said: “It’s been a busy year for Shaun, he has just launched his first movie and now he has his very own arts trail. Shaun is such a well-loved character with so many fans around the globe, I’m sure many will flock to Bristol to be part of the fun.”

All 120 Bristol and London sculptures will be displayed in the Great Sheep Round Up Exhibition in Bristol this autumn, before the whole flock is auctioned, with proceeds from the sale of the 70 Bristol sculptures supporting The Grand Appeal, the Bristol Children’s Hospital Charity.

Bristol University has a strong commitment to public art and has supported previous art trails in the city. The ‘Going Going Gone’ gorilla which was part of the Wow! Gorillas trail in 2011 to celebrate Bristol Zoo’s 175th anniversary now lives in the new Life Sciences building and Gromit sculpture ‘Bark at Ee’ is inside the Wills Memorial Building.

The Grand Appeal was the charity behind the hugely successful Gromit Unleashed arts trail in Bristol in 2013, which was visited by over one million people, bringing more than £75 million to the city. The 80 sculptures raised more than £2.3 million at auction for The Grand Appeal.

Shaun the Sheep is one of Bristol-based Aardman Animations’ best loved characters, with over four and a half million fans on social media and TV series which is broadcast in 170 territories world-wide. It was recently voted the nation’s all-time favourite BBC children’s TV character.

For more information about the trail, visit the Shaun in the City website.