The Herd of Sheffield was a charity event in the summer of 2016 in Sheffield, England.[1] Wild in Art organised the public art trail which was run in aid of the Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity.[2][3] The theme of the project revolved around sculptures of elephants. There were four main parts of the event:

  • Little Herd Trail (21 June - 30 September 2016)
  • Herd of Sheffield Trail (11 July - 5 October 2016)
  • Farewell Weekend (4 - 6 October 2016)
  • Auction (20 October 2016).
Herd of Sheffield
Herd of Sheffield logo
Date
  • 21 June – 30 September 2016 (2016-06-21 – 2016-09-30) (Herd of Sheffield)
  • 11 July – 5 October 2016 (2016-07-11 – 2016-10-05) (Little Herd)
  • 14–16 October 2016 (2016-10-14 – 2016-10-16) (Farewell Weekend)
  • 20 October 2016 (Auction)
Venue
LocationSheffield
Type
  • Art exhibition
  • Charity auction
ThemeElephant sculptures
CauseSheffield Children's Hospital
Organised byWild in Art
Websitewww.herdofsheffield.com

Inspiration

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Choice of a theme

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Lizzie pulling ammunition in 1916.

The inspiration for the elephant theme of the event was that 2016 would be the 100th anniversary of Sheffield's first use of a war elephant.[4] The elephant was named Lizzie and was used to haul ammunition, machinery and raw materials to and from the city's steel factories.[5] Three of the 58 sculptures are named after Lizzie. The use of war elephants in the United Kingdom increased during the First World War because many horses were taken away for military use.[6] Approximately eight million horses died in the war.[7]

Some artists drew inspiration from the First World War to mark Lizzie's anniversary, for example one elephant was painted in a dazzle camouflage pattern,[8] while others incorporated local themes such as Henderson's Relish into their artworks.[9]

Cause

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The purpose of the Herd of Sheffield was to raise money for the Sheffield Children's Hospital with the aim of raising enough money to fund the purchase of a fluoroscopy machine.[10] Aside from the auction, money was raised through selling merchandise such as pens, toy elephants, maps and souvenir books.[11] Rebecca Staden of the Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity came up with the idea of an elephant trail and contacted the Yorkshire-based company Wild in Art which specialises in organising mass public participation art events to help the idea come to fruition.[12]

Herd of Sheffield

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The "Herd of Sheffield" refers both to the whole charity project and the group of large elephants (to distinguish them from the Little Herd). The 1.6 metre tall fiberglass elephants were given to local artists who were tasked with decorating them with whichever medium they chose.[13] In total, 58 large elephant sculptures were designed. As it was the main source of income, the large herd was deemed the most important part of the fundraising project. The event was formally announced on 22 October 2015 alongside the unveiling of the first-completed sculpture.[14]

On 11 July 2016, the Herd of Sheffield Trail started: all 58 elephants were put on display at different locations around the city. Each elephant was accompanied by a plaque with the elephant's name and description on it. A QR code was also provided for each elephant which enabled users of the Herd of Sheffield app to scan the code and collect discounts from local companies.[15][16] Thousands of people, both locals and non-locals, went on the trail to participate in the interactive public art event which involved travelling to see all of the elephants.[17][18] Maps and guidebooks were published to aid elephant spotters.[19]

List of elephants

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The list below gives the titles of the sculptures, their creators, their exhibition location and their auction price.[20][21][22]

Name Creator Exhibition location Auction price (£)
Elmer the Patchwork Elephant Sheffield Children's Hospital patients Weston Park 8,500
Inconelly Pressure Technologies Fargate 8,200
AM Matthew Cooper Sheffield Town Hall 16,500
Effie Geo Law Castle Square 7,000
Our City, Our Home Alan Pennington South Street 4,200
Interst-Elephant Josh and Aimee Williams Barkers Pool 5,600
Sheffield Elephant Josh and Aimee Williams Orchard Square 11,000
An Elephant Never Forgets Where He Came From Caroline Greyling Fargate 7,000
It's Parade Day Clare Pentlow Tudor Square 5,000
Birdy Coralie Turpin-Thomson Cheney Row 5,500
Peace Elephant Rocket 01 Lady's Bridge 3,500
Fairytale Elephant Carolyn Short Sheffield Cathedral 5,700
The Elephant in the Hive Caroline Greyling Ponds Forge 11,000
I Follow a Different Herd Creative in Crystal Victoria Quays 5,200
The Warrior Deven Bhurke Sheffield railway station 7,800
Henry the Constructor Deven Bhurke Botanical Gardens 5,000
Sheffield Botanical Ella Osborne Barkers Pool 5,200
All as One Emma Jackson The Moor Quarter 5,200
Herd & Bird Finger Industries Winter Garden 4,800
Topsy Florence Blanchard Butchers Works 6,300
Lingo the Elephant Geo Law Furnival Square 7,500
Elephant Inside Out Gillian Higgins The Hubs 6,000
In it Together James Croft Botanical Gardens 6,800
Donkeys in Elephant Land James Green Weston Park 6,000
Jungle Jim Jenny Leonard Peace Gardens 15,000
A Sheffield Summer Jenny Leonard Sheaf Square 6,200
The City Elephant Jo Peel Brown Street 6,600
Yorkshire Rose Jonathan Wilkinson Hillsborough Park Walled Garden 4,700
Elephantom Kieron Reilly & Lynsey Brecknell Sheffield United FC 4,100
SnookHerd Kieron Reilly & Lynsey Brecknell Tudor Square 7,000
Symbiosis Laura Gray Graves Park 7,000
Small Beginnings Lisa Maltby Botanical Gardens 7,600
Bugsy Liz Hall Weston Park 11,000
But Where's the Ladybird? Lydia Monks Meadowhall Centre 6,200
Hendophant Matt Cockayne Leavygreave Road 11,300
Tin Lizzie Mik Richardson BBC Radio Sheffield 6,500
Lizzietron 2.2 Nick Bax Leafygreave Road 5,900
Marjorie Pete McKee Kelham Island 22,000
Stampeding Elegance Kid Acne Meadowhall 5,500
Razzle Dazzle ’em, Lizzie Robert Hurst www.linkedin.com/in/roberthurst365 Arundel Gate 4,600
Forest Spirit Faunagraphic Victoria Quays 5,200
Holi Sophie Green St Paul's Place 4,700
Patchwork City Sophie-Rose Wiberg Fitzalan Square 4,400
Jackophant Stephen McKay Fargate 7,600
Skywalker Stephen McKay Meadowhall 7,500
Elmer's Aunty Sue Guthrie Forge Dam 5,000
Gulal Graffiti Sue Guthrie Sheaf Square 6,600
Heard Sheffield? Temper Tudor Square 7,800
Ellie David Elliot Hoodith Devonshire Green 8,000
The Elements of an Elephant Ryan Patrick Morley Paternoster Row 5,600
And... Repeat Neil Carribine The Moor 6,700
Izzy Steve Millington Sheffield Cathedral 8,700
Nelly Looking through the Looking Glass Stoneface Creative Our Cow Molly 5,400
The Beat Goes On Tom J Newell Crystal Peaks 6,500
Steel Elephant Tom Clayton Hallam Square 7,700
Blossom Sue Webber Crystal Peaks 7,300
Matisse's Last Assistant Mark Alexander Millennium Gallery 4,500
Technicolor Pachyderms Rob Lee Devonshire Green 5,200

Little Herd

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In addition to the main herd, a herd of 72 small elephant calves was made by over 70 local schools. The Little Herd was sponsored by Blundells and were displayed in groups at the following locations:

Farewell Weekend

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After the main herd's display period was over, all 58 sculptures were assembled at Meadowhall Centre and displayed between 14 October and 16 October 2016 so viewers could see them one last time before the auction.[25][26]

Auction

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On 20 October 2016, all 58 elephants of the main herd put on auction at the Crucible Theatre. Charles Hanson, best known for his work on Bargain Hunt, and Lucy Crapper were the auctioneers for the event which raised £410,600.[27]

The winning bidder for Summer donated the elephant for which he paid to local school High Storrs after seeing their art teacher, who was the sculpture's designer, break into tears on losing the bid on behalf of the school.[28]

Sponsors

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Numerous local businesses, organisations and educational institutions sponsored the project along with some national companies including Barclays, John Lewis and Irwin Mitchell.[29]

References

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  1. ^ "Herd of Sheffield elephants stampede into city". BBC News. 11 July 2016. Archived from the original on 9 October 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Herd of Sheffield 2016 << Events << Posts << Wild in Art Website". Wild in Art. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Herd of Sheffield - The Children's Hospital Charity". Children's Hospital Charity. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Lizzie the elephant: how an elephant captured the heart of a city". Sheffield University. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  5. ^ "World War One: the circus animals that helped Britain". BBC News. 11 November 2013. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  6. ^ "Herd of Sheffield - Summer 2016". Sheffield Hardware Hackers. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  7. ^ "Information about animals served in the war". Animals in War Memorial. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  8. ^ "Dazzle Camouflage". Postcard Cafe. 11 July 2016. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  9. ^ "Meet the Hendophant!". University of Sheffield. 12 July 2016. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  10. ^ "Telegraph Column: Sheffield fund auction raises cash to save lives". Sheffield Telegraph. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  11. ^ "Herd of Sheffield Souvenir Guide". Herd of Sheffield. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  12. ^ "Brace yourself - the stampede is here - Vibe - RMC Media". RMC Media. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  13. ^ "Herd of Sheffield elephant statues stampede into city". BriefReport. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  14. ^ "First elephant unveiled for Herd of Sheffield, Sheffield Live!". Sheffield Live!. 22 October 2015. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  15. ^ "Herd of Sheffield - Android Apps on Google Play". Google Play. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  16. ^ "Herd of Sheffield on the App Store". Apple iTunes. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  17. ^ "Sheffield's elephant art trail is a work of magic - Sheffield Telegraph". Sheffield Telegraph. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  18. ^ "Herd of Sheffield in all their glory at Meadowhall's big send-off". Sheffield Star. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  19. ^ "Herd Trail Map 2016" (PDF). Herd of Sheffield. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  20. ^ "The Herd of Sheffield - elephant sculpture trail across the city". Street Art Sheffield. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  21. ^ "The winning bids for each Herd of Sheffield elephant". The Star. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  22. ^ "The Trail". Herd of Sheffield. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  23. ^ "Little Herd of Sheffield arrives at Hallam University". Sheffield Hallam University. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  24. ^ "Schools - Herd of Sheffield". Herd of Sheffield. Archived from the original on 2 November 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  25. ^ "Say goodbye to Herd of Sheffield at Meadowhall, Calendar - ITV News". ITV. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  26. ^ "Off they went with a trumpety-trump: Herd of Sheffield Farewell Weekend - Don Valley View". Don Valley News. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  27. ^ "Herd of Sheffield charity auction raises £410,600 for Sheffield Children's Hospital". The Star. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  28. ^ "Donor gives Herd of Sheffield elephant to school after seeing their tears when they couldn't afford it themselves". The Star. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  29. ^ "Sponsors - Herd of Sheffield". Herd of Sheffield. Archived from the original on 2 November 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
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  Media related to Herd of Sheffield at Wikimedia Commons