Renishaw sponsored Shaun the Sheep sculpture goes on display at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery

22 July 2015

Renishaw is delighted to sponsor a ‘baa-rilliant' new sculpture of Shaun the Sheep as part of the ‘Shaun in the City' charity sculpture trail across Bristol, which supports The Grand Appeal, the Bristol Children's Hospital Charity.

The sculpture, entitled ‘Arabian Lights', is located in the entrance of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, and is one of 70 ‘ewe-nique' Shauns which will graze across Bristol throughout July and August 2015.

The Shauns will be on display in iconic locations and tourist destinations across Bristol, before being auctioned on 8 October, with all proceeds from the sale of the Bristol trail sculptures supporting The Grand Appeal.

Each of the five-foot sculptures has been individually designed by a whole flock of artists, designers, and famous faces, including Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep creator Nick Park CBE.

‘Arabian Lights' was designed by Nigel Leach, Senior Model Maker at Aardman Animations, and stands out from the flock with its shear genius design. Over 1000 holes were drilled into the fibreglass body to create circular patterns, and lights are installed within the sculpture, to create a projector effect.

During the project, the 70 sculptures have to look their best for their visitors, so The Grand Appeal have organised a ‘Shepherding Programme', where ‘Shaun in the City' sponsors volunteer to clean their Shaun. Eight Renishaw volunteers will look after ‘Arabian Lights' over the two month period. Kim Watson, a Marketing Executive at Renishaw, is the head shepherd for ‘Arabian Lights'. She says: “I am delighted to be a Shaun in the City shepherd. I think that it's a great idea to involve sponsors and their employees by taking care of their Shaun. It just adds to the excitement of the event.”

The Grand Appeal organised the phenomenally successful Gromit Unleashed trail in 2013, which saw 80 sculptures of Aardman's canine sidekick raise more than £2.3million at auction for the Appeal.

Shaun's creator, Nick Park CBE, 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 am sure many will flock to Bristol to be part of the fun.”

Nicola Masters, Director of Wallace & Gromit's Grand Appeal, said: “We are looking forward to welcoming visitors from all over the UK and overseas to Bristol, showcasing our fabulous Shaun in the City sculptures and all that Bristol has to offer as a vibrant city whilst raising funds for The Grand Appeal, the Bristol Children's Hospital Charity.”