Wow! Gorillas auction raises over £427,000 for charity! - 29/09/11

Submitted by lucy on Fri, 2011-09-30 00:16

The auction of Bristol Zoo’s Wow! Gorillas sculptures has raised £427,300 for charity.

It was a full house at the Victoria Rooms in Clifton tonight (Thursday) as over 550 people filled the auditorium to place their bids and watch the drama unfold.

The sculpture entitled ‘Gorizambard’ proved to be the most popular, fetching the highest amount of the evening at £23,000.

Wow! Gorillas ‘Still Life: Alfred’ and ‘Elvis’ also proved popular with bidders, fetching £12,000 and £10,200 respectively.

Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies MBE showed her generosity when she successfully bid £7,500 for ‘Distinctly Different’.

The amount raised reflects the popularity of Wow! Gorillas, which saw 61 life-size silverback gorilla sculptures placed around Greater Bristol and beyond this summer.

Director of Bristol Zoo, Dr Bryan Carroll, is thrilled with the success of the auction. He said: “We never could have predicted how successful Wow! Gorillas has been and the total raised at the auction has further demonstrated that; we are absolutely delighted and thankful for everyone’s generosity.

“Wow! Gorillas has been a fantastic way to celebrate Bristol Zoo’s 175thbirthday this year as well as being a great way to raise funds for two very important causes - our conservation projects for critically endangered gorillas here and in Cameroon, as well as Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal which is raising funds for the cardiology unit at Bristol Children’s Hospital.”

Nicola Masters, Director of the Grand Appeal, added: “We are absolutely thrilled with the fantastic amount that has been raised at auction this evening. We are so thankful to Bristol Zoo for choosing to work with us on this project which has been enjoyed by so many people over the summer. The money raised tonight will have a huge impact on our Cardiology Appeal.”

Auctioneer Andrew Morgan said the Wow! Gorillas are a lasting work of art and memento of Bristol Zoo’s milestone year. “These wonderful gorillas have been a spectacular success and I was delighted and honored to be asked to auction them,” he said. The lucky bidders who bought a Wow! Gorilla will, not only be directly supporting two excellent charities, but will be acquiring a lasting and valuable work of art.”

The 101 small gorillas which have also appeared around the city this summer will be returned to the schools and nurseries which sponsored and decorated them.

Bristol Zoo is also holding a raffle offering the chance to win limited edition Wow! Gorillas prizes. First prize is an unpainted, small gorilla, the same size as the schools’ gorillas.

Second prize is a small piece of a Formula One Marussia Virgin racing car engine in a presentation display box. Earlier this summer the Wow! Gorillas logo featured on the nosecone of the Marussia Virgin Racing Formula One team car at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Third prize is a limited edition, small ceramic Wow! Gorilla, painted in the style of one of the 61 Wow! Gorilla designs.

Raffle tickets cost £1 each, available from Bristol Zoo until Friday, October 28, when the winners will be drawn. Tickets are also available online at www.bristolzoo.org.uk/win-a-wow-gorilla

Wow! Gorillas has been created by Bristol Zoo Gardens in partnership with Bristol City Council and Wild in Art which promotes art through the use of unique animal sculptures as three dimensional artist’s canvas.

ENDS

 

For press enquiries please contact the Bristol Zoo Gardens press office:

Lucy King, T: 0117 974 7396, E: lking@bristolzoo.org.uk

Vanessa Hollier, T: 0117 974 7309, E: vhollier@bristolzoo.org.uk

 

Notes to Editors

Bristol Zoo’s Wow! Gorillas’ project

  • Wow! Gorillas formed a mass public art trail across the streets of Greater Bristol this summer in celebration of Bristol Zoo’s 175th birthday year.
  • Each of the gorilla sculptures was sponsored by organisations, businesses and charities from across the region, and decorated in their own unique style by talented local artists.
  • Bristol Zoo’s gorilla sculptures were created by Wild in Art, which promotes art through the use of unique animal sculptures as three dimensional artist’s canvas.
  • As well as showcasing the wealth of creative talent the city has to offer, this eye-catching public exhibition aimed to attract tourists to Bristol, while encouraging Bristolians to be tourists in their own city.
  • The trail also aimed to engender civic pride, stimulate the local economy and create a fun event for everyone to enjoy.
  • During the 10-week trail period this summer, members of the public picked up 75,000 Wow! Gorillas trail maps and over 35,000 copies of the map were downloaded from the Zoo website.
  • The Wow! Gorillas Facebook page now has over 13,000 fans and is increasing daily.

 

Bristol Zoo Gardens

  • Bristol Zoo Gardens is a conservation and education charity and relies on income from visitors and supporters to continue its important work. 
  • This year Bristol Zoo celebrates its 175th anniversary and wants to do more than celebrate.
  • Over that past 175 years, the Zoo has brought six generations of Bristolians closer to wildlife, helped save over 175 species from extinction, established over 30 field conservation and research programmes   all over the world, showed 40 millionschool aged children the wonder of nature and given more than 90 million visitors a wonderful day out.
  • Throughout the year Bristol Zoo will be bringing people, businesses, charities and wildlife together to share amazing experiences that raise awareness and funds to save threatened wildlife and places. To find out more, visit www.bristolzoo.org.uk/whats-on
  • The Zoo will be focusing its efforts on raising funds and awareness in support of gorilla conservation and will be supporting theEuropean Association of Zoos and Aquaria Ape Campaign.
  • The EAZA Ape campaign aims to make a significant and lasting contribution to the continued survival of apes and their habitats, and is being led by Dr Bryan Carroll, the Director of Bristol Zoo. www.bristolzoo.org.uk/conservation-campaigns.
  • Bristol Zoo has supported and been actively in gorilla conservation in Cameroon since 1998.

 

Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal

  • The Grand Appeal was established in 1995 and has raised £18 million to support Bristol Children’s Hospital.
  • The Appeal works closely with Aardman Animations whose directors, Nick Park, Peter Lord and David Sproxton, are Patrons of the Appeal.
  • The Grand Appeal recently launched the Cots for Tots Appeal to raise funds for the neonatal intensive care unit at St Michael’s Hospital in Bristol.
  • The Appeal has raised £628,000 towards the £1 million target.
  • For further information visit www.grandappeal.org.uk