Over the summer thousands of visitors flocked to Maidstone to take part in the free Shaun the Sheep in the Heart of Kent art trail. Last night (26 September) saw these beautifully painted and individually designed sculptures go under the hammer at auction to raise money for Heart of Kent Hospice.
A staggering £265,250 was raised for the Hospice following the sale of the large Shaun Sculptures, some little Shaun sculptures and a few surprise lots. All the individual artworks were painted by talented local and national artists and were auctioned by Clive Emson Land and Property Auctioneers at the Clive Emson Conference centre on Thursday evening. The eager and enthusiastic auction-goers, including some telephone and proxy bidders, were amazing in helping the Hospice to raise this incredible amount.
The amount raised will help the Hospice continue to run vital services and provide free palliative end-of-life care to people with terminal illnesses in and around Maidstone in Kent which cost £6.6 million per annum. The Hospice relies on donations, fundraisers and gifts in Wills to run its services with only small grants coming from the NHS.
The ‘Bee Happy’ Shaun sculpture by artist Donna Newman raised the most on the night, selling for an amazing £8,500.
One special moment came at the auction when several bidders stood up to pledge £1,000 each to raise a total of £14,000 for the Shaun Bench by Annabelle Hodd named ‘Changing of the Seasons’. This wonderful design was created in memory of the artists friend Lesley who was cared for by the Hospice. The bench will now have a forever home at the Hospice where patients and their families can enjoy sitting and creating memories together.
Rachel Street, Chief Executive Heart of Kent Hospice said: ‘This amazing event was a collaboration between our Hospice, Aardman, Wild in Art and Presenting Partner and sponsor Maidstone Borough Council. We couldn’t have carried out this event without the support of our Partners and Sponsors, our volunteer trail makers, along with so many other local businesses who gave their time, services and support. Before the auction all the colourful Shaun sculptures were together in one place for the Farewell Weekend, which over 2,300 people attended.
“During the nine-week free art trail 10,700 people downloaded the Parade app and a staggering 640,000 Shaun sculptures were collected, and we know that many more thousands of people enjoyed the trail using the printed map or enjoyed just stumbling upon the Shaun Sculptures while in the town centre or walking along the river path and in the parks of Maidstone. This summer the Hospice team have had so many wonderful conversations with new visitors to Maidstone, residents out exploring new and familiar areas and families that the Hospice have supported across the years; as well as being able to tell many more people about the work of our Hospice.”
Director of Income Generation at the Hospice Ann-Marie Kelly said: “Fundraising is vital for the Hospice to be able to continue to provide specialist advice, support and specialist care to our community. The amount raised will help pay for our team of Doctors, Nurses and Healthcare Assistants who provide personalised around-the-clock care in our Inpatient Unit and in people’s homes and care homes. We hope everyone enjoyed the trail and learning more about the Hospices work and will consider supporting the charity in the future. Hospice care has never been more needed and demand for our services continues to grow, so fundraising like this is vital to enable us to continue delivering the care that our community needs.”
The Auction took place between 6:00pm – 10pm and was conducted by Official Auction Partner Clive Emson Land and Property Auctioneers.
