'Go Nuts’ Squirrel Art Trail Launches

25 July 2018

'Go Nuts’ Squirrel Art Trail Launches image

Today we have launched our exciting plans to bring an art installation trail, ‘Go Nuts’, to the Highlands over the summer of 2019.

The trail, which is the first of its kind in the Highlands, will introduce twenty 5 foot red squirrel sculptures in various towns and throughout the city of Inverness.  Each sculpture will be sponsored by a local business.

Local artist Scott Gleed who runs the business Gleed3D from near Logie Steadings beside Forres, has been commissioned by the Hospice to create the sculptures.

Once the sculptures have been created, artists will be invited to submit designs which will be submitted to the squirrel sponsors. Selected artists will then receive their blank sculpture to create and customise their design, creating a scurry of beautiful squirrels on display throughout the Highlands from June to September 2019.

Scott said, “I am delighted to be working with an enthusiastic local charity and supporting a great cause through creating these squirrel sculptures. This is such an exciting project and I have lots of ideas for it.  I like things to be a bit quirky or unusual, so I am creating the squirrels in such a way that they can be placed anywhere at all – not necessarily on ground level!”

Jenna Hayden, Highland Hospice’s Events Fundraiser said, “We chose the red squirrel for our art trail because the species is located all over the Highlands, reaching all areas whilst being looked after and protected. This encapsulates exactly what we at Highland Hospice aim to do for the patients and families who need our help and support.”

“We are going to host an eye catching squirrel in every town where we have a Hospice shop – Alness, Tain, Wick, Thurso, Portree, Fort Wiliam, Aviemore, Beauly, Dornoch, Grantown, Forres and Nairn – as well as a few in the city of Inverness.”

Highland Hospice’s Corporate Fundraiser Lisa Long explains, “We are extending an invitation to local businesses to get involved by sponsoring one of the twenty squirrels. This is a great opportunity for companies to get behind the Hospice in an unusual way which offers a range of PR and marketing opportunities.”

In September 2019, once the trail has come to an end, the squirrels will be gathered together for a farewell display, before taking centre stage at a Highland Hospice charity auction in October before they move to their new permanent homes.

Jenna Hayden concludes, “This is such an exciting project for Highland Hospice – public art installations always create a buzz of excitement and special feeling for those who experience them. ‘Go Nuts’ aims to inspire pride in the Highlands from its residents to explore areas outside of their usual neighbourhood or towns, and to encourage tourists to the area to spend longer in the Highlands and more fully experience its culture.”

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