NEWS - BRISTOL ZOO GORILLA FAN GETS ON HIS BIKE TO VISIT EVERY SCULPTURE

Bristol Zoo gorilla fan gets on his bike to visit every sculpture
By The Editor
Aug 22, 2011

A fan of Bristol Zoo’s Wow! Gorillas project has cycled to all 61 sculptures – even visiting the gorilla in Birmingham.

Tony Hancy, 27, from St Paul’s, has cycled 220 miles, over four days to photograph all 61 gorillas around Greater Bristol and beyond.

His tour has taken him all over the city, as well as visiting the gorilla sculptures at Bristol Airport, The Mall at Cribbs Causeway, Costco in Avonmouth, WWT Slimbridge, Pill, Chipping Sodbury, Bitton Station and Birmingham Coach Station.

Tony, who is currently finishing his Masters in palaeobiology at the University of Bristol, said: “I’ve had a wonderful time cycling around the city and beyond, and seen a lot of sights that I may otherwise have never visited.

“Talking to other gorilla fans on my travels has shown me just how excited people have become over the concept, and I think it has been a brilliant opportunity for conservation outreach to the wider community.”

Tony is now planning on cycling to visit all 101 small schools’ gorillas over the next few weeks. He said: “I cycled to all the gorilla sculptures simply for the enjoyment of it but I am planning to do another cycle tour.

“I’d like to cycle to all of the mini gorillas and try and get sponsorship towards Bristol Zoo’s gorilla conservation projects and Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal.”

Eventually Tony hopes to be able to fly to Cameroon, in West Africa, to visit Metet School, which also has a small gorilla sculpture of its own. Metet School was built by Ape Action Africa, an ape charity supported by Bristol Zoo, and is one of eight village schools visited as part the charity’s education programme to raise awareness about the threats to primates, such as gorillas, and to get local children actively involved in conservation.

If you don’t get the chance to see all the gorillas, the sculptures will be on display at the Zoo from Saturday, September 24 until Wednesday 28 (normal zoo admission applies). The sculpture entitled ‘Gorilla Tourist’, in Birmingham, will be outside the front of the Zoo for the public to visit.

Then, on September 29, the sculptures will be sold at a charity auction to raise money for Bristol Zoo’s gorilla conservation projects and Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal, The Bristol Children’s Hospital Charity.

The auction is taking place at 7pm at the Victoria Rooms, Clifton, and will include a drinks reception and live music from leading Afro Celt band Baka Beyond.

Tickets for the auction are available for the auction from www.bristolzoo.org.uk/wow-gorillas or by phoning 0117 974 7300. Tickets are priced at £10 and spaces are strictly limited.

NEWS - BRISTOL CHILDREN WOWED BY THEIR OWN GORILLA

Bristol children wowed by their own gorilla

 

By The Editor
Jun 27, 2011

Sisters Holly, 10, and Abby, eight, help paint a gorilla donated by Airbus. The model was won by their mother Tracey Blythe in an employee competition. Also pictured is Natasha Iannaccone from Bristol Zoo

Children from Emersons Green Primary School in Bristol have been presented with a mini-gorilla sculpture, part of Bristol Zoo’s ‘Wow! Gorilla’ mass public art event taking place this summer.
The sculpture was given by Airbus who, as one of the major employers in Bristol, ran a competition for employees to win the sculpture for their child’s school.
The gorilla was won by Airbus employee Tracey Blythe and her two children who attend the school; Abby, eight and Holly, 10. Abby said: “I want to work in the zoo when I am older. I think feeding the animals would be the best job.”
The schoolchildren have painted the gorilla in bright colours where each colour represents a different class in the school. Some sections will be painted with tactile paint for pupils who are visually impaired. The gorilla will be on display in Emersons Green Library over the summer before it returns to its permanent home at the primary school.
“We were all really excited when we heard that we had won a gorilla for our school,” said Mrs Jan Issac, headteacher at Emersons Green Primary.
“We decided to paint the gorilla like a jigsaw as it is an important part of our school logo. The pieces symbolise us as individuals but together they make a big picture which represents our school community.”
Airbus has also sponsored a life-size ‘Wow! Gorilla’ sculpture which has been painted by a local artist with a jungle scene and is going to be exhibited in Millennium Square this summer.
It is one of 60 colourful sculptures which will appear on the streets of greater Bristol for 10 weeks from July 4, in celebration of Bristol Zoo’s 175th birthday.
Each of the sculptures has been sponsored by organisations, businesses and charities from across the region, and decorated in their own unique style by talented local artists.
Over 90 small gorillas will also pop up all over the region, sponsored and decorated by youngsters from across the city’s primary schools and nurseries.
Once the 10-week exhibition has come to an end, the sculptures will be sold at a charitable auction in Clifton, on September 29, to raise money for Bristol Zoo’s gorilla conservation projects and Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal, which raises funds for the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. The small gorillas will be returned to their respective schools.
To find out more about Bristol Zoo’s ‘Wow! Gorillas’ project, visit the website here…

NEWS - ANGER AT 'MINDLESS' ATTACK ON BRISTOL ZOO GORILLA SCULPTURES

Anger at ‘mindless’ attack on Bristol Zoo gorilla sculptures

 

By The Editor
Jul 21, 2011

People in Bristol have reacted angrily to an arson attack on one of the 60 gorilla sculptures placed around the city recently to celebrate Bristol Zoo’s 175th birthday.
The gorilla in Clifton, painted by children’s television star Timmy Mallet, was burned by vandals on Tuesday night.
A local resident fought the flames, caused by burning rubbish placed underneath the sculpture, before firefighters arrived. The gorilla has now been taken away by zoo staff to be repaired.
Sophie Denny, from Clifton, told Bristol24-7 yesterday how she saw the damaged sculpture on her way to work yesterday and told of her anger at the attack.
“Really, what is the point of doing something like that?” she asked. “Whoever did it is just mindless. The gorilla is not the greatest piece of artwork in the world, but it was a really fun addition to the area.”
Mr Mallett, who painted a Union Jack on the sculpture, told the BBC of his sadness at the way his creation has been damaged.
“It’s black, charred and looks terrible – that’s not the gorilla I spent a month painting,” he said. “I will repaint him. I don’t know quite how, he’ll have to be cleaned up and repaired.
“This is something I’m proud of, that Bristol Zoo is proud of, and everybody involved in the whole project is thrilled to be part of. Let’s not let a silly little thing like this stand in the way of something to celebrate.”
The gorillas, which are sponsored by businesses and painted by local artists, will eventually be auctioned for charity.

NEWS - SCULPTURES STOLEN FROM COLUMBIA, SC PARK TO BE REPLACED

Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011

Sculptures stolen from park to be replaced

By JEFF WILKINSON

The city of Columbia will replace three bronze sculptures stolen from Maxcy Gregg Park on Blossom Street near Five Points, city manager Steve Gantt said.
The three sculptures, representing a man, woman and child, have been missing since November, city officials said. The mother and father have been found, Gantt said, but the child is still missing.
And it isn’t the first time they’ve been stolen, he said. Pieces from the work, installed as part of a cancer survivor’s garden, also went missing in 2004.

“They are bronze, which is part copper, and people take them to try to get the copper,” Gantt said.
The city manager speculated that it would cost $5,000 to $6,000 to repair and replace the two recovered figures. “But we don’t really know” the cost of replacing the child.
The $1 million cancer survivor’s garden was erected in 2004. It was a project of the Cultural Council of Richland & Lexington Counties, which had received a $500,000 grant from the Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Foundation. Bloch, co-founder of the H&R Block tax preparation company, is a cancer survivor whose foundation is helping pay for similar gardens across the country.
The little girl was stolen only a few months after the park was dedicated, and later found in some weeds near Memorial Park in the Vista. At the time, the little girl’s sculpture was valued at $8,000.