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…