Herd of Sheffield


The Herd of Sheffield was a charity event in the summer of 2016 in Sheffield, England. Wild in Art organised the public art trail which was run in aid of the Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity. The theme of the project revolved around sculptures of elephants. There were four main parts of the event:

Choice of a theme

The inspiration for the elephant theme of the event was that 2016 would be the 100th anniversary of Sheffield's first use of a war elephant. The elephant was named Lizzie and was used to haul ammunition, machinery and raw materials to and from the city's steel factories. Three of the 58 sculptures are named after Lizzie. The use of war elephants in the United Kingdom increased during the First World War because many horses were taken away for military use. Approximately eight million horses died in the war.
Some artists drew inspiration from the First World War to mark Lizzie's anniversary, for example one elephant was painted in a dazzle camouflage pattern, while others incorporated local themes such as Henderson's Relish into their artworks.

Cause

The purpose of the Herd of Sheffield was to raise money for the Sheffield Children's Hospital with the aim of raising enough money to fund the purchase of a fluoroscopy machine. Aside from the auction, money was raised through selling merchandise such as pens, toy elephants, maps and souvenir books. Rebecca Staden of the Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity came up with the idea of an elephant trail and contacted the Yorkshire-based company Wild in Art which specialises in organising mass public participation art events to help the idea come to fruition.

Herd of Sheffield

The "Herd of Sheffield" refers both to the whole charity project and the group of large elephants. The 1.6 metre tall fiberglass elephants were given to local artists who were tasked with decorating them with whichever medium they chose. In total, 58 large elephant sculptures were designed. As it was the main source of income, the large herd was deemed the most important part of the fundraising project. The event was formally announced on alongside the unveiling of the first-completed sculpture.
On, the Herd of Sheffield Trail started: all 58 elephants were put on display at different locations around the city. Each elephant was accompanied by a plaque with the elephant's name and description on it. A QR code was also provided for each elephant which enabled users of the Herd of Sheffield app to scan the code and collect discounts from local companies. Thousands of people, both locals and non-locals, went on the trail to participate in the interactive public art event which involved travelling to see all of the elephants. Maps and guidebooks were published to aid elephant spotters.

List of elephants

The list below gives the titles of the sculptures, their creators, their exhibition location and their auction price.
NameCreatorExhibition locationAuction price
Elmer the Patchwork ElephantSheffield Children's Hospital patientsWeston Park8,500
InconellyPressure TechnologiesFargate8,200
AMMatthew CooperSheffield Town Hall16,500
EffieGeo LawCastle Square7,000
Our City, Our HomeAlan PenningtonSouth Street4,200
Interst-ElephantJosh and Aimee WilliamsBarkers Pool5,600
Sheffield ElephantJosh and Aimee WilliamsOrchard Square11,000
An Elephant Never Forgets Where He Came FromCaroline GreylingFargate7,000
It's Parade DayClare PentlowTudor Square5,000
BirdyCoralie Turpin-ThomsonCheney Row5,500
Peace ElephantRocket 01Lady's Bridge3,500
Fairytale ElephantCarolyn ShortSheffield Cathedral5,700
The Elephant in the HiveCaroline GreylingPonds Forge11,000
I Follow a Different HerdCreative in CrystalVictoria Quays5,200
The WarriorDeven BhurkeSheffield railway station7,800
Henry the ConstructorDeven BhurkeBotanical Gardens5,000
Sheffield BotanicalElla OsborneBarkers Pool5,200
All as OneEmma JacksonThe Moor Quarter5,200
Herd & BirdFinger IndustriesWinter Garden4,800
TopsyFlorence BlanchardButchers Works6,300
Lingo the ElephantGeo LawFurnival Square7,500
Elephant Inside OutGillian HigginsThe Hubs6,000
In it TogetherJames CroftBotanical Gardens6,800
Donkeys in Elephant LandJames GreenWeston Park6,000
Jungle JimJenny LeonardPeace Gardens15,000
A Sheffield SummerJenny LeonardSheaf Square6,200
The City ElephantJo PeelBrown Street6,600
Yorkshire RoseJonathan Wilkinson Hillsborough Park Walled Garden4,700
ElephantomKieron Reilly & Lynsey BrecknellSheffield United FC4,100
SnookHerdKieron Reilly & Lynsey BrecknellTudor Square7,000
SymbiosisLaura GrayGraves Park7,000
Small BeginningsLisa MaltbyBotanical Gardens7,600
BugsyLiz HallWeston Park11,000
But Where's the Ladybird?Lydia MonksMeadowhall Centre6,200
HendophantMatt CockayneLeavygreave Road11,300
Tin LizzieMik RichardsonBBC Radio Sheffield6,500
Lizzietron 2.2Nick BaxLeafygreave Road5,900
MarjoriePete McKeeKelham Island22,000
Stampeding EleganceKid AcneMeadowhall5,500
Razzle Dazzle ’em, LizzieRobert HurstArundel Gate4,600
Forest SpiritFaunagraphicVictoria Quays5,200
HoliSophie GreenSt Paul's Place4,700
Patchwork CitySophie-Rose WibergFitzalan Square4,400
JackophantStephen McKayFargate7,600
SkywalkerStephen McKayMeadowhall7,500
Elmer's AuntySue GuthrieForge Dam5,000
Gulal GraffitiSue GuthrieSheaf Square6,600
Heard Sheffield?TemperTudor Square7,800
EllieDavid Elliot HoodithDevonshire Green8,000
The Elements of an ElephantRyan Patrick MorleyPaternoster Row5,600
And... RepeatNeil CarribineThe Moor6,700
IzzySteve MillingtonSheffield Cathedral8,700
Nelly Looking through the Looking GlassStoneface CreativeOur Cow Molly5,400
The Beat Goes OnTom J NewellCrystal Peaks6,500
Steel ElephantTom ClaytonHallam Square7,700
BlossomSue WebberCrystal Peaks7,300
Matisse's Last AssistantMark AlexanderMillennium Gallery4,500
Technicolor PachydermsRob LeeDevonshire Green5,200

Little Herd

In addition to the main herd, a herd of 72 small elephant calves was made by over 70 local schools. The Little Herd was sponsored by Blundells and were displayed in groups at the following locations:
After the main herd's display period was over, all 58 sculptures were assembled at Meadowhall Centre and displayed between and so viewers could see them one last time before the auction.

Auction

On, all 58 elephants of the main herd put on auction at the Crucible Theatre. Charles Hanson, best known for his work on Bargain Hunt, and Lucy Crapper were the auctioneers for the event which raised £410,600.
The winning bidder for Summer donated the elephant for which he paid to local school High Storrs after seeing their art teacher, who was the sculpture's designer, break into tears on losing the bid on behalf of the school.

Sponsors

Numerous local businesses, organisations and educational institutions sponsored the project along with some national companies including Barclays, John Lewis and Irwin Mitchell.