With thousands of people already coming up close to Break’s GoGoDiscover 21 T.rex, which are brightening up Norwich’s streets this summer and helping Break raise funds so that it continue to provide lifelong support to children and young people in care, on the edge of care or leaving care, meet some of the artists who designed and decorated some of the colossal sculptures.
Aylsham-based artist, Mik Richardson, designed Afternoon Tea-Rex, sponsored by and located at Chantry Place. This is the fourth time Mik has worked on a Break sculpture trail, with his previous pieces raising over £68,000 for the East Anglian children’s charity. Although Mik has painted over 100 sculptures for over 30 trails across the UK, including a special commission for Blue Peter and a piece brought by Ed Sheeran, Afternoon Tea-Rex is the biggest sculpture he has worked on – at 2 metres tall. Taking roughly 10 days to decorate, Mik used acrylic and emulsion paints to bring the tea-riffic T. Rex to life, and added a real tea tray and cake stand. “Rex is a waiter, but with his tiny little arms, he has to balance items on his head and back”, said Mik, “so don’t even consider asking him to pick up that dropped spoon from the floor.” Mik wasn’t always an artist, in fact he spent 27 years as an avionics engineer in the RAF.
Sally Adams is a former London prop maker, who now lives in Norwich, and is an ardent Break supporter. She is already working on the 2022 trail for Break and has decorated two T.rex for the 2021 trail; Rex, sponsored by Jarrolds, and Lost Holmes, sponsored by Aspiration Europe. Sally commented: "Virtually everything we know about dinosaurs comes from their enormous bones, so Rex is a giant dog and has run off with one of the bones! Inspiration for Lost Holmes was taken from two works by Arthur Conan-Doyle, ‘Lost Worlds’ and, of course, ‘Sherlock.” Other work on public display by Sally include the stainless-steel dragonfly at How Hill, the grasshopper at Greshams at Holt and the Police HQ Memorial Fountain at Wymondham.
Ryan Newell is a freelance illustrator and animator based in Norwich, working on everything from pet portraits to vehicle graphics. Previously involved with three Break trails, for GoGoDiscover 2021, Ryan designed Where’s Rexy, sponsored by Riverside Entertainment, with the theme of retro computer games. Decorated with acrylics, the work took Ryan about six weeks to complete. Ryan said: “It’s a large piece, but I've painted an elephant and a dragon before, so I wasn’t intimidated by the scale.”
Sophie Li-Rocchi is Head of Art at Gresham Prep school and this year has designed and decorated two T.rex - Dino Hunter and SNAP! “SNAP!, sponsored by Castle Quarter, is based on Norwich’s famous medieval dragon, who would entertain the crowds at St George’s Day celebrations and at processions held for the inauguration of new Mayors”, explained Sophie. “The tradition still exists today at the annual Lord Mayors Procession. Some of the original dragons are kept in Norwich Castle Museum, so I was able to base my design on these. Dino Hunter is ready for an adventure - he has his binoculars and all the equipment he could possibly need to hunt for dinosaurs on the streets of Norwich. Sponsored by First Eastern Counties Buses, other dinosaur hunters should look out for the bus ticket and bus map in the Dino Hunter design.” Fitting the work around teaching commitments, Sophie worked on the sculptures for over seven months.
Tracey Warnes, GoGoDiscover Art Co-ordinator at Break, said: “The artists have done an amazing job creating these unique and beautiful works of art. The feedback has been brilliant and everyone is loving seeing the T.rex around Norwich. The artists are such a vital part of this event - from coming up with ideas, working with sponsors and decorating the sculptures, and then helping us raise funds for Break at auction. We are now on the lookout for artists to be involved in 2022 with even more T.rex and Steppe Mammoth sculptures being unleashed around Norfolk. We’d love to hear from artists who think outside the box to create designs which will make people smile.”
Artists interested in being involved with GoGoDiscover can download an artist information pack and submission form via this link https://www.break-charity.org/
Running from now until Saturday 11th September 2021, the GoGoDiscover charity sculpture trail is delivered by East Anglian based children’s charity Break, in partnership with Wild in Art. The presenting partners of GoGoDiscover 2021 are Norwich BID and Chantry Place.
While the trail is free, people who have enjoyed the sculptures can donate to Break via text or on the website, so that Break can continue to transform futures and change the lives of vulnerable children and young people across the region. For more information about Break visit break-charity.org
Text TREX to 70085 to donate £3. Texts cost £3, plus one standard rate message. #GoGoDiscover
Five-star housing developer, Lovell, has unveiled the Steppe Mammoth it is sponsoring as part of Break’s GoGoDiscover 2022 trail and it can be discovered now until 10th September 2022 at Wymondham on Fairland Green.
Buzz has been designed by artist Donna Newman and is decorated with furry bumble bees, honeycomb and lavender. Symbolising the importance of bees in our ecosystem, Buzz is inspired by the fields of lavender which have long played a part in the landscape of Norfolk. It took Donna four days to decorate Buzz – with 40 different brushes being used!
Donna Newman from Eden Design is a freelance painter based in the Midlands and has family in Norfolk so is familiar with the countryside and also grows lavender in her own garden. Donna comments: “I love Buzz as he is inspired by bees and just looks amazing on Fairland Green outdoors and surrounded by nature. I used five different paints on Buzz and a hair dryer to make the paint dry quicker! I hope Break raises lots of money from the trail and auction, and thanks so much to Lovell for picking my design.”
Chantry Place has unveiled the dinosaurs that have stomped into the Centre this summer for GoGoDiscover 2022 as it hosts six large T.rex sculptures and 30 Breakasaurus T.rex sculptures from now until 10th September 2022.
As well as the return of Afternoon Tea-Rex, the T.rex that Chantry Place has sponsored, and the amazing T-Wrecks, new dinosaurs for 2022 include Sirdavidsaurus Rex, T-RAFFE, The Golden King and Paintosaurus.
Chantry Place is a presenting partner of GoGoDiscover 2022 and also plays host to 30 mini Breakasaurus T.rex as part of the GoGoDiscover Learning & Community Programme with packs found on the dining terrace, in House of Fraser and in Langleys window at the Centre. The large sculptures can be found on each floor of the Centre, as well as on Chantry Square.
Cactusaurus, the sharp-looking T.rex sculpture sponsored by Norfolk value retailer QD – QualityDiscounts.com, has been unveiled as part of the GoGoDiscover Trail 2022. The sculpture trail is delivered by East Anglian charity Break in partnership with Wild in Art.
Taking pride of place in Anglia Square, the brightly coloured Cactusaurus T.rex is now positioned outside QD’s Norwich store – the first QD to open back in 1985.
The design been created and hand painted by 24-year-old Norwich artist Laura Hawkins. Laura is one of the youngest artists to take part in GoGoDiscover to date. Inspired by her extensive (and growing!) collection of cacti, Laura’s Cactusaurus artwork was chosen by QD from over 200 designs submitted by artists for the sculptures. The collection of bright green cacti and pots painted in the QD red makes for a striking design. Small additional details such as Cactusaurus’s leafy toenails can also be seen by eagle-eyed sculpture spotters. Laura painted the sculpture in acrylic, which gives the leafy design more texture, with a varnish applied all over to make it weatherproof.
Thousands of years ago they roamed the Norfolk coast – now for just 11 weeks you can meet a mammoth in Great Yarmouth market!
Visitors to the town’s new six-day covered market will be greeted by a giant Steppe Mammoth sculpture called Yuuki from Monday 27 June, as part of the Break charity’s GoGoDiscover event.
The colourful creature has been sponsored by Norfolk firm Pentaco Construction, the lead building firm on the market project.
The installation is also being backed by Great Yarmouth Borough Council, which operates the market, and stall owners, who are offering a special discount to people taking part in Break’s GoGoDiscover trail.
People using the GoGoDiscover app on their phones, available for £1.79 on the Google Play or Apple Store, will be able to claim a 5% discount at participating market stalls after ‘collecting’ the sculpture on the app. This works by entering a code found on the mammoth’s plinth.
After months of anticipation, hundreds of people were treated to a preview of some of the T.rex and Steppe Mammoth sculptures set to stomp across the county for the GoGoDiscover 2022 trail.
The sculptures were unveiled at the GoGoDiscover launch event on Thursday 16 June 2022, which brought together artists, sponsors and logistical partners who are involved in the project.
Of the nine sculptures on display, seven had never been seen before in public. These were Doug the Dino, Mow the Mammoth, Teo, Big Top, Margaret’s Mammoth, Daddy of all Dinosaurs and Mae the Mammoth.
The other two – Prideasaurus and Afternoon Tea-Rex - featured in Break’s mini trail last summer which welcomed Dippy the Dinosaur to Norwich Cathedral.
The roar-some creations featured a range of designs in a variety of mediums, depicting themes such as nature and the environment, equality and diversity, and the Deep History Coast. One, set to be a dino-lovers favourite, is covered in prehistoric creatures of all shapes and sizes.