Bulls in the City, a new art trail heading to Birmingham in summer 2025, held its launch event on Wednesday 26 June at Millennium Point.
Businesses who are already onboard as sponsors, and those wanting to find out more, attended the event where Birmingham-based artist Jess Perrin painted the very first sculpture live on the night.
A herd of 40 fibre-glass sculptures based on the iconic Bullring bull will descend onto the city next summer, creating an interactive art trail for local families and those who will travel from farther afield to see the spectacle.
After the trail, all 40 sculptures, uniquely decorated by talented artists, will be auctioned off to raise vital funds for Birmingham Hospice.
The hospice, with sites in Selly Oak and Erdington, provides expert palliative and end of life care free of charge to local communities.
The charity recently announced it was having to reduce services and close inpatient beds due to a national funding crisis affecting all hospices – collectively UK hospices will have a £77 million deficit this year.
Fundraising has therefore never been more important for the charity and hospice leaders are hoping Bulls in the City will raise much-needed funds.
Lucy Watkins, Income Generation Director at Birmingham Hospice, said the art trail will generate vital income for the charity at a time when they need it most.
She said: “The trail will not only benefit the city economy, but we also hope to raise awareness and funds for our charity.
“We need to protect our services for the future. Access to expert and compassionate end of life care is a necessity – local people deserve to have a choice in their care, and to be treated with respect and dignity.
“By sponsoring a bull and getting involved in Bulls in the City, you will not only benefit as a local business but you will be supporting a charity that directly helps the people of Birmingham.
“We’re so thrilled to have officially launched Bulls in the City and we encourage any Birmingham-based businesses to get involved – you won’t want to miss out!”
The team at Restore Harrow Green are once again involved in the trail as a Logistics Partner. After being involved in The Big Sleuth in 2017 and The Big Hoot in 2015, they jumped at the chance to help bring another trail to Birmingham.
Liz Russell, Head of Relocation Services at Restore Harrow Green, said: “It’s great to be bringing another amazing art trail to our city.
“Our teams loved the excitement of being involved with previous trails, knowing how much joy it brought to Birmingham, so we absolutely had to get on board with Bulls in the City.”
The trail is bought to Birmingham in partnership with Wild in Art, who organise and orchestrate art trails up and down the country.
Businesses can join the ‘herd’ and sponsor a large sculpture in the trail for £7,000, while schools and community groups can adopt a calf for £1,000 which will be theirs to decorate and keep after the trail.
Numerous businesses and schools are already signed up. The charity is encouraging anyone wanting to get involved to contact them as all sculptures are reserved on a first-come first-served basis.
Get involved!