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WELCOME TO THE KINGFISHER TRAIL 2021

 
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The Kingfisher Trail is a fantastic arts trail of 21 wonderful kingfisher sculptures which have been decorated by some of our most talented local artists for public display in and around the Cotswolds National Landscape in 2021. Residents and visitors are invited to follow the trail in the summer of 2021, get out into nature and enjoy the outstanding natural beauty of the Cotswolds region. The Kingfisher Trail is designed to bring businesses, arts and local communities together and at the end of the project all of these wonderful sculptures will be auctioned to art lovers and businesses to raise funds for the vital conservation work (for projects that support children and young people in the Cotswolds National Landscape.) of the Cotswolds National Landscape.

  • This will be a fantastic event to promote the Cotswolds National Landscape and its partners in 2021. 

  • Public arts projects generate an incredible amount of headline grabbing publicity. 

  • Previous partners have benefited from millions of social media impressions, valued in significant equivalent media spend. 

  • The trail publicity will begin autumn/winter 2020, with the official trail launch in spring 2021 and running throughout spring/summer 2021.

 
Featured
Imogen Harvey-Lewis
Imogen Harvey-Lewis

Award-winning freelance illustrator and self-confessed “drawaholic” Imogen Harvey-Lewis was delighted when she was invited to be one of the artists on the new Kingfisher Trail.

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Andy ‘Dice’ Davies
Andy ‘Dice’ Davies

Asked how he is going to approach his kingfisher design for the Kingfisher Trail, seasoned paint festival artist Andy ‘Dice’ Davies – aka Dice67 – says, “I’m thinking of going a bit mad with colour. I think spray paint lends itself well to kingfishers – they are so vibrant and bright.

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PJ Crook
PJ Crook

I’ve always been inspired by what is happening in the world around me and further afield so my paintings have nearly always been figurative and based on the human condition. Whether it was my father’s passion for gambling and horse racing etc, or observing my daughter and my son as they travelled through childhood it has often felt like a journal of my life.

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Ed Swarez
Ed Swarez

“There’s such a wealth of talent working on the Kingfisher Trail, classically trained artists, award winners, global street art icons, I can hardly think about it, my head will explode!” Ed Swarez says. “I’m in such exalted company I’ve got to raise my game. It’s fantastic.”

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FOLLOW THE KINGFISHER TRAIL ON SOCIAL MEDIA

 
We got a nice mention in the Wiltshire Times thank you so much! And to Senior Reporter John Baker for the great article.⠀ "TWO new trails aimed at encouraging visitors to return to Cotswold towns and villages are being supported by Bradford on Avon Town Council. ⠀ ⠀ The Kingfisher Trails are organised by Cotswolds National Landscape and are inspired by the River Severn and the River Thames. They run down the western and eastern edges of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Bradford on Avon councillors agreed to back the trails at their full council meeting. They hope they will encourage visitors to return to the town during the summer months. The Kingfisher Trail will see the town host one of 21 large sculptures of a kingfisher, each decorated by a professional artist. A council spokeswoman said: "Our kingfisher will make two visits to the town, the first in June, and then returning in August."
Cotswold-based artist Emma Howell (b. 1992) creates abstract paintings and drawings comprised of raw mark-making and intense washes of colour that work together to form landscape-like compositions. The foundation of her current work is primarily based on the sudden loss of her father in 2016. She’s nurturing a new relationship with the world that she had deemed tiresome and melancholic after the family's loss. Emma’s encounter with grief compelled her to build a deeper appreciation and more colourful affinity towards nature, society and culture. Now, as an active adventurer and explorer, Emma is taking you somewhere she’s been and showing you how she sees it, feels it and hears it. All of her work is dedicated to her Dad, whose loss taught her how to embrace the adventure that life can offer.⠀ ⠀ Emma lives and works in the regency town of Cheltenham. In 2015, she received a BA in Fine Art from the University of Gloucestershire, graduating with first-class honours. She
Imogen Harvey-Lewis is a freelance artist and illustrator who works a tight ship of design and drawing combining commercial, private and personal commissions with a passion for the extension and consolidation of her personal creative practice.⠀ ⠀ "Drawing is my go-to for pleasure, situation sorting and work. I am self-taught. I draw because I love it. I draw each day. I have a favourite pencil." - Lewis⠀ ⠀ Find out more about this incredible contributor through the link in our bio. @plimpsole_girl
Introducing Ed Swarez Artistic Programming Panel member & Kingfisher Sculpture Artist.⠀ ⠀ Swarez creates one-off original paintings; lovingly crafted, exquisitely detailed and filled with an honesty rarely seen in today's marketplace. Originals are never replicated and he doesn't do prints of anything. Ed uses his own formula enamel paints that he has developed over the last five years. They are unique and are one of the key ingredients in his work.
Bradford on Avon Town Council will host the Flying Kingfisher for two fortnights in June and August 2021! Thank you so much, your support will help create a fantastic event for residents and visitors alike to enjoy over the summer of 2021. What a great opportunity for us to showcase amazing local businesses and artists. ⠀ ⠀ They’ve really got behind the project and have already created a news item
We are incredibly grateful for the support and expertise of PJ Crook as part of our Artistic Programming Panel 2021. PJ Crook will also be designing one of the 21 Kingfisher statues.⠀ ⠀ www.pjcrook.com⠀ PJ lives and works in Gloucestershire and is an artist of international repute, having dealers in Paris, Canada and New York as well as London. In 2018 the Morohashi Museum of Modern Art in Japan held an exhibition of her work drawn from their own large collection and paintings borrowed from the studio and private British collections, which had three million visitors. Also through that summer, the Museum of Gloucester showed thirty of PJ’s paintings paired with thirty paintings from their historic collection, an exhibition that also broke attendance records.
Albie Lucas is transforming a 5ft Kingfisher Sculpture; his artwork focuses on what it feels like to be living, not glorifying any happiness or sadness, each is the same. He is driven to make drawings, not just to express emotions but to express emotion itself. His work comes from a meaningful emotional encounter – his hope is that people seeing it are able to share that experience. The work mostly takes the form of drawing and installation, often based the poignant sadness in everyday objects, people and situations. There is always something of himself in the work.
We are extremely grateful for the support and expertise of our Artistic Programming Panel 2021:⠀ ⠀ PJ Crook - www.pjcrook.com⠀ ⠀ Arabella Kiszely - www.littlebucklandgallery.co.uk⠀ ⠀ Andy Davies - www.dice67.co.uk⠀ ⠀ Ed Swarez - www.swarez.co.uk⠀ ⠀ Imogen Harvey-Lewis - www.imogenharveylewis.co.uk⠀ ⠀ All of the artists have given their time and professional input to advise on the selection and appointment stage of the artistic programming process. From here we have been able to arrange the final panel of artists that will creatively design the 21 Kingfisher sculptures. Their input and support for the Kingfisher Trail, Cotswolds 2021 has been greatly received.
The Relish Group will be hosting the Flying Kingfisher for 2 weeks this August! It will then fly away to a new location on the Kingfisher Trail. ⠀ ⠀ What a great opportunity for us to showcase amazing local businesses and artists. ⠀ ⠀ Get in touch if you would like to get involved.⠀ ⠀ The Relish Group began as an event catering company in the 90’s running hospitality catering for a handful of greenfield events. Over the years it has branched out into a number of restaurants, cafes and bars in and around the Cotswolds, all of which share the group ethos of delivering outstanding hospitality. https://buff.ly/3ie1JiN
 

KINGFISHER TRAIL TIMELINE

 
 
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January 2021

Official website and social media go live
Selected Artists Confirmed

 
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February - April 2021

Artists receive their Kingfisher sculptures and decorate them
Official Trail App created

 
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May - September 2021

Trail remains live and is promoted to visitors nationwide in all media and online

 
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September 2021

Official commemorative auction catalogue is distributed to sponsors, partners and buyers

 
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October 2021

Kingfishers are auctioned to raise funds for the Cotswolds National Landscape projects

 
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October - November 2021

Kingfishers are delivered to their new owners around the country & the world