Birketts’ owl roosting in office ahead of The Big Hoot art trail
13 September 2021
Birketts has welcomed one of the stars of next year’s Big Hoot Ipswich art trail to its office for two weeks – and colleagues at the law firm will soon be able to pick the name of their owl ahead of its transformation.
An illustrated owl standing at nearly 5ft, kindly loaned from St Elizabeth Hospice, is currently greeting visitors to the firm’s Princes Street office. The team at Birketts will soon vote to pick the name of their own blank bird, with the artist (to be confirmed) taking this title as inspiration for their design. This follows in the footsteps of the Ipswich Star’s campaign in 2019, offering readers the chance to vote for the new name of the tawny owl often seen roosting in a tree in Christchurch Park.
Organised by Wild in Art and in support of St Elizabeth Hospice, Ipswich town centre will be visited by the oversized owl sculptures next summer, with each owl sponsored by a local business. Following in the footsteps of the Pigs Gone Wild and Elmer’s Big Parade art trails, Birketts will be displaying one of these owls outside their office in Princes Street. Birketts’ colleagues will also be voting for the name of their owl in the coming weeks.
When the trail wraps up in September, the sculptures will be auctioned off in aid of St Elizabeth Hospice, with the money raised going towards providing vital care and support to patients with life-limiting conditions and their families throughout East Suffolk, Great Yarmouth and Waveney.
Grace Kerr, Partner and CSR Chair at Birketts, commented: “It is a pleasure to work St Elizabeth Hospice once again – Elmer’s Big Parade in 2019, with our own Elephantom of the Opera – was a huge hit with our colleagues and followers of the art trail, so we are excited to participate again. It will be even more exciting this year to have a hand in the creative process behind our owl, so I look forward to seeing what our colleagues choose as the title for next summer’s artwork.”
Liz Baldwin, Corporate and Sponsorship Fundraising Manager at St Elizabeth Hospice, said: “Embracing the fun of the art trail with a vote like this is exactly the spirit we like to see from our partnering businesses.
It is fantastic for both the charity and the trail that Birketts are hands-on as sponsors for the 2022 event. The disruption of the pandemic is, we hope, ending and the resurgence in fundraising activity has been a much-needed boost for St Elizabeth Hospice. We are hopeful next year will follow suit, and we cannot wait to see what all our artists and partners do to make this the best Wild in Art trail yet.”
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Grace Kerr
The content of this article is for general information only. It is not, and should not be taken as, legal advice. If you require any further information in relation to this article please contact the author in the first instance. Law covered as at September 2021.