The first of the GoGoHares sculptures are starting to hop into the county ready to be decorated for an open air art trail celebrating the 50th anniversary of children's charity Break.
The hares – which are following in the footsteps of the GoGoGorillas! and GoGoDragons! – have been specially designed for the Norwich and Norfolk trail which is being brought to the county by Break and Wild in Art.
Today we can reveal some of the first pictures of two of the sculpture designs, known as the Moongazer Hare and the Sitting Hare.
A baby hare is also being designed for children to decorate and will be unveiled at a later date ahead of the GoGoHares project decorating Norfolk in 2018.
During the summer of that year there will be 50 of the adult hares displayed in Norwich and a further 15 are planned to be dotted around other parts of the county. There will also be lots of baby hares from the GoGoCreate educational and learning programme.
Chris Wilkinson, from Wild in Art, has designed the sculptures.
When asked about how he created the design, he said: 'It was important for me to capture the essence of the hare whilst considering it as a 3D blank canvas for artists to be able to use to create unique designs.
'Another important consideration is to be able to size it up to become a street sculpture that will be robust enough to cope with city living for a summer long duration.
'And, lastly, as a rule of thumb, I like to think that people see the art first and then the sculpture second.'
He added: 'I am very pleased with both the Moongazer and Sitting Hare – I hope that they become great friends to you all.'
The first of the hare sculptures to arrive in the city will be having their first outing tonight at an event for sponsors of the project.
Tonight's event will also mark the announcement of the GoGoHares supporting partners – intu Chapelfield, Aspiration Europe and Norse.
As with the previous GoGo trails, each hare sculpture will be sponsored by a business or organisation and decorated by an artist.
Martin Green, GoGoHares project manager, said: 'The city hares have nearly all been assigned to a sponsor, many of which are new to the project.
'There are still some options to sponsor in the county, if you would like to get involved please contact us via the GoGoHares website.'
The GoGoHares will take to the city and county's streets in summer 2018 before going under the hammer to raise funds for Break in October 2018.
GoGoGorillas! and GoGoDragons!
The GoGoGorillas! and GoGoDragons! charity art trails were a huge hit with people of all ages when they decorated Norwich in the summers of 2013 and 2015.
Eighty-four GoGoDragons! flew in for the 2015 trail and at auction the winged warriors raised £369,500 for Break. In 2013 a troop of 54 GoGoGorillas! decorated the city and raised £272,300 for Break and the Born Free Foundation.
Local schoolchildren also got involved with the GoGo fun by creating trails of baby GoGoGorillas! and GoGoDragons!
For more about GoGoHares visit www.gogohares.co.uk and follow @gogohares2018 on Twitter.
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