A free family trail looks set to help bring visitors hopping to Hampshire when a husk of giant hares will create the biggest art event ever staged in Southampton and Winchester.
For 10 weeks this summer the streets, parks and public spaces of the two cities will be brought to life with an exhibition of larger-than-life sculptures of hares and their young leverets.
Each will be sponsored by a business and individually designed by an artist – either well-known or just starting out, from Hampshire or further afield – and will bound into the cities on Thursday 16 June, before leaving on Thursday 25 August 2022.
Aimed at showcasing the wealth of artistic talent the county has to offer, as well as creating a fun, family experience, the Hares of Hampshire will celebrate the history and culture of Hampshire, and the hare was chosen to represent ‘rebirth’ and ‘spring’.
Popping up in around 30 locations across the two cities, plans include visitors being able to explore the cities by following the trail of 6ft hares on a mobile app.
The trail is a Wild in Art event created by The Murray Parish Trust, a charity dedicated to improving paediatric emergency medicine across the South of England. Actors Sarah Parish and James Murray founded the charity in 2014 following the death of their eight-month-old daughter Ella-Jayne in 2009.
Among sponsors of individual sculptures is the UK’s No.1 Family Theme Park, Paultons Park, set on the edge of the New Forest National Park, and the Westquay Shopping Centre in Southampton, with more set to be announced.
While the trail itself will finish at the end of August, all the sculptures will be back together again between 8 and 11 September, for a special farewell event before each is auctioned to raise funds for The Murray Parish Trust.
For the latest news check out the Trail’s social media channels using #HaresOfHampshire or visit https://haresofhampshire.co.uk
For tourist information about Hampshire see www.visit-hampshire.co.uk.