The Great Tail Trail’s Grand Auction, which took place at The Italian Villa, Compton Acres on Friday 20 June, has raised a mer-mazing £200,600 for Julia’s House children’s hospice charity from the sale of 48 mermaid tail sculptures.
It was a beautiful warm evening as all the sculptures went on display in the ornate gardens, delighting almost 100 guests who had come to take home a very special memory of the art trail.
The tails were part of a free public art trail throughout Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole this spring, with each sculpture sponsored by a local business and given a unique and colourful design by an acclaimed artist.
“What an incredible night!” said Laura Maidment, Public Fundraising Manager for Julia’s House. “We are absolutely overwhelmed and delighted that the tails have raised such a fantastic amount for Julia’s House – and it’s really exciting to see them go off to their new homes! All our bidders, whether in person or as part of the online auction, have been unbelievably generous and shown so much support.
“The Great Tail Trail has been an incredibly important fundraising project for Julia’s House, enabling us to raise awareness of our vital work and attract new supporters and funding. We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved, especially our partners, sponsors, artists, schools, community groups, anyone who has enjoyed visiting the trail this spring and of course our successful bidders!
“The money raised from the trail, app, Farewell Weekend and auction will help make a difference every day to the children and families who need the support of Julia’s House. This is income we wouldn’t have been able to raise without such a major event and such widespread support.
“While this is a big figure that will make a significant difference to Julia’s House, we do still have to keep on fundraising – our care costs are estimated to be just over £5m this year and are continuing to rise. The kind of local community support that the trail has generated continues to be critical to our future, ensuring we can continue to provide care and support to the families that rely on us. Without the support of the local community, Julia’s House wouldn’t exist.”
The 48 designs available at auction all offered something different to bidders – many depicted local or coastal scenes, some featured wildflowers or animals in nature, there was pop art, illustrations, friendly children’s characters and even some jewel-encrusted, sparkling mermaid tails. Julia’s House young ambassador, Ebony Robinson, joined the bidders and even took home her very own mermaid tail, Moomaid, designed by Isobel Letham.
The auction, which was kindly sponsored by specialist engineering company, IMI Poole, was led by professional auctioneer Charlie Ross, presenter of BBC TV’s Bargain Hunt, who created an electric atmosphere in the bidding room as the tails went under the hammer and bidders battled it out for their favourite designs.
Julia’s House has partnered with Wild In Art, the leading producer of spectacular public art events, to bring The Great Tail Trail to BCP, having previously collaborated on The Big Dog Art Trail in Swindon during 2013 and the Pride in Bournemouth lion trial in 2011.
Trail artist, Judy Guillery (Judee Tree Art) said, “It has been a wonderful experience for my son Morgan (MorganGMakes) and I to be involved in another sculpture trail for Julia’s House. We think what they do is invaluable, especially having visited the hospices, meeting the care staff and a lot of the families who rely on them.
The auction was the most incredible end to our Great Tail Trail journey, seeing the tails in the stunning location of Compton Acres. Charlie Ross made the evening fly by with his charming good humour as auctioneer. When Morgan’s sculpture went under the hammer he had the whole room singing ‘Yellow Submarine’! Such an amazing night!”
At 14 years of age, Judy’s son Morgan was the youngest artist on the trail with his design, Tailtanic. He received a special new commission on the night from Wild in Art as a blank sculpture was sold, with Morgan invited on the spot to paint it!
The evening’s top tails were Oceana, designed by Gill Prendergast and Growing Together, the AFC Bournemouth mermaid tail designed by AUB student, I’Eisha Haywood, which raised an impressive £10,500 and £17,500 respectively.
Work began on The Great Tail Trail more than 18 months ago and the fundraising project has been a huge undertaking for Julia’s House, involving more than 40 professional artists, 45 sponsors and 43 local schools and community groups. The trail took place across BCP from 5 April – 1 June with 88 mermaid tails positioned along the coastline and in the towns. When the Waves Come by LUCANART was the most collected sculpture and The Mermaid’s Tale, a beautiful Tiffany-glass style mermaid by Glen Brooks of Studio Glen, was the most popular.
More than 5,172 people downloaded The Great Tail Trail app, collecting 137,819 tails between them as they covered a staggering 16,118 miles in total. The Farewell Weekend held on 14 and 15 June saw over 2,000 visitors come through the doors of Bournemouth International Centre ahead of the auction, raising an estimated £8,000 to add to the charity’s fundraising total.
Discover more about how Julia’s House supports seriously ill children and their families at www.juliashouse.org