Last night we were excited to be invited to the Croydon Stands Tall launch event hosted by the Croydon BID team at the LSBU Croydon Campus. This event kicked off a great initiative that will become part of an art trail in 2023 as one of the 14 showcase events for London Borough of Culture 23/24. The evening was hosted by Chief Executive of Croydon Bid, Mathew Sims who introduced the giraffe art concept as standing tall and proud for Croydon and our community. Croydon Stands Tall will bring the town of Croydon to life with an art trail lasting 10 weeks, bringing people together from the whole community, attracting visitors and footfall as well as supporting the local economy. In total there will be 30 eight-foot-tall giraffes located around Croydon, all uniquely and individually painted by local artists.
Working alongside Croydon BID to deliver this great project is Wild in Art. Since 2008 they have created and delivered public art events all over the world including pieces for the 2012 London Olympics and 2014 Commonwealth Games. Speaking at last night’s launch event, Managing Director, Charlie Langhorne was thrilled to working with the Croydon BID team to deliver another exciting public art event that would boost the Croydon community. Also speaking last night, Director of Fundraising Crisis, Richard Lee. After this amazing art trail has concluded all the giraffes will be herded up and sold at a charity auction with the proceeds going to Crisis to aid their mission of ending homelessness. Additional thanks to Croydon Mayor Jason Perry who gave his support and enthusiasm for the Croydon Stands Tall event as a way to boost Croydon and help the local community.
John Whitgift Foundation is proud to be part of the London Borough of Culture and will be announcing two heritage-based events to compliment the excellent work already started by Croydon Bid and Wild In Art. We look forward to following the giraffe trail across the town in 2023.
