For 10 weeks in this summer of 2021, the Octopus Ahoy! art sculptures will form a public art trail across Harwich, Tendring and the wider Essex area to celebrate the Mayflower 400™️ project and 150 Years of Clacton.
The art trail, featuring 30 4ft-by-4ft octopus sculptures, can be followed on the Octopus Ahoy! app (free to download on iPhone and Android); every time you reach an octopus and GPS picks up your location (or you scan the QR code on the plinth of the sculpture), you earn a prize!
These large octopus sculptures will be auctioned towards the end of the project with all profits going to Essex-based charities.
More information about downloading the app will be posted soon – keep an eye out on the Octopus Ahoy! website and social media pages.
The smaller 2ft-by-2ft octopus sculptures from the education programme will also be available to follow on the art trail app, and are to be hosted in internal locations throughout the summer – but no app prizes will be awarded for these. They will be returned to their schools/community groups at the end of the project.
The project, in partnership with Tendring District Council and the Harwich Tourism Group, is being created and delivered, on behalf of Mayflower 400™️ and 150 Years of Clacton, by KAT Marketing, a full, dynamic, creative agency with a longstanding background in events.
Delivering digital and traditional marketing campaigns in Essex, London and across the East of England, KAT Marketing was the driving force behind the highly acclaimed Stand Tall for Giraffes campaign in 2013, which marked Colchester Zoo’s 50th birthday, and its ongoing legacy for the town. An amazing £115,400 was raised for charity from the auction of the giraffe sculptures.
The KAT Marketing team is pleased to deliver and support the creation and implementation of Octopus Ahoy! for Mayflower 400™️, 150 Years of Clacton, and Harwich, Tendring and the wider Essex area.
WHAT IS A SCULPTURE PROJECT?
The concept of sculpture trails is known worldwide, having been staged throughout the UK, Europe and Africa – from Liverpool’s Superlambanana, Wenlock and Mandeville made famous throughout the 2012 Olympics and the huge international project that started it all, Cow Parade. These types of project provide a sense of community, give businesses – and the public – the chance to be imaginative and embrace art on a large scale and above all, they’re fun!
Other local projects in recent years include Stand Tall for Giraffes for Colchester Zoo’s 50th birthday, and Pigs Gone Wild and Elmer’s Parade in Ipswich for St Elizabeth Hospice.
Octopus Ahoy! will join the list of vibrant community art projects that paved the way… a free activity for one and all to enjoy in the summer months – and all for a very worthy cause!
CELEBRATIONS IN TENDRING FOR THE SUMMER OF 2021
From 150 years of Clacton through to 400 years of Mayflower (401!) the Octopus Ahoy! project is nearly here! We are ready to provide post lockdown joy in the area and the very best stay-cation summer entertainment ever! The Octopus Ahoy! app has amazing prizes and rewards from locals and national companies in the area – grab yourself a free afternoon tea by enjoying just 5 of the octopus and scanning their QR codes on the base of the sculptures. Celebrate art, help business and enjoy the educational benefits of this project this summer.