Pride of Portsmouth trail unveiled as Portsmouth100 flagship event launchs on Monday
Lion trail to create fun and engaging way to explore Portsmouth
One of Portsmouth100’s flagship events has been launched with the Pride of Portsmouth Trail to begin on Monday.
45 uniquely decorated lions have been placed around the city each one with different themes and features showcasing different facets of the city. The much anticipated trail is being opened on Monday, July 13 giving people the chance to explore Portsmouth in a fun and engaging way.
A number of the artists, sponsors and event organiser gathered at the Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery on Friday, July 10 to celebrate the launch of one of the highlight events of the centenary celebrations.
Portsmouth City Council leader, Cllr Steve Pitt, said: “We started this conversation two years ago when we did a city vision partners conference at the International Port. We asked people what they would like to see happen during the centenary year and a consistent theme came through that people would like to see a city-wide sculpture trail over the summer that people could engage with.
“Two years on here we are with the trail all finished and 45 lions about to be distributed across the city ready for a two month trail. There are some amazing designs and it has been phenomenal how much support we have had from both sponsors who helped make it happen, and the artists who have come up with some creative ideas.”
One such artist is Daisy Barker, whose lion Cushty will be placed at Hilsea Bus Station. The Portsmouth local specialises in bold and colourful designs and wanted to make her’s a “love letter” to the city.
Daisy said: “I have included Portsmouth slang with ‘dinlo’ written on it while there are nods to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes. I wanted something bright and engaging, something that you could look at for hours and still find new bits.”
While delighted to have been a part of the project, it was not an easy undertaking jestingly describing it as a “nightmare” at times.
She said: “It was really fun once I got into the hang of it but it was so daunting because the design I submitted was 2D but putting it onto a 3D structure was really hard. There were definitely moments where I was like ’oh my god I can’t do this’. When I figured it out and got into the swing of it, it was amazing.
“It was incredible to be a part of. It sounds cheesy but anything that I can do to give back and also inspire people to know that you can do things like this, and that Portsmouth is supporting it. I think it is really rare for a city to be behind local artists and doing things that empower them and bring them up to the forefront. I think it is brilliant.”
Andrea Martin created The Town Crier, a lion sponsored by The News and situated in Victoria Park. She drew inspiration from hers and the city’s past to create the design.
Andrea said: “I used to work for The News 30 years ago as an artist and I thought I would use some headlines from over the 100 years. I tried to give it an old fashioned look and and done a lot of research into the headlines.
“I heard about the project last minute and got the design in just in time. I had no expectation of being picked, it is not something I have done before so I was over the moon when I got selected. I was really excited and nervous but I enjoyed every minute of painting it.
“I watched it being installed and it is great to see it in place in Victoria Park near where the original News offices were.”
It was not only an undertaking for the artists, but an emotional experience for the sponsors. Mountjoy have sponsored the lioness Hope which was created by Seekers Create and is dedicated to Lara Kynvin, a campaigner that died at the end of last year.
Simon Ingram, the managing director of Mountjoy, said: “It was really important for us to be involved in this. We started thinking about this nine months ago and the reason the lion is called Hope is because of Lara Kynvin who we sadly lost.
“It is to commemorate her as she was part of the journey with Seekers Creates in terms of how we were going to create a community lion which is what we have done with our community partners who have been involved in designing the lion we see today.”
He joined fellow members of Mountjoy as well as people from Pompey in the Community, SPARK, Motiv8, Politely Rebellious and the Parenting Network to undertake a creative workshop to help Steve Baker and Claire Martin of Seekers Create create a design
Simon said: “We were paired up and set tasks. It was a very creative thing and at the end of it all out came the design for Hope, I’m not sure how they done it. I love Hope, she is brilliant and I can’t wait for her to be in her place at Alexandra Park and to start walking the trails myself.”
The Pride of Portsmouth Trail will run for two months finishing on September 13. It is one of a number of events celebrating the 100 year anniversary of Portsmouth being made a city.
Cllr Steve Pitt has been delighted with how the celebrations have gone.
He said: “This has been an organic process. We didnt come into the centenary year with this fully defined plan because we wanted it to be led by the community. We are seeing the communities come together and really celebrating everything that is wonderful about our city and just having a really good time and that is what we wanted it to be all about.”