Our wonderful art trail sculptures went under the hammer at our charity auction last night at Le Talbooth, raising an incredible £52,490 for two fantastic local charities.
27 large octopuses and a handful of smaller ones went under the hammer at our auction to raise money for the Essex Community Foundation and the Tendring Community Fund. Profits are to be split evenly between the amazing charities, leaving a longstanding legacy within the local area.
Art lovers (and CJ of course!) flocked to Le Talbooth on Thursday evening to bid thousands of pounds for the incredible works of art which have gone down in local folklore. Renowned auctioneers, Reeman Dansie, conducted the auction, through online bidding and a live auction. The auction ensures the Octopus Ahoy! art trail will be causing waves in the Tendring and Essex community long after the memories have faded from the event.
Some notable winning bids of the evening included £3,700 for the magnificent ‘Sedna’, by artist Anne-Schwegmann-Fielding, from Surya Hotels. Our smallest (and most adorable) mollusc, ‘Bubs’ by Alana Fensom, created quite a bidding war, finally going for a winning bid of £420. To get up to speed on all the sold sculptures and winning bids, head over to the online auction page.
We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who took part in the Octopus Ahoy! project, from the artists who submitted their designs at the very beginning, schools, our wonderful Octopus Patrons, the generous bidders at the auction, and, of course, everyone who took to the streets of Tendring to hunt down our sculptures!
It’s been a summer to remember, after what was a difficult year and a half, and we hope you enjoyed the Octopus Ahoy! art trail as much as we have. Until next time – ahoy!