Wolves in Wolves sculptures prior to painting.

Wolves in Wolves was a public art exhibition which took place in Wolverhampton, England, between 5 July and 24 September 2017.[1]

The event was conceived and proposed to City of Wolverhampton Council in 2015, through its '100 Bright Ideas' initiative by Council employee Mandeep ('Manor') Singh[2] and when delivered it consisted of 30 two-metre-high wolf sculptures that were located throughout Wolverhampton. The wolves were individually decorated by local and international artists, with sponsorship funding provided by both public and private sector organisations. The wolves formed a 4.5 mile Wolf Trail taking in West Park, Chapel Ash and Wolverhampton city centre, with a map available to help people track them down.[3] Wolves in Wolves was Wolverhampton's largest public art event ever to this date.[4] Additionally, there was an exhibition of 70 mini-wolves sculptures, designed and painted by pupils from 35 primary schools, community groups and artists, on display at Wolverhampton Art Gallery for the duration of the event.[5][6]

The ambition for Wolves in Wolves was to combine a quality artistic and cultural event with associated public health, educational and economic benefits as well as raising funds and awareness for key local organisations and charities.

The event

Wolves in Wolves was a joint project between City of Wolverhampton Council, Outside Centre and Wolverhampton Business Improvement District (BID).[7][8]

In May 2016, Outside Centre commissioned Marie Sewell to design the prototype wolf sculpture, which formed the basis of each exhibit.[9] In March 2017, the first blank wolf sculpture was delivered to Moreton School[10][11] situated in the Bushbury Hill area of the city, with the school pupils tasked with creating a design for the Mayoral Wolf; a wolf sculpture designed with the Mayor of Wolverhampton in mind.[12] A further 29 blank sculptures were delivered to a studio, where local and international artists decorated each wolf sculpture in a unique manner.

The 30 large wolves were strategically exhibited along a "Wolf Trail" which wound through the city centre. At the same time City of Wolverhampton Art Gallery hosted an exhibition of over 70 miniature wolf sculptures which had been decorated by primary schools in the city and by local artists funded by Celebrate of the Big Lottery.[13] Over 100,000 people visited the city to take part in the Wolf Trail walks over the summer of 2017, visit a pop-up shop selling branded "Wolves in Wolves" merchandise as well as items created by the artists who participated in the project.

The project was supported by several organisations in the city and region, who were categorised as Platinum, Gold or Silver sponsors (and other special project element supporters). These were HeadStart Wolverhampton, Hilton Main Construction, Learn Play Foundation, Mander Centre, Marston’s, Wolverhampton Civic and Historical Society, MoveCorp, Talent Match Black Country, NHS Wolverhampton Clinical Commissioning Group, Wolverhampton Speedway, University of Wolverhampton, Yoo Recruit, West Midlands Fire Service, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, Arena Theatre, Enjoy Wolverhampton (Wolverhampton BID), Awards for All, and the Heritage Lottery Fund.[14]

Conclusion of the event

At the conclusion of the event, some sponsors retained their wolf sculptures, which may still be seen at various locations in the City of Wolverhampton today. Many of the Wolves in Wolves exhibits were sold at a celebratory Public Auction at Wolverhampton Wanderers' Molineux stadium on 2 November 2017.

More than 150 people attended the auction led by Fielding Auctioneers Ltd’s Will Farmer, who is well known for his appearances on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow.[15] There were also online bids as 15 of the 2-metre-high wolves, and 40 of the mini-wolves, went under the hammer..

At the beginning of the Auction, The Mayor of the City of Wolverhampton, the late Cllr Elias Mattu, presented a special gold-coloured mini-wolf statute to Council employee Mandeep ('Manor') Singh, who had originally conceived the project and had worked as a project management assistant delivering the event.

‘Garden’ (by the artist Claire Rollerson) was the big wolf that went for the most money at £3,200, while the most expensive of the 40 mini-wolves was Ralph (by the artist Meg Gregory) at £1,000. The final sale proceeds of over £35,000 were divided between Outside Centre and the Charities of the Mayor of the City of Wolverhampton.[16] These charities included:

List of wolf statues

30 wolf sculptures, each uniquely designed by local and international artists, are situated in and around Wolverhampton city centre. The majority of these are outdoors, with some in art galleries and theatres.[18]

Name Artist(s) Sponsor Location
Wild Stef Fridael Dutch Embassy Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Colour Clemens Briels Dutch Embassy Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Love Danielle Robotham McAuliffe Group Wolverhampton Registry Office
Hunter Sophie Casewell University of Wolverhampton Wolverhampton School of Art
Old Gold Alex Vann Wolverhampton Wanderers FC Molineux Football Stadium
The Sitting Jasyn Lucas Travel Manitoba WV Active Central
Bayliss Jody Lee Williams Wolverhampton Clinical Commissioning Group West Park (near bandstand)
Thomas Sunita Meen Marston's PLC Marston's Brewery Shop
Sunset Jemima Mantle Wolverhampton Speedway Darlington Street
Support Life Alex Vann Suicide Prevention Forum Victoria Street
Compton Harriet Davies Daler Rowney Wolverhampton Market
Kiyiya Jo Burgess Arena Theatre The Way, School Street
Rainbow Julie Fletcher National Car Parks (NCP) Snow Hill
Meditation Nigel James Kilworth Framers Gallery Central Library
Hope HeadStart Team HeadStart Wulfrun Centre (Atrium)
Aurora Katie Keith Talent Match Wulfrun Centre (Entrance)
Endless Opportunities Jody Lee Williams YOO Recruit St Georges Metro Station
Dynasty Laura Hickman & Kesia Pennington-Yates #bigcelebration Princess Street
Flame Mark Lavendar & David Miller West Midlands Fire Brigade Express & Star, Queen Street
Garden Claire Rollerson Grand Theatre Wolverhampton Bus Station
Wolfy McWolf Emily Bland Move Corp Railway Drive
Sacred Grandfathers Jasyn Lucas Thompson's Spirit Way Chubb Buildings
Beanstalk Navkiran Klare Grand Theatre Grand Theatre, Lichfield Street
The Fallen Claire Darke Heritage Lottery Fund St. Peter's Gardens
Fenrir Marie Sewell & Neil Hodgkiss Wolverhampton Homes Arena Theatre, Wulfruna Street
Wolf Ver-Hampton Moreton School City of Wolverhampton Council Civic Centre (Main Entrance)
Zeus Highfields School WV Active Civic Centre (Piazza)
Beowulf Parastoo Duffett Enjoy Wolverhampton Queen Square
Mander Julie Fletcher & Laura Hickman Mander Centre Mander Centre
Claude Belinda Maria Longsden Enjoy Wolverhampton Mobile Wolf

References

  1. ↑ "Wolves in Wolves: Thirty wolf sculptures to be installed around Wolverhampton". Express & Star. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  2. ↑ "Wolves in Wolves: Thirty wolf sculptures to be installed around Wolverhampton". www.expressandstar.com. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  3. ↑ Cox, Robert (4 July 2017). "Where Wolves?". Express & Star.
  4. ↑ "Wolf sculptures set to howl in Wolverhampton". West Wulf. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  5. ↑ "Mini Wolves Exhibition". Wolverhampton Arts & Culture. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  6. ↑ "Schools join in fun as part of Mini Wolves exhibition". www.wolverhampton.gov.uk. City of Wolverhampton Council. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  7. ↑ "Wolves in Wolves Sculpture Trail". Enjoy Wolverhampton. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  8. ↑ "About - Outside Centre". Digital Disability - Official Website of Outside Centre. Outside Centre. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  9. ↑ "Wolverhampton Wolves in Wolves Sculptures". thebohocreative.co.uk. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  10. ↑ "The howling: First Wolves in Wolves sculptures arrive". Express and Star. Express and Star. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  11. ↑ "Moreton School". Moreton School. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  12. ↑ "Pupils get to grips with the Wolves in Wolves". City of Wolverhampton Council. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  13. ↑ "Big lottery Fund - Celebrate". Big lottery. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  14. ↑ "Sponsor details". wolvesinwolves.co.uk. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  15. ↑ Will, Farmer. "Fieldings Auctioneers". Fieldings Auctioneers LTD. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  16. ↑ Drew, Mark. "Wolves in Wolves are auctioned off, raising more than £35,000 for charity – video and pictures". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  17. ↑ "Wolves in Wolves 2017: The Story - The Big Blog". 17 November 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  18. ↑ "The Wolf Trail". WolvesInWolves.co.uk. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
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