Leading Oxford-based artist kOrky Paul will be painting his hotly-anticipated ox for the city’s upcoming summer OxTrail in the Westgate Shopping Centre next month.
The illustrator behind the famous ‘Winnie and Wilbur’ children’s books will be painting his ox as part of a special ‘first-look’ event that will take place in a special painting pop-up on Saturday, 02 and Sunday, 03 March.
Local shoppers and families will be able to see the highly accredited illustrator at work on the upper level, near John Lewis and Next, between 10.00am and 4.00pm in the Westgate Shopping Centre.
OxTrail is Oxford’s first ever art sculpture trail, in aid of Sobell House Hospice, and will take over the city from 06 July 2024 for 8 weeks.
This month, the herd of 135 oxen – large and small – were delivered to Oxford Brookes University Harcourt Hill Campus with the support of RAF Brize Norton. The RAF team helped to unload and prepare the oxen for further transit. Logistics partner Darcica ensured the oxen were herded to participating artists to begin their decoration.
The learning programme partner for this year’s OxTrail, Oxford Brookes University, will be hosting a special event this week where participants of the programme can collect their oxen.
In December, artist David Melling was the first artist to paint his ox, ‘Orox’, in the Westgate Shopping Centre. Orox is now taking centre stage at Sobell House Hospice until the trail event kicks off in July.
Read more: Oxford children’s author to kickstart OxTrail designs at Westgate Christmas pop-up
Amelia Foster, CEO at Sobell House Hospice Charity, said: “OxTrail aims to inspire creativity across Oxfordshire. The viewing gallery in the Westgate is a fantastic opportunity to give the public a little look behind the scenes at the wonderful art taking place in the run-up to the July event.
“In yet another huge show of support from local businesses for OxTrail, Westgate Shopping Centre has kindly provided us with a space to showcase a sneak peek at the amazing life-size ox sculptures that will form OxTrail. The space allows us to celebrate the incredible talent we have on board.”
OxTrail is being held in partnership with Wild in Art. Cities across the world have famously brought their streets to life via Wild in Art installations, including Manchester, Sydney, Cape Town and São Paulo.
Once the trail is over, kinky Paul’s life-sized ox will be herded together with the others for a final time and auctioned off to graze in their forever homes. The funds raised through the auction will help to fund the life-enhancing care that Sobell House Hospice provides.
For more information on OxTrail, visit www.oxtrail2024.co.uk.
