Colourful snail statues have appeared across Brighton and Hove.
The Snails are part of an art trail turned fundraising initiative by Martlets, a hospice charity. Fifteen of the snails were revealed by celebrity ambassador Fatboy Slim aka Norman Cook at an event on September 15. Mr Cook has a “personal connection to the hospice” and has his own snail, designed by local artist Cassette Lord, at Big Beach Cafe.
Fifty snails are on display in the ‘Snailway’ as part of Martlets’ campaign to encourage everyone to enjoy life at a leisurely pace, like snails do. It is accompanied by the hashtag #bemoresnail. The snails are joined by fifty junior snails which were designed by over 20,000 young people from local schools and community groups.
The junior snails will be returned to these groups as part of the Aldridge Foundation Sponsored Junior Snailway. The larger snails have been designed by various artists including YouTuber Alfie Deyes and author Peter James. Former fashion designer Sarah Arnett designed Soraya the snail in memory of her friend who passed away last year. Arnett also designed a Snowdog for Martlets’ Snowdogs by the Sea trail in 2016.
‘Max’ was the highest selling Snowdog, bought at auction for £22,000.
The Snailway comes two years after the successful ‘Snow Dog’ trail, inspired by the animated short film ‘The Snowman and The Snowdog’. Snowdogs by the Sea raised hundreds of thousands for the charity and is estimated to have generated £10 million for the local economy.
Martlets Hospice has been open since 1997 and resulted from the merging of Coppercliff Hospice, Tarner, and MacMillan Day Hospices. This is the origin of the Martlets logo (3 Martlets, aka swallows). Martlets says this reflects their ethos of perpetual flight, never resting, and always responding.
The snails will be on display until 18 November and you can view all the snails and related news on this website: https://www.snailspacebrighton.co.uk/
Photo Credit: Charmaine Jacob
