Images courtesy of QD Group
Cactusaurus, the sharp-looking T.rex sculpture sponsored by Norfolk value retailer QD – QualityDiscounts.com, has been unveiled as part of the GoGoDiscover Trail 2022. The sculpture trail is delivered by East Anglian charity Break in partnership with Wild in Art.
Taking pride of place in Anglia Square, the brightly coloured Cactusaurus T.rex is now positioned outside QD’s Norwich store – the first QD to open back in 1985.
The design been created and hand painted by 24-year-old Norwich artist Laura Hawkins. Laura is one of the youngest artists to take part in GoGoDiscover to date. Inspired by her extensive (and growing!) collection of cacti, Laura’s Cactusaurus artwork was chosen by QD from over 200 designs submitted by artists for the sculptures. The collection of bright green cacti and pots painted in the QD red makes for a striking design. Small additional details such as Cactusaurus’s leafy toenails can also be seen by eagle-eyed sculpture spotters. Laura painted the sculpture in acrylic, which gives the leafy design more texture, with a varnish applied all over to make it weatherproof.
Karl Ottolangui, group operations director for QD Group, said: “We are so excited to have Cactusaurus outside our Anglia Square store and can’t wait to welcome GoGoDiscover sculpture hunters this summer. Laura has done a fantastic job in creating and painting our T.rex which has pride of place outside our very first QD, which opened more than 35 years ago. As a company, we’re supporting Break as our chosen charity so we just had to get our teeth into GoGoDiscover and sponsor our very own T.rex this year.”
Laura Hawkins, artist who designed and created Cactusaurus, said: “This is the largest painting I have ever done – it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’m so excited to be one of the GoGoDiscover artists but, as one of the youngest ever to take part, it’s a bit nerve-wracking to be in such great company with so many talented artists. It is fantastic to now see my design out on the streets of Norwich alongside the other T.rex sculptures.”
Peter Marron, GoGoDiscover project manager said: “It is great to see the sculpture trail out in the city and trailgoers’ reactions to the fantastic art on display. We are so grateful to all of our sponsors and artists who make this event possible, and enable us to stamp out the mammoth expectations that young adults face as they leave care.”
QD is also taking part in the GoGoDiscover app with a T.rexcellent reward. Trail hunters who visit Cactusaurus and unlock the special incentive can receive £5 off when they spend £15 at the QD Anglia Square store*. The GoGoDiscover app can be downloaded for £1.79 from the Apple Store or Google Play Store.
The GoGoDiscover fundraising sculpture trail will run until September, with T.rex and Steppe Mammoth sculptures being displayed across Norwich and Norfolk.
For more information on QD Stores, visit www.qualitydiscounts.com.
Laura Hawkins’s portfolio can be viewed at www.laurahawkins.myportfolio.
Break gives children and young people on the edge of care, in care and leaving care, the time, support and love they need to achieve their full potential. For more, visit www.break-charity.org
*Terms and conditions apply. See app for details.
Five-star housing developer, Lovell, has unveiled the Steppe Mammoth it is sponsoring as part of Break’s GoGoDiscover 2022 trail and it can be discovered now until 10th September 2022 at Wymondham on Fairland Green.
Buzz has been designed by artist Donna Newman and is decorated with furry bumble bees, honeycomb and lavender. Symbolising the importance of bees in our ecosystem, Buzz is inspired by the fields of lavender which have long played a part in the landscape of Norfolk. It took Donna four days to decorate Buzz – with 40 different brushes being used!
Donna Newman from Eden Design is a freelance painter based in the Midlands and has family in Norfolk so is familiar with the countryside and also grows lavender in her own garden. Donna comments: “I love Buzz as he is inspired by bees and just looks amazing on Fairland Green outdoors and surrounded by nature. I used five different paints on Buzz and a hair dryer to make the paint dry quicker! I hope Break raises lots of money from the trail and auction, and thanks so much to Lovell for picking my design.”
Chantry Place has unveiled the dinosaurs that have stomped into the Centre this summer for GoGoDiscover 2022 as it hosts six large T.rex sculptures and 30 Breakasaurus T.rex sculptures from now until 10th September 2022.
As well as the return of Afternoon Tea-Rex, the T.rex that Chantry Place has sponsored, and the amazing T-Wrecks, new dinosaurs for 2022 include Sirdavidsaurus Rex, T-RAFFE, The Golden King and Paintosaurus.
Chantry Place is a presenting partner of GoGoDiscover 2022 and also plays host to 30 mini Breakasaurus T.rex as part of the GoGoDiscover Learning & Community Programme with packs found on the dining terrace, in House of Fraser and in Langleys window at the Centre. The large sculptures can be found on each floor of the Centre, as well as on Chantry Square.
Thousands of years ago they roamed the Norfolk coast – now for just 11 weeks you can meet a mammoth in Great Yarmouth market!
Visitors to the town’s new six-day covered market will be greeted by a giant Steppe Mammoth sculpture called Yuuki from Monday 27 June, as part of the Break charity’s GoGoDiscover event.
The colourful creature has been sponsored by Norfolk firm Pentaco Construction, the lead building firm on the market project.
The installation is also being backed by Great Yarmouth Borough Council, which operates the market, and stall owners, who are offering a special discount to people taking part in Break’s GoGoDiscover trail.
People using the GoGoDiscover app on their phones, available for £1.79 on the Google Play or Apple Store, will be able to claim a 5% discount at participating market stalls after ‘collecting’ the sculpture on the app. This works by entering a code found on the mammoth’s plinth.
After months of anticipation, hundreds of people were treated to a preview of some of the T.rex and Steppe Mammoth sculptures set to stomp across the county for the GoGoDiscover 2022 trail.
The sculptures were unveiled at the GoGoDiscover launch event on Thursday 16 June 2022, which brought together artists, sponsors and logistical partners who are involved in the project.
Of the nine sculptures on display, seven had never been seen before in public. These were Doug the Dino, Mow the Mammoth, Teo, Big Top, Margaret’s Mammoth, Daddy of all Dinosaurs and Mae the Mammoth.
The other two – Prideasaurus and Afternoon Tea-Rex - featured in Break’s mini trail last summer which welcomed Dippy the Dinosaur to Norwich Cathedral.
The roar-some creations featured a range of designs in a variety of mediums, depicting themes such as nature and the environment, equality and diversity, and the Deep History Coast. One, set to be a dino-lovers favourite, is covered in prehistoric creatures of all shapes and sizes.
A family-friendly sculpture trail of prehistoric proportions is stomping onto the streets of Norwich and Norfolk between Monday 27 June and Saturday 10 September 2022.
GoGoDiscover features 79 individually designed sculptures comprising 55 T.rex and 24 Steppe Mammoths, each decorated by artists from across the country.
The T.rex sculptures will be located around Norwich city centre, with the cretaceous creatures set to appear at popular sites including Chantry Place, Norwich Cathedral, The Forum, Castle Quarter, and Jarrold.
Joining them is a humongous herd of 24 Steppe Mammoths, which will appear outwards from the city centre in towns and tourist hotspots such as King’s Lynn, Holt, Cromer Pier, Holkham, Carrow Road, the Norfolk Broads, Hemsby and Pensthorpe.
GoGoDiscover is an expansion of last year’s 21-strong dinosaur trail, which accompanied the arrival of the Natural History Museum’s legendary Dippy the Diplodocus to Norwich.