Discover the Art Trail Celebrating 150 Years of Sheffield Children's Hospital
Celebrating 150 years of Sheffield Children's Hospital, the new Pride of Yorkshire art trail will see 300 lions take over South Yorkshire this summer
The Pride of Yorkshire trail is undoubtedly Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity’s most ambitious undertaking, and was inspired by their past successes with the Herd of Sheffield trail in 2016 and the Bears of Sheffield in 2021, which raised more than £1.4 million. The goal for Pride of Yorkshire is to double this. The name of the trail, Cheryl says, is meant to highlight how far-reaching the work of the hospital is. ‘The reason why we’ve called it the Pride of Yorkshire is because we really want to celebrate the fact that the hospital doesn’t just treat children from Sheffield, it treats children from all over the region and internationally,’ she explains.
It was important to Cheryl that the project have as broad an input from artists as possible. ‘We want people from all over the region taking part in the trails so we were really conscious of making sure that we celebrate local creative talent,’ says Cheryl. ‘But obviously we want to make sure that as many people are involved as possible, so we did have an open selection where artists from across the country could submit designs. They went through to an independent panel and it was all about making sure we had a good representation of designs – designs which celebrated Yorkshire, designs which celebrated Sheffield Children’s Hospital, and designs which celebrated the local community.’
For the first time, the public can watch the artists as they work – something Cheryl felt was central to helping the community feel involved. ‘We wanted to get as many people involved as possible and get them immersed in the project from the start. So it was really good to have the opportunity of a painting space at The Moor in Sheffield where we have viewing windows so the public can walk past and see artists at work,’ she explains. ‘We’ve also got a painting space at Meadowhall shopping centre. We do have a few artists located in there where people can, as they’re shopping in Meadowhall, come and have a look at the artists and their work. It’s the first time that we’ve done that, but it’s really getting the community immersed in the project from the start and building that excitement.’
Natasha Clarke, a Doncaster-based artist taking part in the trail, is known for exceptional portrait work and explorations of heritage and identity. Her design features Olympic champion and Sheffield icon Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill emerging from the lioness. ‘As a patron of Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity, Dame Jessica felt like the perfect fit – an Olympic athlete and an inspirational woman in her own right. She also shares a similar mixed heritage to me, with Jamaican roots, so it felt like a really natural connection,’ she explains.
Sam Piper and Joe Philpott of Heritage Scenic Studio in Rotherham have designed a lion inspired by the unique Marble Saloon floor at Wentworth Woodhouse, wrapping the pattern across the sculpture. To build up the marble-effect finish, the pair have used traditional scenic painting techniques drawn from theatre and film, including feathering, rag rolling and fine brush detailing. ‘We recently set up our business in Rotherham, so it felt right to take inspiration from one of the town’s most iconic landmarks. Wentworth Woodhouse is such an incredible place and the Marble Saloon floor is instantly recognisable,’ Sam explains, and Joe agrees: ‘As scenic artists we normally work on a much bigger scale for theatre and film, so this has been a really nice chance to focus on the smaller details people will be able to see up close.’
Author and illustrator Katie Abey takes a joyful, humorous approach to her work. ‘I wanted Lions of Laughter to be something that makes people smile. My work often touches on mental health, but in a really playful way, with silly little characters like llamas and cats,’ she explains.
Sheffield artist Pete McKee (whose full final design is being kept under wraps until the trail launches), has drawn on the British Transplant Games for his design, using playful illustrations to highlight the importance of organ donation. ‘The design’s called The Transplant Game, and it’s to coincide with the British Transplant Games coming to Sheffield this year,’ he explains. ‘I’m taking part myself because I’ve had a liver transplant, so I wanted to celebrate the concept of transplantation and the importance of being a donor – but in a way that’s still playful.’
‘A big premise of the project is getting the local community out exploring their area, and going to places that they may not have before which is why it’s another excellent reason for us going South Yorkshire-wide with the trail’
Cheryl says the excitement from the public is palpable. ‘Everyone can’t wait for the start of the trail. Everyone wants to go around spending their summer holidays trying to find as many [lions] as they can, which is what we want,’ she explains. ‘A big premise of the project is getting the local community out exploring their area, and going to places that they may not have before which is why it’s another excellent reason for us going South Yorkshire-wide with the trail. A member of the community that lives in Sheffield may not have visited Doncaster, or may not have visited Rotherham. This just gives them the opportunity to go and explore their local areas and see what fantastic things are on offer.’
The trail, which officially launches in June, will culminate in an auction to raise vital funds for the hospital as part of a spectacular farewell event where all the sculptures are brought together again. ‘We’re building up to the crescendo of the auction at the end of the trail. We’ve had a lot of people wanting to buy their favourite designs at auction so that will be amazing – that’s going to be in October,’ says Cheryl. ‘We’re raising as much money as we can to ensure that Sheffield Children’s Hospital can continue doing that excellent work. There’s only three standalone children’s hospitals in the country, and we’re very lucky that Sheffield has one of them. It’s all about making sure that we keep the facility at the forefront of medical care so we can help as many children and young people in the region and across the country as we can.’
