Archived News
Police Use Superlambs to Promote Peace in Our Parks
Mersyside Police's Superlambanana competition promoted their SafeSpace campaign. The competition was part of the SafeSpace intiative, and the winners had their designs transferred onto their own mini Superlambananas.
Safespace was two-month long initiative which aimed to make Merseyside's parks safer. During the campaign, a host of activities took place to encourage the responsible use of parks and open spaces.
Celebrated local artist Frank Green, whose work has been inspired by open spaces across Merseyside, said: “Parks can provide a huge amount of inspiration for artists, particularly those with rich histories such as Merseyside’s. Anything that encourages children to get out into their local green areas and enjoy their surroundings is a good thing.”
“The Superlambanana seems to have become the ‘blank canvas’ of choice this year, with some great designs being displayed throughout Liverpool, and it will be fantastic to see what comes up as part of the SafeSpace competition.”
Ba Ba Braille Sheep a Favourite with Trail Visitors
One of the most popular lambs on the trail, Baa Baa Braille Sheep was designed by Polish artist Jola Kurzeja-Ryan and visually-impaired Merseyside youngsters. Southport-based artist Jola’s design highlights the needs of children with visual impairment. The Superlambanana is covered on both sides with a story written in Braille by four local children with the help of the National Blind Children’s Society.
Jola, 31, said: “I decorated him in the gazebo at home and all the neighbours loved it. On one side of the statue is a nursery rhyme in Braille grade 1 which starts ‘Baa Baa Braille Sheep have you any dots?’ There are also stories written by the youngsters in grade 2 Braille.”
Here’s a little taste of the super work Jola the children have produced:
Baa Baa Braille Sheep
Have you any dots?
Yes Sir, yes Sir
Lots and lots
One for the Liverbirds
One for the Docks
And the rest for the people
Who read the dots
Being one of the most popular Superlambs on the trail, Jola has worked tirelessly to maintain this superb Superlambanana so it can continue to delight the thousands of trail enthusiast visiting the city.
Tranmere Rovers Latest Signing
Not to be outdone by Liverpool and Everton, Tranmere Rovers is the latest signing to the footballing flock. The new Superlambanana stands proud outside Prenton Park to add to the Wirral’s already impressive squad. Sally-Ann Wilkinson from Wild in Art agreed it was an super addition to the event. "The trail simply wouldn't have been complete without a Superlambanana at Prenton Park. Football is part of the lifeblood of Merseyside and Wirral. The Superlambs have an incredible ability of embodying the spirit of the region and its people, and nothing stirs their passion more than football. The Tranmere Superlambanana is the perfect signing to play up-front for Wirral's superb Superlambs. We are delighted to welcome it to our team."
Superlamb Hits New Heights on Moel Famau
Jubilee Tower at the summit of Moel Famau, in the Clwydian Range is the place to be on Saturday 16 August 2008 as you will be able to meet the highest Superlambanana of them all.
Over the summer, one or two Superlambananas have managed to escape from the trail with one of them finding its way to the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod and Wepre Park where through a series of workshops, children and adults helped decorate the Superlambanana with Moel Famau in mind.
Now everyone is invited to join the newly dressed Superlambanana when he’s put out to ‘graze’ at the top of Moel Famau for the Big Walk, a day of family fun with performances of music and poetry.
Bring a picnic and take part in a day of fun and family entertainment.The first 500 visitors to reach the summit on the day will receive a banana courtesy of the Co-op. Park and Ride is available from County Hall, Mold and will run at regular intervals from 9.30am and returning throughout the afternoon. Anyone interested in taking the Park and Ride bus can pre book (advised) by phoning 01352 810614.
The Big Walk is being organised by Denbighshire’s Tourism, Culture & Countryside Service and Flintshire County Council, to celebrate the connections between the Clwydian Range AONB and Merseyside, as Liverpool celebrates its status as European Capital of Culture.
Tiger, Tiger Bold and Bright
Golfing fans heading to Royal Birkdale for the Open were personally met by Tiger Woods. Not the world-famous American golf star, but the now world-famous Superlambanana!
‘Tiger in the Woods’ has been created by artist Candida Boyes to welcome golf fans travelling to the Open. The Culture Company and Sefton Council sponsored Superlamb stands on a roundabout near Southport’s Pontins and will remain there to bring a smile to the people of Southport until the end of the event.
Children Get Together to Raise Funds for Clatterbridge Hospital
Three local children spent a day recently at Sudley House in Aigburth ,decorating Superlambananas as part of an event to raise money for Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology.
Thomas Armitage, 6, Owen Davison, 9 and Kate Pritchard, 10, won a competition organised by Merseyside-based companies, 2020 Liverpool and 2020 Knowsley, to spend a day with a local artist decorating not only their own personal Superlambananas, but also a larger mini Superlambanana which will be given to the charity to use for further fundraising.
"Every year, our employees choose a local charity to support as our corporate charity, and we organise a range of social events to support the charity," explains managing director John Pincock. "As we are a sponsor of Go Superlambananas, we decided it would be great if we could link in with the event and use it as a way to enable staff to get their families involved in doing something creative.” “It's been a great event for our employees, and people welcomed the opportunity to get their children - and in some cases nephews and nieces – involved and have some fun with art," adds John. "We received a lot of entries and the standard was very high. All the entries have been on display around our offices and they have received a lot of attention."
Wild in Art supported the competition and drew upon an investment from Arts & Business to develop their creative partnership with 2020 Liverpool and 2020 Knowsley.
"The fun art day has been a wonderful prize and we have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves," said 2020 Liverpool employee Gary Armitage, whose six year old son Thomas was one of the winners of the children's Superlambanana competition. "Thomas has not stopped talking to everyone about how excited he is about the event, and has loved every minute of making his space-themed Superlambanana come to life."
A Ewe-Tube Hit
As well as having nearly 3,500 friends on the event’s Facebook page, Go Superlambananas is proving to be a massive hit on YouTube. Thousands have viewed the site’s many videos sent in by enthusiast form all over. Here’s a taste of the Superlambanana madness hitting the web!
Radio City’s SuperlambananaKoppy £1000 song
Go Superlambananas!
The Great Superlambanana
Liverpool design consultancy Uniform has just unveiled its latest catch, a rather rebellious new member of their team.
Helping the city to celebrate an iconic piece of public art, Uniform has captured its very own Superlambanana, which currently resides in its cage at Art House Square in the heart of Liverpool’s creative quarter, for all to see, feed, question and ponder. http://www.thegreatsuperlambanana.typepad.com/
Blue Sky Thinking
National Museums Liverpool is ‘delighted’ to be involved in this exciting city-wide art project. They have chosen two stunning designs, for display at the Walker Art Gallery and Lady Lever Art Gallery. Superfiveadaybanana (displayed inside the Walker Art Gallery) has been created by members of the Kensington Youth Inclusion Project working with the artist Vince Cleghorne. It was chosen for its appeal to children and family groups, and National Museums Liverpool are incredibly excited by the opportunity to work in collaboration with an important local community group. Cloudorama, by the artist Paul Cousins, will be displayed in the grounds of the Lady Lever Art Gallery. This design connects with important works on display inside the Gallery, especially Constable’s Cottage at East Bergholt, which inspired Paul’s design.
Arts & Business Award
Go Superlambananas has been awarded an Arts & Business
investment that will enable us to commission some awe-inspiring
additions to the summer’s public art blockbuster. The investment means
extra funds will be available for the realisation of new and innovative ideas
on how to display the sculptures. Along with ground-level displays, Wild in
Art are hoping the Arts & Business award will allow the Superlambananas fly, perch and hover around the city to surprise and astonish visitors and to
encourage residents to see their city in a new and exciting light. Claire Barlow,
Business Manager at Arts and Business, said: "Go Superlambananas provides
an unparalleled opportunity for individuals and companies city-wide to engage
with the European Capital of Culture year in a fun and engaging way. We hope see companies using the creativity and imagination normally channelled into business, to create exciting pieces around Liverpool."
Bruntwood Banana Breakfast
At the end of last month, North of England
property company, and our presenting partners
Bruntwood, held a breakfast meeting for their
customers and suppliers to enlighten them on
the benefits of becoming a sponsor for the
event. Business movers and shakers were
treated to a rather tasty breakfast and
witnessed the unveiling of Bruntwood’s
stunning commission - The Lambanana
Lounger; an incredibly exciting design which
was kept top secret until its unveiling in
Bruntwood’s Plaza building. Designed by
Leanne Wookey of Team a go go and sculpted
by Julian Taylor, the Lounger will grace the trail
in the summer along with three other
Bruntwood SLBs.
Tricia Stewart, Head of Customer Service for Bruntwood in Liverpool said, “There were so many inspiring designs to choose from and we’ve selected a design that really made us smile. We’re excited about launching the specially commissioned Superlambanana and touring it around our office buildings’. Bruntwood is one of Liverpool’s largest commercial property companies, with nine Merseyside office buildings.
SLB Gets the Tropical Treatment
Scientists at the Liverpool School of
Tropical Medicine recently took delivery of
one of their SLB’s and have started painting
their own design. The idea behind their
design is to represent the School’s work on
some of the world’s deadliest tropical
diseases. Ektor Diaz and Rod Dillon work
in a group researching a disease called
‘Kala Azar’ (Hindi for Black Fever), hence
the name Super’kalazar’banana. The
parasite causing the disease is spread by
the bite of a tiny blood sucking sand fly, it
kills thousands of people every year in the
tropics and the research ultimately aims to
find ways of preventing the disease.
Ektor suggested using aboriginal art as an inspiration. Working with the images that they see every day in science research they fused them with symbols inspired by aboriginal art. There are currently four artists; Ektor, Rod, Dee Walshe and Viv Dillon engaged on the project. The arrival of the SLB at the School caused a lot of excitement and ‘she’ has been nicknamed ‘Kala’. All the staff and students will be invited to take part in a mass fingerpainting session to finish the design.
Globetrotting Superlambs
Four Superlambananas recently accompanied Liverpool’s property big-hitters out to Cannes for the international property conference MIPIM. As multi-million pound deals are regularly clinched at the meeting, the SLBs took pride of place on the Liverpool exhibition stand to boost the profile of the City. Following the attention the SLB’s attracted, no one was in any doubt they had been a real asset to the trip. They have also adorned the Liverpool stage at the AFCI Locations Expo in Los Angeles, the trade show held to encourage American studio bosses to come to the UK to make movies. Regional Screen Agency Northwest Vision and Media and Liverpool City Council were hoping to make a big impression on the American market….oh, the life of an international jetsetter is such hard work …..
Young People of Alt Valley Set To Get Creative
Cobalt Housing, Liverpool Housing Trust and Alt Valley Neighbourhood Services have funded five Superlambananas to be installed in the Alt Valley area to allow the community to produce something they can be proud off. The groups that will be working with artists to design Superlambananas are the 506 Detached Youth Project, Walton Youth Project, Clubmoor Youth Centre and Orrell Park Community Centre. To celebrate Cobalt Housing’s fifth anniversary, an artist is also working with Cobalt’s Youth Board to complete Alt Valley’s outstanding contribution to the European Capital of Culture celebrations.
Superlambananas Are Super-Stylish
Since Laurence Payot’s Firecrackers to Martian Skies twin SLB’s took up residence in
Utility on Bold Street, owner Dick Mawdsley says that footfall in the trendy Bold Street
store has increased markedly. “We've had a great reaction to the Superlambananas
which have been in our window for a few weeks. We've had a massive increase in
footfall and are asked daily if they are available to purchase. There has been a great
knock on effect in interest in the small ceramic Superlambananas which has seen a
huge upsurge in sales. People genuinely have a lot of affection for Superlambananas and I
think there is tremendous anticipation for the forthcoming event. It is a great
contemporary symbol of Liverpool. These SLBs have become media stars, most recently
appearing in a fashion shoot for Liverpool.com”. The SLBs look stunning and people
can’t help but pop into Utility for a closer look, it’s a taste of the interest there will be
when all 100-plus SLBs hit the streets in June.
TV-Land Competitions
BBC North West Tonight and the Arts Council of England North West have given the region’s schools the chance to win a Superlambanana of their very own. The competition was open to all schools, giving them the chance to design and paint a Superlambanana to go out on the trail this summer. There was also three mini Superlambananas up for grabs for the runners up. The proud winners were Wade Deacon High School in Widnes whose thought-provoking design was based on how children label each other by appearance.
Granada have also been busy promoting their competition intriguingly entitled “I Love Granadaland” based on the culture of the North West. The competition was open to everyone and is another example of how people from all walks of life can become involved in the event. The winners of this competition are yet to be announced. Details of both competitions can be found on our website.
Hack Pack Love Our Superlamb City
On the opening weekend of the Capital of Culture celebrations, the great and good of Merseyside and beyond were invited to Liverpool Cathedral for a sumptuous dinner, surrounded by 12 exquisitely decorated SLBs that looked stunning, atmospherically lit, looking on as the invited guests enjoyed dinner. The weekend included a trip for journalists from all over the world and according to Paddy Shennan, Chief Feature Writer at the Liverpool Echo, the Superlambananas proved a big hit. “Nobody could think of a better venue for the preceding gala dinner we were lucky enough to attend in Liverpool Cathedral, surrounded by a dozen Superlambananas!” Alf Bennett of the Birmingham Mail said, “I come back to Liverpool a lot and one of my favourite things about the place is its street furniture – the Superlambanana is tremendous!” Marjorie Yue, of the Sunday Mirror, who was born in Liverpool, brought up in Newton-le-Willows but left for London 34 years ago added, “ Liverpool has become a really funky place, with all the new hotels and restaurants. This weekend’s left me feeling quite emotional.” Go Superlambananas is proud to play its part in some long-overdue positive press for Liverpool. More of the same please!
Go Superlambanana Preview Sculpture
Go Superlambananas have unveiled a preview sculpture at Fazakerley Hospital. Painted with images of deadly bacteria that refer to the hospital’s history as a centre for treating infectious diseases, the sculpture is part of a wider celebration of the hospital’s history, funded by the Heritage Lottery.
The sculpture was created by artist Vik, who is part of Liverpool Biennial’s pool of artists and educators. She worked with local school children to evolve the designs which highlight the fascinating beauty of the microbes that caused some of the most horrific diseases in human history.
Presenting Partners:
