CARE home residents ventured on their own private tour of the Hares of Hampshire public art trail.
The residents of Speedwell Court, a dementia friendly care home in Southampton’s West End, took a trip to see the 31 brightly-coloured hares that are dotted around Winchester and Southampton.
The company that owns the care home Abbeyfield had sponsored one of the six-foot hares - a ‘Forget me not’ hare painted by artist Jan Erika in Town Quay.
Deborah Holmes, customer relations manager for the care home, said: “We felt compelled to be involved in this special project. Our residents keenly followed the design and installation process, and we were delighted to be able to take them to see Forget Me Not, along with a number of the other hares on the trail.
“With its family-friendly nature, the Hares of Hampshire trail is also something that we hope our residents’ families will enjoy following. It will hopefully be one of many projects that we engage in around the city that demonstrate our desire to give back to our local community and projects that encourage creativity, culture and exhibit local talent.”
Residents were transported in a custom-designed bus, provided by Xelabus.
Artist Jan was invited to create a unique design for the care home’s ‘Forget Me Not’ hare.
She said: “I mainly create bold, joyful, colourful artworks and the orange and blue Abbeyfield brand colours really caught my eye.
“I wanted to create something that will grab people’s attention and create a memory in their mind. With my personal experience of dementia, I know that memories are extremely precious, and the idea also links up well with Speedwell Court’s status as a dementia-friendly home.”
READ MORE: Hares of Hampshire: 10 sculptures installed in Winchester
Speedwell Court are offering everyone who finds their hare, named ‘Forget Me Not’, an opportunity to receive a reusable ‘Hug a Hare’ coffee cup and a free drink from the Speedwell Court café.
The Hares of Hampshire trail has been organised by the Murray Parish Trust, a charity dedicated to the advancement of children’s emergency treatment and care.
Upon discovering each sculpture, those following the Hares of Hampshire trail can download the Hares of Hampshire app and enter the hare’s code, which tells the reader a little about the hare’s sponsor and artist and gives them a reward.
Each hare has been sponsored by a business and individually designed by an artist- many of which from Hampshire.
After 10 weeks of being on display in Winchester and Southampton, the trail will come to a close on Thursday, August 25 before each hare is auctioned off in a farewell event in September. All proceeds from the auction and the app will go towards the Murray Parish Trust.
More information can be found at haresofhampshire.co.uk, and in the Hares of Hampshire app.
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