14/12/10…..Woa! Rhino ? a major visitor attraction for Oxfordshire 2011 (Contributed)

DOZENS of large brightly-painted rhino sculptures will be a feature visitor attraction for Oxfordshire in 2011. Local company, About the Place Ltd, is working in partnership with Wild in Art – the UK leader in mass participation public art events and related community and education activities – to bring the project to Oxfordshire and give it a new twist.

Called Woa! Rhino, the project aims to create a high profile visitor trail, drive footfall to towns, tourism and hospitality venues, offer a valuable marketing opportunity to business, link local artists, companies and schools, and raise money for charity. There?s more at www.woa-rhino.org.uk and you can follow the project on twitter @woa_rhino

The rhino sculptures, created by Wild in Art?s Creative Director Chris Wilkinson, are 1.6m long, 1.5m tall and weigh in at 40kg. Through countywide network, OTCN, businesses and organisations are being invited to boost their profile and strengthen community links by sponsoring a rhino. Local artists have the opportunity to submit designs for sponsors to consider. A trail is created to encourage people to get around the county to see the different rhinos in place. And after eight weeks on show, the rhinos are collected together and auctioned off, for the benefit of one local and one animal charity. Primary schools can participate by adopting a mini rhino which they get to paint and send out in public. These are then returned to their school owners at the end of the event.

Cities like Liverpool, Norwich and Chester have run similar events but Woa! Rhino is the first to draw the trail into a county setting. Wild in Art?s Charlie Langhorne says: ?We are delighted to be working with the Woa! Rhino team on this exciting initiative. Our previous events, while raising a lot of smiles, also contribute significantly to the local economy.

“Participants and partners of our previous events have seen increases in footfall by anything up to 26% while turnover increased by 14%. We are very much looking forward to working with all partners and stakeholders to ensure that Woa! Rhino is a huge success.?

Oliver O?Dell, founder of About the Place Ltd, says: ?Our county has so much to offer that we wanted to take the trail beyond any one particular city, town or attraction. This means more opportunities to play a part than would normally be the case, and a bigger, more inclusive project.?

The Woa! Rhino team is working with the new destination management organisation, Visit Oxfordshire, to tie in with its work on promoting the county as a visitor attraction. Shadow Visit Oxfordshire Chairman and CEO of Blenheim Palace, John Hoy, says: ?This is an exciting project for Oxfordshire going into 2011 and one that has proven to be highly successful in other locations. Anything which drives visitor business around the county should be both applauded and embraced; and Visit Oxfordshire will look forward to working with the Woa! Rhino team to ensure its success.?

Two charities, Tusk Trust (www.tusk.org) and ROSY, Respite Nursing for Oxfordshire?s Sick Youngsters (www.rosy.org.uk), will be beneficiaries of the end-of-project auction. ROSY founder, Lady Rotherwick, says: ?ROSY are delighted to be involved with Woa! Rhino. It is a great initiative that brings joy to all who see the rhinos, interest and education to participating schools, much-needed funds to charities like ROSY, and increased footfall to all those places where the rhinos are sited.?

Cotswold Wildlife Park owner, Reggie Heyworth, a patron of the trust says: ?Tusk Trust is providing crucial support to rhino conservation projects in Africa, such as funding ranger patrols in Namibia, Kenya and Tanzania for the protection of threatened black rhino populations. There has been a serious surge in rhino poaching during 2009 and 2010, so this initiative could not come at a better time to raise awareness of the plight of rhinos and funds for their future.?

Oxfordshire Artweeks is closely involved with the project as the skill of artists is such a critical part of the success of the trail. Executive Director, Esther Browning, says: ?Oxfordshire has wealth of creative talent and it is great to see businesses supporting accessible art in their own communities, associating their brand with the quality and originality of local artists. The rhino trail will provide an exciting safari through the county?s historic market towns, introducing many new people to the contemporary artists and craftspeople working in Oxfordshire, and benefitting both the county?s traders and artists.?

Pictured: Members of the team behind Woa! Rhino Oxfordshire: Esther Browning (Oxfordshire Artweeks), Oliver O?Dell (About the Place), Iain Nicholson (OTCN), Lady Rotherwick (Cornbury Park & ROSY), Charlie Langhorne (Wild in Art), Susi Golding (Visit Oxfordshire)