Ki appointed creative partner for Morph’s Epic Art Adventure

Family-focused marketing agency Kids Industries (Ki) has today announced that it is the creative partner for a major new initiative – Morph’s Epic Art Adventure in London, set to be the first accessible, step-free cultural event of its kind.

The launch event, which took place at The Museum of London earlier this week, announced the partnership between Whizz-Kidz, Wild in Art, and Aardman – the award-winning animation studio and creator of the childhood-favourite and much-loved animated character, Morph.

The spectacular public art trail and tourist attraction will see up to 70 super-sized sculptures of Morph take over the streets of central London in summer 2023. The step-free family-friendly art trail of colourful Morphs will span iconic London landmarks including St Pauls, Tate Modern, the Tower of London, Shakespeare’s Globe and Borough Market.

Whizz-Kidz is embarking on this fun, fully accessible trail across London to raise awareness of the need for better access and inclusion for young wheelchair users, and to raise vital funds to support their work.

The money raised will enable the charity to provide life-changing wheelchairs and confidence-building opportunities for young wheelchair users in the capital and across the UK. The Morph sculptures will be canvases for conversations about diversity and inclusion for wheelchair users.

Each of the 70 Morph sculptures stands at 6ft tall and will be adorned with bespoke designs from a range of artists, supported by sponsors including Sky, Barratt Developments, EY, Kids Industries, Evenbreak, and Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd. Once the trail has closed, each of the bespoke Morph sculptures will be auctioned with the aim of raising £500,000 for Whizz-Kidz.

A trail app, website, map, guidebook and dedicated social media channels will enable trail-goers to navigate the route, tracking down each sculpture and unlocking fun facts and rewards.

Sarah Pugh, chief executive of Whizz-Kidz, says: “We are delighted to launch Morph’s Epic Art Adventure in London. This accessible and fun trail will bring the London business community, creative artists, schools and families together in the summer of 2023. The awareness and money raised will have a huge legacy for young wheelchair users we support for years to come.”

“We are totally thrilled to be working with the excellent charity Whizz-Kidz on London’s first step-free art trail,” says Peter Lord, the co-founder of Aardman and creator of Morph. “I’m sure that local residents and visitors to London – young and old – will also be inspired to get creative and join Morph for an Epic Art Adventure.”

Gary Pope, CEO and Co-Founder at Ki, adds: We are super excited to support the important work Whizz-Kidz does as the official creative partner on such an important project – giving our time and resources to make this a huge success.

“The work that Whizz-Kidz does is incredible. Morph is incredible. London is incredible. Mashing the three together is pure genius – of course we wanted to be involved!

“One of our six immovable pillars of childhood, what we call the Super 6, is Diversity & Inclusion. As such, we are committed to equality in all its forms and to have the chance to play a small part in ensuring more children are able experience the epic-ness of London through a truly accessible epic adventure trail of Morphs is something our whole team stands behind.”

Aardman and Wild in Art announce creative partnership

Animation studio Aardman has entered into a creative partnership with Wild in Art that will produce public art trails featuring sculptures of well-loved characters Morph and Shaun the Sheep in towns and cities across Britain, from January 2022.

The characters will provide a 3D canvas, and creative inspiration, for a wealth of art and design from a carefully curated mix of well-known and emerging artists. The new trails will further Wild in Art’s mission to bring art out of the gallery and create shared experiences, whilst the learning programmes and activations develop the next generation of artists.

The first-ever sculpture trail to feature Morph launched on 29 January this year when ‘Morph’s Epic Art Adventure’ arrived in North Tyneside. This first event, hosted by North Tyneside Council, will see Morph of the North with twenty 1.8m-tall Morph sculptures decorated by commissioned artists from across the country with a wide range of themes, including floral, character designs and plays on the word ‘Morph’.

This is the second Wild in Art trail to take place in and around North Tyneside Town Centre, following the hugely successful delivery of The Snowman and The Snowdog in Winter 2020. The aim is to drive footfall into town centres, supporting the local economy, whilst also encouraging families to get outdoors and active, and nurture an interest in art and creativity in the community.

The opportunity to host a ‘Morph’s Epic Art Adventure’ trail is open to towns and cities across the UK. Shaun the Sheep will be the second collaboration as part of this new partnership, and news and opportunities for this concept will be announced soon.

Charlie Langhorne, Managing Director and Co-founder of Wild in Art said: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with Aardman and to bring these internationally renowned characters to art trails across the UK.

“Morph and Shaun the Sheep will bring colour and creativity to host locations. Each sculpture will be a conversation starter, with a different story to tell, allowing residents and visitors to explore their town or city from a different perspective. It’s a Covid-friendly way for people to socialise, support local artists and our charity partners/a local charity and enjoy some exercise in the fresh air.

“We’ve got some exciting plans in development and we look forward to revealing more host locations in the coming months.”

Rob Goodchild , Commercial Director at Aardman, added: “We are very happy to be working with the great team at Wild in Art to bring more art trails featuring our characters to the streets of the UK, including the inaugural Morph art trail – a character that’s encouraged creativity in generations of kids since the seventies. We look forward to finding fun and creative angles to connect our characters with each location and inspire people – young and old – to get creative.”