In 2021, Southend on Sea hosted the most spectacular arts event that the town had ever seen. Hares About Town saw 30 super-sized Hare sculptures hopping their way into the town to raise awareness and funds for local charity Havens Hospices.

Providing a thrilling opportunity for adventurers young and old, the Hares popped up on an art trail in many of the popular locations around The Seafront and the High Street as well as enticing people into Southend’s more hidden gems of local history and culture. Each 1.6 metre Hare sculpture was decorated with its own unique design, created by regional professional, emerging and amateur artists.

The sculptures raised £225,931 for Havens Hospices on auction night, bringing the total raised for the charity across the whole event to £447,000.

The bidding on the original Hare, Leporum Fisher, was a particularly poignant moment as artist Paul Karslake sadly died in March 2020 before the trail was launched. With 15 individuals standing up to bid £1,000 each, the joint fundraiser reached an incredible £20,481.

We went on to work with Havens Hospices again in 2023 for Herd in the City.