The sale of the Moor Otter Arts Trail sculptures has raised an incredible £69,330.
The stunning otter and cub sculptures, all decorated by artists and creatives in a variety of colours and themes, captured the imagination of thousands when they were let loose across the National Park and further afield this summer.
The trail finally got underway in May 2021, having been postponed from its 2020 date due to the pandemic.
Eighty-one otter and cubs, standing tall on plinths, were unleashed on five different trails and scores of loyal ‘otter spotters’ searched to find them. Many people made donations along the way at each sculpture or online.
A collection of 56 otters were auctioned online by The Saleroom and a special romp of 25 ‘golden otters’ were auctioned at a live event by Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood in Exeter last week.
=The live auction raised £25,980
=The online auction raised £31,990
=‘Teigny and Tiny’ pictured right, by Teignmouth-based artist Laura Wall fetched the highest bid in the online auction, selling for £3,220.
=All Creatures Great and Small’ by Elizabeth Kitson – the roaming otter and one of the 25 golden otters – sold for £3,020.
=Three sculptures, ‘Mother of Pearl – The Pearly Queen of Dartmoor’ by Corinna Barrell - Mosaic Rocks; ‘Wheal Otters’ by Alexis’ Art and ‘Agnes and Olave!’ by Alice Lovell and the Buckfastleigh Guides, all sold at a ‘buy it now’ price before the auctions even got started!
The sculptures are now on their way to their new homes.
Pamela Woods, Chair of the Dartmoor National Park Authority, said: ‘The Moor Otters Arts Trail was aimed at encouraging people to explore Dartmoor in new ways, supporting businesses as the national COVID recovery effort got underway while raising funds for vital conservation work.
‘We’re pleased to say we think it has achieved exactly that! We’ve had terrific feedback throughout especially from our community of otter spotters on Facebook. It’s been a wonderful way to celebrate Dartmoor.
‘My thanks go to the team who worked behind the scenes at the Authority to make it a success, the talented artists for creating such remarkable pieces of art, the businesses who hosted an otter while coping with their own COVID-related challenges, our valued partners and sponsors for their vital contributions, and, of course, everyone helped raise funds for Donate for Dartmoor along the way.’
The main sponsor of the Moor Otters Arts Trail 2021 is South West Water. David Smith, South West Water’s Upstream Thinking and Biodiversity Team Manager, said: “We are proud to continue supporting this important project which engages people with their local Dartmoor rivers, which are critical to our drinking water supply. Given our work with nature through our Upstream Thinking project to deliver high-quality drinking water to our customers, this is a natural partnership for us.
‘We are delighted that the ‘Postcards of Perambulation’ otter we sponsored, which features a bog pool created by our own team on Hangingstone, will now reside in our Exeter office, reminding us of the great work that has been done, and what needs to be done in the future.”
The trail was supported by a range of valued partners including Absolute PR and Marketing, BRS Images, Bearnes Hampton and Littlewood Auctioneers, Bovey Castle, Jolly Roger Lifesize Models, Mail Boxes Etc, The Saleroom, and Visit Dartmoor.