After Books About Town Art Sculpture Trail, I've waited all summer for charity art sculpture trails, and then two come along at once! This autumn, the "Year of the Bus" is celebrated by Traffic For London (TFL), and the streets around Westminster, the Olympic Park, and the City will host approximately fifty painted bus sculptures dubbed BusArt. At roughly the same time and to celebrate the new Paddington Bear film, fifty Paddington Bear sculptures will be waiting to be discovered throughout London at various locations.
This morning, the BusArt sculptures (Year of the Bus Sculpture Trail) launched in Trafalgar Square. Unfortunately, the sculptures were only available to view from 8:30-10:00 this morning. I was hoping that they would be available to view at about 7:00-8:00, before I have to get over to work in Brick Lane, and I was planning to get in to London really early to see them. I found out the actual times late last night and realised that it was not possible for me to see them due to the timing. I will just have to wait for them to be placed on their trails. The sculpture trail officially starts on Monday, and it runs until early December. I know that I will be doing a lot of walking over the next few weeks.
Here's a sneak peek of a couple of the buses in Trafalgar Square, courtesy of Transport For London's Twitter feed. [EDIT - added later in the day.]
During most of the same weeks, the buses will be joined by the Paddington Bear Trail. This trail covers a larger area and is ideal for those who are not afraid to cycle in London. All of the bear and bus sculptures are painted by local artists to raise money for charity, and in the case of the Paddington Bears, some are designed and painted by celebrities. Nicole Kidman, Peter Capaldi, Emma Watson, Michael Sheen, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Beckham, Guy Ritchie, Ant & Dec, Jonathan Ross, and mayor Boris Johnson are among the celebrity list. The Paddington Trail begins on November the fourth and ends at the end of December.
I know that I am going to get into shape over the next two months while I track down all of the sculptures.
Find out more:
Paddington Bear: http://www.visitlondon.com/paddington/
Year of the Bus: http://www.wildinart.co.uk/bus-art
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