From 21st August to 27th October 2023, Croydon Town Centre will be transformed into an enchanting open-air gallery, taken over by 30 spectacular Giraffe Sculptures.
Superdrug is proud to sponsor Croydon Stands Tall as part of their partnership with Croydon Business Improvement District (BID) and will champion the 10-week art trail to help drive further footfall to the area and support local creative industries. The trail goes live on 21st August 2023, with 30 eight-foot-tall giraffe installations, decorated by artists with a keen focus on the locality, placed around the area’s many cultural hubs and iconic venues.
Joining the thirty majestic giants, a delightful herd of baby giraffe sculptures will join the trail, decorated by local schools and community groups. These smaller sculptures will be strategically placed across the town’s civic centre’s spaces, libraries, and shops, adding unexpected experiences to people’s daily lives.
To enhance the experience for locals and visitors, a dedicated trail map and app will be available that will unveil the colourful creatures at every turn, providing exciting rewards and fact-finding missions along the way.
To end the trail, Croydon will host a special farewell weekend, where all sculptures will be displayed together in one final giraffe spectacular before being auctioned off in aid of national charity, Crisis. The auction will raise vital funds for the charity’s Croydon Skylight which offers vital help with housing, jobs, health, and wellbeing to aid people to leave homelessness behind for good.
Superdrug’s sponsored giraffe has been designed by Hannah Sykes (@HannDrawnLondon) and will be positioned outside Superdrug’s Head Office. Hannah created the artwork with her HannDrawn style and added influences from Superdrug’s hot pink branding into her design.
Hannah said: “It’s been an honour to design Superdrug’s giraffe. This has been an incredible opportunity being one of thirty artists chosen to design this sculpture. It has been inspiring working alongside many other great artists whilst also being part of the community is such a privilege. I’ve loved the challenge of working on the sculpture and can’t wait for everyone to see them.”
One of Croydon’s leading employers, Superdrug is the UK’s leading health & beauty retailer, with over 800 stores across England and Ireland, including 200 in-store pharmacies. The Superdrug Head office is 55,000 sq. foot, spread over six floors and comprises a modern and inspirational environment for the 500 colleagues based in Croydon.
Superdrug’s People Director, Amy Davies, commented: “We are proud to be part of Croydon Stands Tall and are looking forward to seeing all the giraffes come together to form a fantastic trail around Croydon. As a team we immediately resonated with the initiative and the giraffes, being animals with the biggest hearts that thrive when surrounded by others and we look forward to continuing to build relationships with the local communities through this initiative.
To be able to sponsor the initiative with Croydon BID, knowing it supports such a great cause and help support those within the Croydon community is an honour. We’ve got a long heritage in the area, with our head office and several stores located in the heart of the town centre and we look forward to seeing the giraffes around Croydon.”
Matthew Sims, Chief Executive at Croydon Business Improvement District (BID), said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be working with Superdrug as presenting partner of Croydon Stands Tall. Superdrug is intrinsically linked to Croydon through its long-standing heritage with the borough, and places significant value on supporting our people and communities. Once again, Superdrug is demonstrating its commitment to supporting those that live, work, and visit Croydon as we look forward to hosting the London Borough of Culture 2023. Croydon Stands Tall is, and will be, an incredibly fun, vibrant, and rewarding art trail for all. It’s time to get behind ‘This is Croydon’!”
