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Welcome to the Jungle... City?
Leicester artist Loz Atkinson invited to display her Hornbill alongside top talent from the art and design world

Every summer thousands of visitors descend on the Scottish capital for the festival season. Celebrities rub shoulders with tourists as the streets of Edinburgh are filled with magicians, comedians and musicians. This summer they will be joined by 150 animals as the city is turned into a mini-jungle.

The animal welfare charity, Elephant Family, plans for elephants, crocodiles, orang-utans, tigers and exotic birds to take centre stage in the world’s first multi animal and Edinburgh’s largest outdoor art exhibition.

The brightly coloured creatures, designed by artists and celebrities from around Britain, including artist Jack Vettriano, motor racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart and former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell. The sculptures will invade Edinburgh this summer in hope of raising £1 million to protect some of the world's most endangered species. The exhibition will also aim to capture the imagination of the city and create mass awareness of the tragic circumstances these creatures face.

Loz Atkinson explains,
“Being invited to design and paint a Hornbill after being part of the Elephant Parade last year in London, is an absolute joy and honour! Elephant Family do such great work for the Asian Elephants but in the process help so many other endangered species its impossible not to get involved in anyway I can to help.”

Loz’s Elephant “deliverance” was displayed on the Southbank as over 250 elephants took over the city last summer. The parade raised over £4million, with “deliverance” selling for £10,000. Attracting an audience of over 25 million making it London’s biggest outdoor art event ever. Loz thinks the charity will surpass their target no problem.

She says, “ Elephant Family definitely don’t do things small. A million pounds is a huge target but the amount of work the guys at the charity put in, the generosity of the British public and going by last year they will unquestionably exceed the target.”

The exhibits will have pride of place on buildings, park benches, lampposts and even traffic lights at the height of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Founder Mark Shand chose Edinburgh to launch Jungle City before taking the concept to cities around the world, including Sydney and New York, saying: "Edinburgh is such a beautiful city and it just seemed like the perfect place to launch Jungle City, particularly during the Fringe, when we think it'll blend in quite well."

Although the exhibition will be staged for six weeks at locations across Edinburgh - including the Royal Mile, Royal Botanic Garden and Princes Street Gardens - they will be gathered together in one place at the end of the run before being auctioned off in the city. With the money raised going towards many conservation projects such as buying strategic habitat.

Elephant Family has many famous supporters such as Joanna Lumley, Hugh Grant, Sarah, Duchess of York, Sophie Dahl and Stephen Fry but to name a few helping raise the profile of the charity and the event.

With royal supporters like HRH Prince of Wales who commented: “This remarkable initiative aims to help alleviate the crisis facing so many species on our planet today... Your generous support of Elephant Family and Jungle City in Edinburgh will quite simply make all the difference so I can only urge you to support this innovative campaign in any way you can”

For more information please visit: www.elephantfamily.org or www.jungle-city.org

About the Artist:
Born in Inverness, Scotland and with strong roots in North Yorkshire, Loz Atkinson has now settled and is working as an artist in Leicester.

Loz Atkinson graduated from De Montfort University in 2007 with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art and ever since has been making, exhibiting and taking on commissions in an endeavor to keep creating.

Exhibitions showcasing Loz Atkinson’s work include:
Trans-Siberian Arts Centre, Moscow, Russia through to Beijing, China. SO2010, Skegness. Elephant parade London, Southbank, Leicester square and the royal Chelsea hospital, London. Taliswoman - Guildhall, Leicester. The Grosvenor museums 8th open art exhibition - Grosvenor museum, Chester. Sefton open - the Atkinson art gallery, Southport. See you there, solo exhibition - city gallery off site, phoenix arts centre, Leicester.

For more information please contact Loz Atkinson - mail@lozatkinson.co.uk or visit her website: www.lozatkinson.co.uk