The Big Fun Art Adventure is a trail made up of 53 owl sculptures placed around North London in order to bring together a community and raise funds for the vital work done by North London Hospice.

From August 17th to October 12th, 30 large and 23 small owl sculptures were displayed around North London, encouraging locals to find as many as possible with the promise of a certificate for those who managed to visit them all.

On November 7th, following a celebration and farewell week, the thirty large owls will be put up for auction, with the proceeds going towards North London Hospice’s running costs.

The charity provides free palliative care both at home and in their hospices, supporting both patients with terminal illnesses and their families.

Fundraising lead Pippa Baker describes how the hospice “put our arms around you and your family”, tailoring care to the needs of individuals.

Their essential work of providing “the best of life, at the end of life, for everyone” costs around £16 million per year, just 30% of which is funded by the NHS.

This means the hospice must raise more than £11 million per year from fundraising and retail. Pippa Baker says that this figure is rising year on year, and that referrals have increased by 25% in the first six months of 2024 alone.

The Big Fun Art Adventure, inspired by a similar project carried out by the Keech Hospice in Luton, is a creative new way to raise part of this sum.

The hospice aims to raise enough money to fund the salaries of three nurses for an entire year.

Owls were chosen as an homage to the wisdom of the doctors and nurses at the hospice who, like owls, “work through the night”, organiser Anna Cooper says. “We thought there was something nice about passing wisdom through generations.”

The hospice received more than 120 submissions from artists in North London, whittling these down to 60 designs for their sponsors to choose from.

In addition to this, 21 of the 23 small owls were designed and created by local primary schools and community organisations who they will be returned to in early November.

Those involved in organising the project describe the response from the community as “overwhelming”, “rewarding”, and “above and beyond anything we could have imagined”.

More than 100,000 people are estimated to have participated in the trail over the summer whether to entertain their children or grandchildren, or to support the hospice that provided end of life care to their loved ones. 

Some local residents say that the trail has encouraged them to make lifestyle changes that will continue long after the project is over, such as walking to work rather than taking the bus.

The trail has even attracted participants from other parts of London and allowed them to get to know a new area.

Ultimately, many people feel that the project has succeeded in its goal of “bringing the hospice closer to our community”, in the words of Pippa Baker. 

All 53 owls are on display together for the first and last time between Saturday 26 October and Friday 1 November 2024 as part of the free celebration and farewell week for the project that has been 2 years in the making. 

The large statues will be put up for auction online or in person at the Emirates stadium on Thursday 7 November.