Turner Contemporary campaign to bring life-sized Polar Bear to Margate

Paula the Polar Bear Photo Oliver Soulas/Greenpeace

Turner Contemporary is marking the seventh anniversary of its opening today (April 16) with the launch of a fundraiser to bring a life-sized polar bear to the Margate gallery.

The aim is to raise £15,000, online via Art Happens, to bring Paula the Polar Bear’, to Margate sands this summer.

It is hoped the project will get thousands of people talking about climate change as part of Turner Contemporary’s summer exhibition, Animals & Us. If the money is raised, ‘Paula the Polar Bear’ will roam through the town and across the beach throughout the season.

Because of the loss of their sea ice habitat resulting from climate change, polar bears are listed as a threatened species. Paula the Polar Bear has already travelled to Washington DC, Finland and Auckland to raise awareness of environmental issues. She is on loan from Greenpeace UK.

The Art Happens campaign will last for four weeks and the project will only be realised if the gallery is successful in raising £15,000.

Photo Pascal Amos-Rest/Greenpeace

Donations can be made from £5 and there are a number of rewards on offer in return for support.

Turner Contemporary has worked with Margate based artist, Sprankenstein to create a limited edition canvas bag and an exclusive print.

Other rewards include:

A curator led tour of their summer exhibition, Animals & Us

A unique set of postcards

A puppeteering workshop

An afterhours tour of the exhibition, Animals & Us for you and a group of friends followed by a drinks reception

Find out more about the campaign here.

Turner Contemporary Photo by Dean Spinks

Since opening in 2011, Turner Contemporary has had over 2.6 million visits, exhibited artwork by over 500 artists and shown over 300 JMW Turner paintings and sketches. Turner Contemporary has put £58 million back into the local economy and inspired over 39,000 children in with its learning programme.

Read about the Animals & Us exhibition here