Covid-19: Statues recognise NHS staff and key workers

The Gratitude display opened in Birmingham's Chamberlain Square

A collection of 51 statues, each decorated by a different artist, has gone on display as a thank you to NHS staff and key workers in the pandemic.

The installation, called Gratitude, is on show in Birmingham's Chamberlain Square before it is taken to Manchester, Edinburgh and London.

In the autumn, the touring statues will be auctioned to raise money for NHS Charities Together.

The project also sought the public's stories about key workers.

Visitors will be able to listen to those accounts, which have been read by well-known personalities including singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, Citizen Khan star Adil Ray, and actors Julie Hesmondhalgh, Ciarán Griffiths, Jamie-Lee O'Donnell, Christopher Eccleston, John Thomson and Shobna Gulati,

The story behind each statue's design is recorded online and tells the artist's experience of the pandemic.

Each statue tells the artist's personal experience of the pandemic

People were also asked to contribute written stories about key workers during the pandemic

Wild at Art, the organisation which arranged the display, said the statues were designed to look neither male nor female.

And Charlie Langhorn, its managing director, said it had been pointed out to him that they looked a bit like Oscars.

He said that was not the intention, but it was fitting because both celebrated "great work".

The statues are surrounded by mirrors

When the display has finished its tour of four cities, the statues will be sold at auction

Wild at Art said it did not intend the display to be a memorial to those who had lost their lives to coronavirus, but there would be an opportunity for quiet reflection and for visitors to share their own feelings and stories.