The owners of a Derby public relations company Penguin PR say they were “thrilled and proud” to have been the sponsors of a rams auction event, the grand finale to a 12-week sculpture trail.
In a first for the company, based in Ashbourne Road, Penguin PR agreed to sponsor the auction evening held to sell off the sculptures in the Derby Ram Trail, which took place over the summer.
The auction, which was held at the Museum of Making and was attended by around 200 people, brought the curtain down on the highly successful rams trail, which was organised by Derby Museums together with event partners Wild in Art.
The 30 rams, colourfully decorated in a host of different designs drawing on classic paintings, local landmarks, characters and industries, attracted thousands of people to the city to see them in situ around Derby’s streets.
From left, Sarah Newton, director of Penguin PR, TV auctioneer Charles Hanson and Simon Burch, director of Penguin PR, with Rameses, one of 30 Derby Ram Trail sculptures sold at an auction night held last week to raise fund for the Derby Museums Trust.
The auction was conducted by TV auctioneer Charles Hanson, from Hanson’s Auctioneers, and saw the rams go under the hammer with a top price of £16,500.
Proceeds from the Derby Ram Trail will be doubled by the match funding by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to help build Derby Museums’ Endowment, which is a fund set up to secure the venue’s long-term future.
Penguin PR director Simon Burch said: “Since we don’t have anywhere to keep a super-sized ram nor the budget to buy one, we were happy to play our part as event sponsors and watch the action unfold on the night.
“It was a wonderful evening to have been a part of, especially when the bids were flying back and forth across the room with the totals going up by hundreds of pounds each time.
“This was a first for us and we were thrilled and proud to have been able to sponsor such a well-attended event that has had such an incredible outcome.”
Founded in 2010, Penguin PR employs five people and represents a host of companies and organisations across the East Midlands.
