Behind ‘Heritage Hog’: Basingstoke Hampshire Hogs trail

BCoT reveals its very own life-sized hog art sculpture for the Basingstoke Hampshire Hogs trail.

After months of preparation, Basingstoke College of Technology (BCoT) officially launched and revealed its very own life-sized hog art sculpture ‘Heritage Hog’ in August 2021, designed and painted by our talented Art and Design students, as part of Destination Basingstoke’s Hampshire Hogs trail.

The trail features 17 hand-painted hog sculptures scattered in and around Basingstoke town, inspired by Hampshire’s people, places and heritage, for all to discover by chance or a map guide using the free mobile app.

Art and Design students, Harriet Ross and Gemma Pounder, said: “The inspiration behind the Heritage Hog was to combine the old and modern history, buildings and characteristics of Basingstoke, taken from a range of images, articles and research we sourced.”

Harriet said: “I enjoyed designing and creating the hog over summer, it was fun. I was really happy to be involved and for the hog to be on display in the heart of Basingstoke town.”

Course Director for Art, Design and Media, Rebecca Starkiss, said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to take part in a unique project that has enabled them to create artwork for their local community. They have researched our local area to create our Hog design alongside developing their artistic techniques, team working and project management skills. We are all thrilled to be involved and have the opportunity to work alongside other talented artists to the benefit of our local community and it's not every day an art student can go to a university interview and talk about painting a life-sized Hampshire Hog!"

If you haven’t discovered the 'Heritage Hog' yet, download the free ‘Hampshire Hogs’ mobile app to explore the full art trail which is available until mid-October.