A SCOTS artist known for his designs featuring hippos has been given the honour of having part of a school named after him.
Sculptor Mark Stoddart has been raising awareness for dyslexia and took up the cause for children in Kenya to help them access the support they need.
Known for his Hippo tables and furniture, which are sold for thousands of pounds across the world, Mr Stoddart auctioned off a piece of his own work to help raise funds and celebrate the birthday of a very special hippo.
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Cincinnati Zoo’s star resident Fiona the Hippo, turned five last month and is known for defying the odds after she was born six months premature weighing just 29 pounds.
The Ayrshire artist gave away his Hostage Hippo coffee table during a raffle at Fiona's virtual birthday party – with proceeds aiding a dyslexia school in Nairobi.
Fiona the Hippo in Cincinnati Zoo
Now work will get underway for the RareGem Talent school in Kenya after the Kenya Dyslexia Organisation which funds it received £13,000 after £87,000 was raised through a recent auction to mark the birthday of the world’s most famous hippo.
Mr Stoddart’s limited edition hippo coffee table ended up being listed as part of fixtures and fitting when a Troon hotel went bust. He fought to have the table returned and earlier this year gifted it to the zoo for the raffle.
Speaking on what is World Hippo Day Mr Stoddart, who himself is dyslexic said: “Around £87,000 was raised of which £13,000 will be payable to Kenya Dyslexia Organisation to help towards the build of their new school RareGem Talent School which they have already started building. I have agreed to give them a further £8,000 to make their total to £21,000.
“Amazingly the total number of tickets sold in the raffle was17,396. A big thank you to everyone who bought a ticket. I just did this to raise awareness but it was lovely when they told me the art classroom would be named StoddART and Fiona the Hippo."
Hostage Hippo table was a raffle prize donated by Mark Stoddart
Mr Stoddart said it was fantastic that they will be able to build a new bigger school to replace the tin rented building they are in at the moment, adding: "While someone around the world is the winner of Hostage Hippo, what I'm trying to achieve on the back of all this is to create awareness of Dyslexia and Neurodiversity issues.
“Some of the children from the school have done some paintings and one of them really stands out. It is amazing to see how art can help the youngsters express themselves.”
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Cincinnati Zoo was delighted when Mr Stoddart when he got involved in the birthday celebrations.
"We had a lot of fun with Fiona's virtual birthday celebration, and people loved Mark's incredible hippo table," said Cincinnati Zoo director Thane Maynard. "It was truly a work of art, and the winner is lucky to have such a treasure in her home. The Zoo is grateful for his generosity."
Children in at the school in Nairobi
Mr Stoddart has lived with dyslexia his whole life and credits his artistic success to the confidence he gained after attending Frewen College in Sussex, a school that specially catered for people with dyslexia. He said his education at the College taught him that he didn’t need to be held back by the condition. He is a proud supporter of Dyslexia Scotland and is keen to take this opportunity to help Rare Gem Talent School give the same sense of hope and belief to children in Fiona’s home country of Kenya.
“My whole life I’ve been grateful for the support I received as a youngster and the success I have enjoyed as an artist in my adult years. With the help of Cincinnati Zoo and the adorable Fiona, I am excited by the opportunity to give a similar boost to the children at Rare Gem, and hopefully see the success it inspires in them in the years to come," he added.
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