Who is CowParade?
CowParade is the worldwide owner of the CowParade brand, trademarks and other intellectual property. CowParade Holdings Corporation makes its home in the beautiful town of West Hartford, Connecticut.
Why Cows? This is a popular question. Simply, the cow is a universally beloved animal. The cow represents different things to different people around the world-she’s sacred, she’s historical, she connects us to our past-but the common feeling is one of affection. There is something magical about the cow that transcends throughout the world. She simply makes everyone smile. The Canvas As an art canvas, there is no other animal or object that provides the form, flexibility, and contiguous breadth of a cow. The three shapes (standing, grazing, reclining) provide artists with subtle, yet interesting angles and curves to create unique works of art. The basic cow form is also benign so that it can be altered, transformed, and morphed into completely other animals, people or objects. Incredibly, over 2500 hundred Cows have been created worldwide, but no two are alike.
Who Are The Artists?
The cows are painted by local artists from the amateur and unknown to the professional and famous. The artists are notified of the event through an “Open Call to Artists” process. This process consists of a targeted mailing to top artists, newspapers and television ads, and through cooperation with local arts organizations. The event maintains a portfolio of the design submissions from which event sponsors select.
Noted Artists
Romero Britto Patrick Hughes Jan Saudic Roman Tyc James Rizzi Peter Max George Rodrigue James Rizzi Burton Morris Red Grooms Richard Haas Patricia Nix Leroy Neiman Edwina Sandys Architects Robert A.M Stern Lord Richard Rogers Lord Norman Foster Michael Graves Professor William Allsop
Designers + Celebrity Artists
Kate Spade (Fashion Designer, Kansas City) – Vivienne Westwood (Fashion Designer, London)
Matthew Williamson (Fashion Desinger, London) – Ronnie Wood (Musician, Rolling Stones, London) –
John Rocha (Designer, Dublin) – Radiohead (Rock Band, Dublin) – David Lynch (Movie Director, New York) – Federico Castelluccio (Actor, West Orange, NJ)
Vaclav Havel (former president of Czech Republic, Prague) – Marcel Wanders (Designer, Milan)
Karim Rashid (Designer, Milan) – Elio Fiorucci (Designer, Milan) – Christian Lacroix (Fashion Designer, Paris)
The Sponsors
Both large and small companies and individuals from the host city sponsor cows or “herds” of cows. Past sponsors include Coca-Cola, Nike, Adidas, Citibank, Travelers, HSBC, Mercedes-Benz, BMS, Lamborghini, Ford, Chik-Fil-A and more.
CowParade Benefits Charitable Organizations
CowParade events have raised over $20 million for non-profit organizations worldwide since 1999. The CowParade auctions are conducted like traditional art auctions with live bidding
Below are some charitable organizations that have benefited from Cowparade and some famous cow purchasers –
Benefiting Charities
Childline (CowParade London) Texas Children’s Hospital (CowParade Houston)
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (CowParade West Hartford)
Manchester Kids (CowParade Manchester)
Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts (CowParade Harrisburg)
Instituto Leloir (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Special Olympics (Bucharest)
University of Wisconsin Children’s Hospital
Save the Children (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Dana Farber Cancer Institute (Boston)
Jack and Jill’s Children Foundation (Dublin, Ireland)
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (Hartford, Ct)
Champions for Children (Milan, Italy)
Manchester Kids (Manchester, UK)
BRIS (Stockholm, Sweden)
Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies (Monegasque Association Against Muscular Dystrophy)(Monaco)
Childhood Cancer Foundation (CHOC)(South Africa)
Cow Purchasers and Owners
Oprah Winfrey
Vaclav Havel
Ringo Starr
Elton John
David James
Princess Firyal of