Gratitude is a free public art installation of 51 beautifully sculptures, each unique design created by artists from across the UK and overseen by Dame Zandra Rhodes. Securitas is the only security company sponsoring a sculpture and we are extremely proud to represent the industry as we express our gratitude to every security officer and engineer and recognise the role they played as key workers during the pandemic.
In expressing our gratitude, we also want to honour those employees and key workers we have lost along the way.
We hope that our sculpture will help raise awareness of the important role security professionals play, and the contribution they make, in keeping people, property and local communities safe every day of the year. And through Gratitude, we want to thank them all for their selfless commitment, as we all faced the challenges of living with COVID-19.
Raising the profile of security professionals
In a recent survey, security officers were ranked 9th out of 10 essential services (just one place above traffic wardens), prompting Rick Mounfield, Chief Executive of the Security Institute to comment “The public seem unaware of the critical roles security officers play in supporting the police …. the average citizen in the UK pays little to no attention to what a security officer is doing.”
In Securitas we want to change this public perception. Sponsoring Gratitude is just one way we can help educate others about the important role of security officers, and over the coming weeks we’ll share some of the personal stories of our people to highlight the difficult and challenging roles they undertake to keep us and our local communities safe.
Shaun Kennedy, Country President, Securitas UK, commented: "Security professionals are the unsung heroes of the global pandemic. They were on the front line from day one, helping to keep people and property safe and secure. That’s why Gratitude is such an important event – it’s our way of saying thank you to security professionals across the UK.
It’s also a great way for us to help change people’s perceptions of the role of security officers and help the general public understand the huge, often unseen, contribution our people make to society."
After the Birmingham art installation, Gratitude will move to Manchester and then to Edinburgh. The final installation will be London in early October, after which the sculptures will be auctioned to raise money for NHS Charities Together.
How to get your free tickets
Tickets for Gratitude in Birmingham are available now. Entry is free but you have to reserve a time slot and you can do this here https://thisisgratitude.co.uk/tickets/
Tickets for Gratitude Manchester, Edinburgh and London will be available soon on the same site.
