Brave Bears: Exhibition Highlights

890 hand made Brave Bears on display throughout Mansfield Central Library delighted visitors to the biggest teddy bears picnic of the summer!

Thank you Nottinghamshire's crafters!

Wall of knitted brave bears in many colours with acorn motif on their tshirts

Four Brave Bears, the closest brown with a purple jumper, standing on the library shelf

Six brave bears standing on top of the library shelves

Inside a glass cabinet with brave bear heads in the shot

A woman with grey hair looks at the exhibition wall of brave bears

Close up of a bundle of brave bears on the library shelf

We would like to say a very big THANK YOU for generously knitting and crocheting 890 adorable Brave Bears. All together they became a heart warming display of woolly creativity, that was both uplifting and inspiring. Every bear had its own personality and visitors to Mansfield Central Library loved them.

Well done to all the crafters across 'Knittinghamshire' and beyond...

Thank you for making Brave Bears, list of participants

A group of people from partner organisations stand in a line holding a brave bear

The Teddy Bears Picnic Exhibition at Mansfield Central Library from 15 August to 27 September 2023, marked a spectacular end to four months of charity knitting and crochet creativity. Each beautifully hand crafted Brave Bear was made with love for charities working with children in times of need. At the end of the exhibition the special bears were collected by Nottinghamshire Police, whose officers are tasked with ensuring the Brave Bears give hugs to those who need them most.

Here are some of the lovely comments we received about the exhibition:

Wow! So many lovely bears! Every one is different! Well done crafters! 😊

It was an absolutely lovely surprise coming into the library today & seeing all of the beautiful teddies.

How amazing to see our community come together for children!

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to make so many fantastic Brave Bears, they will make lots of children feel safe and happier.

BRILLIANT!! Well done all you knitters.

How truly lovely!! For a great cause too! Thank you to all the crafters.

I think they are all so cute! I find it great how the community are getting involved! Such a great idea.

The wall of bears is amazing and so pretty!

We can’t believe how many bears are in the library! They are everywhere! The boys loved seeing them 😊 Thank you.

All the bears are magnificent. Well done to all.

Absolutely delightful exhibition. We particularly like how they all have different characters. Love the picnic food as well!

Absolutely brilliant. Love them all.

The bears are amazing and very cheerful. Excellent artwork. Thank you for making our library even nicer. They are outstanding. Well done to everyone who knitted them.

How many!! Great display. Looking for mine!!

Such a wonderful project. My Mum knitted Brave Bears and really enjoyed the challenge. Well done Inspire and partners for creating such a fantastic creative project and for such a good cause!

Well done to everybody for the fantastic bears. Brilliant!

How wonderful, a room full of Brave Bears. All waiting for a forever name, they will all be well loved.

I really like the food, especially the doughnut. I loved it.

Such a thoughtful and creative project, I love the idea!

So so many gorgeous teddies and the thought that each one will bring comfort to a distressed child is truly humbling. What a marvellous challenge this year!

Thank you for visiting