The Big Dog Art Trail raises £165,800 for Julia’s House

Published by

Peter Davison

Image courtesy of Simon Ward Photography

The auction of balloon dog sculptures that have adorned the streets of Swindon over the summer as part of The Big Dog Art Trail has raised £165,800 for Julia’s House.

The auction took place in the Great Western Hall at Swindon’s STEAM Museum in partnership with public arts organisation Wild in Art.

Each one of the balloon dog sculptures was sponsored by a business or individual, and artists from across the country were invited to create hand-painted designs on the sculptures.

Thirty four Swindogs and Swinpups went under the hammer on Tuesday evening (September 19).

The best-in-show prize went to Writing on the Wall, 2023 by David King Reuben and Penny For Your Thoughts (pictured) by Jane Morgan, which each fetched an impressive £15,000 by online bidders.

The auction was hosted by Charlie Langhorne, managing director and co-founder of Wild In Art and TV auctioneer Charles Hanson, who is best known for his appearances as an antiques expert on Bargain Hunt, Flog It! and Antiques Road Trip.

Mike Bartlett, Deputy CEO of Julia’s House, said, “It’s a remarkable total for Julia’s House children’s hospice. The people who have been bidding in the room and online tonight have been so brilliant and generous, and we can’t thank Swindon enough for their support.”

Charlie Langhorne from Wild in Art said, “It’s great to see that the Swindogs will now go to their forever homes while leaving a lasting legacy through the funds raised for Julia’s House.

"A lot of hard work has gone into the trail and I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved, from the bidders to everyone who has supported The Big Dog Art Trail over the summer.”

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Artist MrASingh, who collectively raised £5,200 with his Swindog ‘Creative Twist’ and miniature Swindog ‘Mini Creative Twist’, said, “I think Swindon has really adopted the artwork – it's now part of Swindon’s DNA. So, what’s really nice is that a lot of people who have bought the sculptures are making sure they’re staying in Swindon, which is brilliant.”

Sponsors of The Big Dog Art Trail continued to be passionate in their support for Julia’s House children’s hospice, with Imagine Cruising, Beard, National Self Build Renovation Centre, Arval, Telenco, and Nationwide all buying the sculpture they had sponsored.

Peter Davison

Peter Davison is deputy editor of The Business Magazine. He has spent his life in journalism – doing work experience in newsrooms in and around Bristol while still at school, and landing his first job on a local newspaper aged 19. By 28 he was the youngest newspaper editor in the country. An early advocate of online news, he spent the first years of the 2000s telling his bosses that the internet posed both the biggest opportunity and greatest threat to the newspaper industry and the art of journalism. He was right on both counts. Since 2006 he has enjoyed a career as a freelance journalist. He lives in rural Wiltshire with one wife, two children, and three cats.