Home Culture Swindog locations across Swindon revealed

Swindog locations across Swindon revealed

4 April 2023

The organisers of The Big Dog Art Trail, have announced the locations which will become home to the ‘Swindogs’ over the summer.

There will be 30 Swindogs placed around Swindon in the UK’s first-ever balloon dog art trail, which will cover 20 miles between them.

The Big Dog Art Trail, which will be raising vital funds for Julia’s House children’s hospice, is coming to Swindon from 15th July to 3rd September, 2023.

Announcing the locations Chris Hyde, Project Manager of The Big Dog Art Trail said: “We have tried to really showcase Swindon and the fantastic areas it has with this trail.

“From the variety of stunning public parks, to heritage sights including the railway works, to areas of significance for local communities.

“This trail is something Swindon should be proud of and will enable not only people visiting the area to discover new parts of the town, but also residents to go out and explore what is on their own doorsteps.”

Lydiard Park
The Link Centre
The McArthurGlen Designer Outlet
STEAM Museum
GWR Park
Pinetrees Community Centre
Broadgreen Community Centre
Swindon Town Football Club
Nationwide’s Oakfield Development
St Marks Park
Lawns
Old Town Gardens
Queens Park
Old Town Library & Arts Centre
Swindon Train Station
Swindon Council Office
Wyvern Theatre
The Parade

As well as the 30 Swindog sculptures, there will also be 42 miniature Swinpup sculptures on the trail as part of the The Big Dog Art Trail Learning Programme.

On Monday, schools and community groups picked up their sculptures at an event held at the Wyvern Theatre, who are a sponsor of the trail.

The Swinpups took centre stage this week as our Learning Programme became the star of the show at the Wyvern Theatre.<br><br>
We invited all participating schools and community groups to the @wyverntheatre, who are themselves sponsoring a Swindog to be designed by students at @newcollegeswindon.<br>
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After hearing from trail project manager, Chris Hyde, and getting some top tips on painting their sculpture from @laughrin from @wildinart, and Swindon artist, @handosanjh, the schools and community groups were able to take home their Swinpup - a miniature of the larger Swindog sculptures, complete with its special personalised dog tag, ready to be painted by the children and young people with their own unique designs.<br>
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As well as having their sculptures featured at trail locations including the Wyvern Theatre, North Swindon Library and Pinetrees Community Centre, the schools and community groups will each be raising £500 for Julia’s House children’s hospice.<br>
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Find out more about the Learning Programme by clicking the link in our story.<br>
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#thebigdogarttrail #juliashousechildrenshospice #wildinart #swindonarttrail @swindonboroughcouncil @simonwardphoto — © https://www.bigdogarttrail.co.uk/

You will be able to find the Swinpups at the following locations…

North Swindon Library
Central Library
West Swindon Library
Pinetrees Community Centre
The Wyvern Theatre
The McArthurGlen Designer Outlet

Ahead of the opening weekend of the trail, there will be physical maps available purchase for a small donation going to Julia’s House and an app where you can collect the sculptures and find out more about their artists and the companies sponsoring them.