We were thrilled to partner with Guide Dogs WA to launch their exhibition “Pup Art” at our inaugural Perth Art Upmarket.

Like the Pop Art movement of the 1950s, the Pup Art exhibition made reference to popular culture, mass production, comic book heroes, the everyday and the kitsch. Pup Art celebrated the history of the Guide Dogs WA coin collection dogs and the life changing impact of a Guide Dog on person with low vision.

24 life-sized model collection dogs, hand-painted and decorated by local artists and supporters, adorned the lawns of the University of Western Australia during Perth Art Upmarket to the absolute delight and awe of our Art Upmarket shoppers.

Following its launch at Perth Art Upmarket the exhibition moved to Perth’s tallest office building, Central Park on St. George’s Terrace and ran for two weeks allowing the extended Perth community the chance to visit the exhibition and vote for their favourites.

In addition to raising awareness and doubling as a major fundraising campaign for Guide Dogs WA the exhibition brought together different parts of the community who generously donated their time, materials and efforts and included local artists and volunteers.

Shoppers at Perth Art Upmarket and visitors to the Central Park exhibition were invited to vote for their favourite dog by way of a gold coin donation into their chosen Pup artwork(s). The Winner of ‘People’s Choice Award’ was ‘Super Dog’ created by participants from the Mosaics, Pottery and Textiles classes at VisAbility, all of whom are living with blindness or vision impairment.

“Super Dog is a reflection on the journey of going into the darkness of blindness and self-discovery. A pilgrimage of self-realisation from the beginning of vision loss, not knowing if you can pick up the shattered pieces in a world that can feel so dark. It is a journey of acceptance, triumph, persistence and above all the discovery that everyone of us has an unbreakable will within us that pieces the lives of so many back together in a community of SUPER HEROES. These furry friends aren’t just your everyday doggy pals, they are the angels that give us the wings to fly back to our life through another’s eyes.”

Following the exhibition, the decorated iconic collection dogs were sold through an online auction with local organisations and individuals bidding for a dog(s) to donate to local causes.

To date 12 of the 24 dogs have sold via the online auction and the total amount raised by Guide Dogs WA from the Pup Art exhibition and auction is an amazing $18,488! What an amazing effort, congratulations to all involved.

Benefits of our partnership with Guide Dogs WA;

We helped to source the artists who decorated the Pup Art – 50% were Art Upmarket retailers
We secured media coverage on the launch in the Post Newspaper
We secured a radio interview with RTRFM on their “The Mags” talk programme
City of Perth created a dedicated film on the initiative which was used as promo by both parties in the lead up to the event
Both parties promoted the Art Upmarket event through their various marketing channels
It provided an activation event at Perth Art Upmarket which meant that our visitors stayed longer.

For further details about the Pup Art dogs still available for auction, please visits the Guide Dogs WA Pup Art Exhibition page.

To view the City of Perth Pup Art Art Upmarket video click here.