Bulldog Project complete

Soon Ruston will have a complete set of 22 uniquely painted bulldog statues on public display across the community, as the Bulldog Project held its final auction event Thursday evening.

This six-year project by the Ruston Cultural District culminated with the sale of a second litter of 11 fiberglass bulldog works of art for a combined $119,000 — a number that surprised even the staunchest supporters.

“Before the auction one of our board members said, ‘I bet we hit 100K tonight,’” RCD President Amy Stegall said. “And we were like, ‘Wow, wouldn’t that be something?’ So then to even beat that was icing on the cake.”

The community turned out to the Dixie Center for the Arts and brought their checkbooks with them, improving on the $71,000 total from the first auction in 2022.

Minus project costs — buying the statues, paying the artists, holding the event — Stegall said Thursday’s auction netted roughly $70,000 for the Ruston Cultural District.

That will all go back into future programming, either to add even more art to the area or else to draw visitors to see what is already on offer.

“We have a lot of exciting thoughts about public art,” Stegall said. “Or just programming that would bring people to the cultural district for events and experiences that are intrinsic to our culture.”

Painted by a diverse group of artists, both professional and hobbyists, these colorful canines will be on display at local businesses and other publicly accessible locations for at least the next three years, if not longer.

Here’s the list of each dog, its artist and its new home:

• “Blank Bulldog” (for now): Origin Bank Downtown

• “Luna” by Camellia Bailey: Railroad Park

• “Louisiana Natives” by Hannah and Nick Bustamante: Tolliver Hall at Louisiana Tech University

• “Vincent” by Whitney Caskey: Log Cabin Grill & Market

• “Temporal Radiance” by Whitney Trisler Causey: The Ruston Lincoln Convention & Visitors Bureau

• “Let’s Play” by Melanie Douthit: b1 Bank

• “Storybook Bark” by Bailee Golden: Argent Financial Group

• “Stained Glass Bulldog” by Anna Grace Lee: Sleep Inn

• “Postal Pup” by Fairan Hayes: The Federal Building downtown

• “Au Printemps” by Leanna Patterson: The Lincoln Parish Library

• “Disco Dog” by Emily Vaccaro: Louisiana National Bank

The high seller of the night was the blank bulldog, purchased by Michelle Cassel on behalf of Origin Bank for $22,000.

Cassel said the bulldog’s final design and artist are to be determined, but the finished product will be displayed at Origin’s upcoming new bank location in downtown Ruston.

Meanwhile, “Postal Pup,” which was painted by a USPS mail carrier and is adorned in a mail carrier’s uniform, will stand guard at the Federal Building — the site of Ruston’s old post office downtown. The building will soon become the location of a Delta Biscuit Company restaurant.

The dogs heading to Louisiana Tech and the Lincoln Parish Library were purchased by Tech’s Alumni Association and the Friends of the Lincoln Parish Library, respectively.

They’ll all join the existing 11 statues that are already out in the community to form a complete map of 22 Bulldog Project installations for locals and visitors alike to hunt down and enjoy.

Here’s the list of the previous pups:

• “ Everyone Loves Breakfast” by Emery Thibodeaux: Turpin Orthodontics

• “ Mirrored Image” by Jo L. Gates: Heard Freighthouse Food Truck Park

• “ We Bleed Teach Blue” by Almira Bradford: Lambright Sports and Wellness Center

• “Be Bold” by Victoria Smith: Edward Jones Financial Advisor Andy Halbrook

• “Farmers Market” by Victoria Smith: Ruston Farmers Market

• “The Business End” by Jo L. Gates: Century Next Bank

• “Star Stuff” by Whitney Caskey: Hunt, Guillot & Associates

• “Flower Power” by Hooshang Khorosani: The Dixie Center for the Arts

• “Goodwill” by Julie Crews: Re/Max Realty

• “She’ll be Comin’ ‘Round the Bulldog” by Laura Hunt Miller: 701 N. Vienna Street

• “Circle of Friends” by Dubach School: the Ruston Sports Complex

Thursday’s auction capped off a multi-phase project conceived in 2016 that began in earnest in 2018 with the unleashing of the original 10 bulldogs.

For the cultural district, all along it’s been about bolstering and promoting the arts in the community.

“A huge congratulations goes to the people who had this idea and put it into action,” Stegall said. “To be a part of it from the last sale on through this one, it’s been remarkable to see how the community can come together when it comes to the arts.

“It’s all about who we are as a district. The DNA we have in the Ruston Cultural District and all of Ruston is tied so deeply to the university, tied to being a railroad town, tied to that very first epicenter of business in downtown. That’s the story this project tells. To see people come and support the work that’s been done here for the last 150 years — we’re preserving the past and moving into the future.”