Dear blogTO:

I'm writing is to tell you about a neat and exciting community project I'm working on to help adoptable rescue cats find loving homes. The project is a collaborative art event, created by rescue cats and humans in a gallery space over one weekend in Toronto, November 22-23, 2014. Essentially, it is a mixer for rescue cats to connect with people! All cats will be from Toronto Cat Rescue and we will have volunteers from the organization to oversee the adoption process. I work as a volunteer adoption screener during adoptathon events in Toronto and I am also a visual artist.

The project is called They Choose You, and there will be lots of cat-friendly art which the cats can interact with: cat climbers, scratching posts, black cat sculptures, cat craft-making and cat people! I have started a Facebook page and an Indiegogo Campaign to support and draw attention to this event. You can view pics and watch my campaign video here, featuring Tobias, one of the three adopted cats I live with.

Hanging out with the adoptable cats and the art is free! Children must be accompanied by an adult. We will also be holding a Cat Crafternoon session in the studio space from 1-4 pm where participants can make three cat-related projects for $25. All materials are included.

Please contact me if you would like to know more details! It would be great if you could help spread the word. The image attached is from documentation of a similar event I organized in 2012 called Beckoning Cat. This large cat climber work will be in the space, as well as other sculptures and installations.

Photo credit: Toni Hafkenscheid

Thanks!

Melanie.