| Coraline's Curious Cat Trail | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Year | 2024 (2024) |
| Medium | Fiberglass sculpture |
| Location | Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
Coraline's Curious Cat Trail was a temporary art installation inPortland, Oregon, United States. The series featured 31fiberglass statues of cats decorated by various artists, inspired by the 2009 animated filmCoraline, which were installed across the city during August 2 – October 13, 2024. Following public display, the sculptures were auctioned off, with proceeds benefitingOregon Health & Science University'sDoernbecher Children's Hospital. The project was a collaborative effort by the hospital,Laika (theHillsboro-based production company behindCoraline), Downtown Portland Clean and Safe, Visit Downtown, and art installation producer Wild in Art. The final designs were selected from 80 submissions. Sponsors includedThe Oregonian andWieden+Kennedy.
Described as an "interactive art trail",[1]Coraline's Curious Cat Trail was a temporary art installation inPortland, Oregon. It featured 31 cat statues inspired by the feline character Cat in the 2009 animated filmCoraline, which is based on the2002 novella of the same name byNeil Gaiman and was the first feature film produced byHillsboro-basedLaika, LLC. Various artists hand-painted and otherwise decorated the approximately 6-foot (1.8 m) tallfiberglass sculptures,[2][3][4] and each was unique. The statues were on public display for ten weeks (August 2 – October 13, 2024), after which they were sold at auction with proceeds benefitingOregon Health & Science University's (OHSU)Doernbecher Children's Hospital.[5]Coraline's Curious Cat Trail also included an app with a map of the sculptures and other features,[5] as well as a custom website andplaylist onSpotify.[4] In addition to being a fundraiser, the project was part of an effort to revitalizedowntown Portland, according toPortland Metro Chamber.[6][7]
The statues were installed throughout Portland, including at theInternational Rose Test Garden inWashington Park and atPittock Mansion in theTualatin Mountains. In downtown Portland, sculptures were installed atCity Hall,Director Park,Jamison Square, theNorth Park Blocks,Pioneer Courthouse Square,Pioneer Place, thePortland Art Museum,Portland Saturday Market,Skidmore Fountain,Tom McCall Waterfront Park (includingSalmon Street Springs), and theWorld Trade Center.[5] Artworks were also installed outside theOregon Museum of Science and Industry and at Pride Plaza outside theCrystal Ballroom.[8]
A statue designed by Katy Hughes, a lead scenic painter at Laika, and Rosie Chambers, a young patient at Doernbecher, depicted a blue cat with a pink nose and ears, as well as eyes with pink roses and small black spots inspired by the film's character, Other Mother. It was unveiled outside OHSU South Waterfront.[5] Artist Celeste Potgieter painted two statues. One featured a "fanciful" map depicting Oregon landmarks such asCannon Beach, theColumbia River Gorge,Crater Lake, and theOregon Dunes. The other, calledKeep Portland Weird, after the slogan "Keep Portland weird", had blue zebra stripes, glitter, a unicorn hat, local imagery, and a depiction ofBigfoot.[4] Another artist, Rae Sheridan, sculpted theJean-Michel Basquiat-inspiredInfinity Kitty, which had large blue and purple eyes. Sheridan was motivated by giving others "a sense of hope".[4] Another cat was designed by Arielle Wilkins, a senior designer at the advertising agency and project sponsorWieden+Kennedy. Her statue was decorated with hundreds of colorful resin flowers. Wilkins said she was motivated to "show the vibrancy" and "the sparkle of Portland".[4]
Coraline's Curious Cat Trail was a collaborative effort by Doernbecher Children's Hospital, Laika, Downtown Portland Clean and Safe, Visit Downtown,[7] and the art installation producer Wild in Art.[5] The project coincided with the fifteenth anniversary of the release ofCoraline.[4][9] It also marked the first art trail installation in the U.S. for Wild in Art, which is based in the United Kingdom.[10]
In February 2024, project collaborators hosted a countdown event. ActressTeri Hatcher, who voiced theCoraline characters Mother, Other Mother, and The Beldam, attended the event and said the project brought people together.[1][10][11] A call for artists issued in March 2024 resulted in 80 design submissions. Project sponsors, which includedThe Oregonian / OregonLive.com and Wieden+Kennedy, helped select the final designs.[4] The project's launch event was held at a plaza outside OHSU South Waterfront on August 2, 2024. Artists, sponsors, and other supporters of the project were in attendance. The statue by Hughes and Chambers was unveiled at the event.[5]
Keep Portland Weird, which was installed at Tom McCall Waterfront Park near Portland Saturday Market, was reported missing in September.[12][13] It was later confirmed to have been removed on purpose by an employee ofPortland Parks & Recreation, who thought the sculpture was not securely attached to the base.[14] Organizers of the event were not aware of the temporary removal and filed a police report.[15][16] The statue was quickly located and re-installed.[17]
All 31 statues were displayed at Director Park on the weekend of October 12–13, ahead of the October 30 auction at the Judy Kafoury Center for Youth Arts.[18][19][20] The auction raised $324,500 for Doernbecher Children's Hospital.Coraline's Curious Cat Trail drew approximately 135,000 visitors and had an estimated positive economic impact of $4 million for the city. Approximately 10,000 people attended the final weekend, when the statues were collected at Director Park.[21][22][23]
| Film | |
|---|---|
| Theatre | |
| Other | |
