We're celebrating the completion of our new mural created by local artist Michelle Chan (AKA EKKE).
Michelle originates from Los Angeles, but has long called the Bay Area her home. Her art captures a mixture of colorful, whimsical characters with heavy influence from both the LA graffiti art scene and Asian-American pop culture. She is passionate about culture, community, and empowering youth through art. She says, “As an artist, I think it's important to support my community. I'm excited to help Cat Town raise money to save cats because I've seen with my own eyes how much they accomplish. Cat Town is one of many reasons I'm proud to call Oakland my home."
Donors gather for the mural reveal party at Cat Town on April 7th. Photo by Scott Russell.
As a volunteer at Oakland Animal Services, Cat Town Founder and Executive Director Ann Dunn saw the challenges faced by the under-resourced shelter to adequately care for the number of animals it receives each year, and the specific difficulties cats face in a shelter environment. What Cat Town does is act as a resource to the shelter, giving the most vulnerable cats a second chance to find loving homes.
"We are thrilled to see this mural come to life,” said Ann. “This new art will unify our newly expanded adoption center with the aesthetic of our original space. Michelle’s next mural will be at Oakland Animal Services, so it is also a visual connection to our partners at the shelter."
Michelle (left) and Ann pose at our mural reveal party on April 7th. Photo by Scott Russell.
This mural highlights not only our out-of-this-world cats, but Oakland, our home. Michelle dedicated more than 100 hours to the design and completion of this work of art, even flying in her friend, Zina, to complete the work in a single week!
If you’d like to be part of our mural and support our rescue efforts, there’s still space for a few more names. And to see more great work by Michelle and Zina, follow them on Instagram as @ekke_art and @bgirl_phenx.
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