Art ‘of cats, by cats’ to fill Visual Fusion gallery on Final Friday

Expect a Wild Night at Visual Fusion’s Final Friday event.

“Gallery in Heat: Calling All Cats” is the subject of the graphic design studio’s Final Friday gallery collective this week.

This is Visual Fusion’s first artist collective — a gallery exhibit composed of multiple artists’ work — and it will feature art “of cats, by cats, or your interpretation of cats.” But the cat themes don’t end there.

“I’m having a lot of fun so far with ideas we have for refreshment and snack stations,” says Visual Fusion’s business manager, Jessica Papaioannou.

“We have someone here who used to work for a bakery, and we’ve been thinking about cat-shaped cookies and maybe even a litter box cake. Pinterest has been my friend for this event.”

The Kansas Humane Society has the “by cats” artwork portion covered with two recent donations of paintings created by shelter cats. The partnership between Visual Fusion and the Humane Society for Final Friday goes deeper – Visual Fusion will donate the 30 percent gallery fee usually collected from show sales to the nonprofit.

Attendees and artists also are encouraged to bring animal care supplies to donate (pet food, blankets, treats, toys, cat scratchers, cleaning supplies, etc.). The Humane Society will provide literature and a slide show of animals up for adoption.

The show’s theme came about rather spontaneously.

“It kind of started as a joke,” Papaioannou said.

“We work in a small office; we’re a graphic design studio with eight employees. All of us except one have cats, so it’s a common interest, and one day we just said, ‘We should have a cat art show.’ We paired up with the Humane Society, and they seem to be excited about it too. We’re trying to use our event for good use.”

Visual Fusion hopes the unusual theme and collaboration with the Humane Society will draw more attendees for Final Friday.

“One of our goals is not only to raise as much money as possible, but … to bring Final Fridays to Delano,” Papaioannou said. “It seems kind of niched at Commerce Street right now, which we love, but we want (Final Friday) to be part of Wichita as a whole. It’s a really lovely part of town, and we want to show it some love too.”

Local artist Jami Moore, who owns a cat that she refers to as her “feline daughter,” could hardly be more delighted to participate in the show.

“I wanted to participate for several reasons – I really love cats, I love being part of a group art show, I love seeing different art styles displayed together,” Moore said.

Molly Williams, a 2014 Koch Cultural Trust grant awardee who recently decided to pursue studio art full time, was inspired to join the show for its quirky subject and admirable cause.

“I feel like if you walk into someone’s home and see a work of cat art, you know you’re in good company,” Williams said. “I am not a cat owner, but appreciate the Humane Society’s effort to help our four-legged friends and hope my work will help raise some money for their cause.”

“Gallery in Heat” will open at Visual Fusion on Friday. The exhibit and sale will run through July 22.

This story was originally published June 23, 2016 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Art ‘of cats, by cats’ to fill Visual Fusion gallery on Final Friday."