In celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Oscar®-nominated film Coraline, LAIKA Studios, the Visit Downtown Portland Campaign of Downtown Portland Clean & Safe, Portland Metro Chamber, Wild in Art, and OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital unveiled Coraline’s Curious Cat Trail, a free art trail coming to downtown Portland this summer.
Coraline fans and event partners gathered at LAIKA Studios on February 22 to learn about Coraline’s Curious Cat Trail. Speakers included Teri Hatcher, who voiced Mother, Other Mother, and The Beldam in Coraline; David Burke, LAIKA’s Chief Marketing and Operations Officer; Charlie Langhorne, Managing Director and Co-founder of Wild in Art; Dana A. Braner, M.D., physician-in-chief at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Credit Unions for Kids chair, and professor and chair of pediatrics in the OHSU School of Medicine; and Andrew Hoan, President and CEO of the Portland Metro Chamber.
This groundbreaking art trail will feature 30 almost six-foot tall sculptures of Coraline’s beloved ‘Cat’ character stationed throughout Downtown. Local artists will use these impressive statues as canvases, transforming each ‘Cat’ into a unique work of art. At the completion of the Art Trail, the sculptures will be auctioned off as a fundraiser for OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.
Once unveiled, the trail will include maps, a website, and social media resources for locals and visitors to enjoy this exciting project. It truly is the purr-fect celebration for Portland, where LAIKA’s cinematic brilliance meets the diverse talent of local artists, creating an unforgettable experience for all.
“We are honored to embrace Portland’s innate creativity with this amazing partnership between LAIKA and the Visit Downtown Campaign,” said Andrew Hoan of the Portland Metro Chamber. “We eagerly await these exciting summer installations in downtown Portland. This is the perfect opportunity to collaborate with Portland’s own award-winning movie studio LAIKA and showcase our city’s vibrant artist community with proceeds benefitting OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.”
The trail is the first in the U.S. from the industry-leading installation producer Wild in Art. As creative producers of spectacular, meaningful, and innovative public art trails, Wild in Art has animated cities across four continents including Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Auckland, Christchurch, Cape Town, Nairobi, and São Paulo. Based in the UK, they’ve developed events the length and breadth of the country, including public art trails for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.
“Our events enable thousands of people of all ages to experience art by making it part of everyday life, while offering new ways for people to explore their local area and we hope that, through the trail we can inspire everyone to come together to create something very special which will have significant impact,” said Charlie Langhorne, Managing Director and Co-founder of Wild in Art.