A group of cat lovers who have found fellow feline fanciers via Facebook have taken their shared love offline with an exhibition of portraits of their pets.
The Cats of Hanover Facebook group was set up in late 2014 by Hanoverian Ken Frost after the BBC’s Cat Watch 2014 was filmed in the area and screened in October, for residents who have cats living with them or who simply love cats.
It now has 300 human members who share stories about what their pets have been up to, along with the internet staple of cute cat pictures.
Now, Ken’s partner, artist Eva Hellqvist of seafront gallery OhSoSwedish, has kickstarted the exhibition of members’ portraits of their cats at the Dover Castle on Southover Street – with 50% of any sale proceeds going to Lost Cats Brighton.
One cat owner and exhibitor, Hannah Osmond, has contributed four pictures, one for each of her cats.
She said: “I started off just doing a drawing of Jasper and then our other three cats started giving me that ‘look’ that cats give when they’re not happy about something. So I ended up doing a portrait of Buster, Pookie and Miss Piggy as well to keep them all happy!
“They are all rescue cats from Lost Cats Brighton and they’re all fab. I have volunteered with Lost Cats Brighton for many years, so although not an artist by any stretch of the imagination, I really wanted to do something when Eva mentioned her brilliant idea about a Cats of Hanover portrait exhibition fundraiser.
“Hopefully it’s a nice way to bring together some local cat lovers and raise a few pennies to help the invaluable work that Ron and his band of volunteers do at Lost Cats Brighton. Plus it’s an excellent excuse for (another) drink at a local pub and to meet the new owners of The Dover Castle, who have been really kind in letting us take over their wall space.”
For more information, visit the Cats of Hanover Facebook page here.
