Drawing by Olivia LaBarre, seen in Isle Wild, 2025, directed, produced, and edited by Anna Moot-Levin & Daniel Schloss (courtesy of the artists)
Who: Adrian Wong, Olivia LaBarre, Rossana Ceruzzi
What: Cat Sanctuary and Beyond: Structures of Our Shared Realms
Where: CTHQ, 59 East Fourth St., seventh floor
When: Wednesday, September 9, free with advance RSVP, 6:00
Why: “There are two means of refuge from the misery of life — music and cats,” Albert Schweitzer wrote. The German polymath would often have to do his writing while one of his cats, Sizi or Piccolo, spread out on his desk in front of him, not making it easy ― but Schweitzer worked around them, giving them preference.
For those of us who completely understand that thought process, Creative Time is offering “Cat Sanctuary and Beyond: Structures of Our Shared Realms,” a program at their East Village headquarters that brings together artist Adrian Wong, telepathic animal communicator Olivia LaBarre, and Wildlife Freedom Foundation founder Rossana Ceruzzi. The special evening is part of the “Toward Sanctuary” series curated by Celine Wong Katzman and Dr. Gervais Marsh with Buffy Sierra, inspired by the practice of transdisciplinary visual artist, choreographer, and healer Guadalupe Maravilla, who is preparing a Creative Time public art commission. At CTHQ, they will discuss animal rescue, communication between animals and humans, and interspecies collaboration. Wong’s mixed-media cat condo, The House That Snoopy Built, dedicated to his late family kitty — who may have been reincarnated as his rabbit Omar — will be on view through September, along with related works and ephemera. Admission is free with advance RSVP.
Adrian Wong’s The House That Snoopy Built will be on view at CTHQ throughout September (photo courtesy of the artist)
“Toward Sanctuary” continues November 5 with “We Keep Us Safe: The Whores Feast and Feeding,” a film screening and live performance by Red Canary Song and collaborators in support of Asian and migrant sex workers and building sustainable communities.
As I write this, our fabulous feline Tuki is spread out on my desk, between my keyboard and monitor, a loving tribute to Schweitzer, Sizi, and Piccolo.
[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer; you can follow him on Substack here.]