The Arts District’s newest museum is all about celebrating the special bond between pet-lovers and their animal companions. The Animal Museum, currently in a soft-open phase in advance of a December 3 grand opening, has set up amongst the art galleries and boutiques to honor our animal friends and make a statement about animal welfare.
“This is the first museum of its kind in the country, if not the world, to show the human-animal relationship. What we want is to empower people and encourage change,” long-time animal rights activist and the Animal Museum co-founder, Ellen Lavinthal, told the Washington Post.
Two of the initial exhibitions in the 6,000-square-foot museum have been revealed so far. There is a gallery filled with portrait photographs of various celebrities with their rescued pets. Visitors will also find a show entitled Crazy Cat Ladies: A Celebration of Kitties and Their Champions which includes “a heartfelt insight into today’s modern cat lady and gent,” according to the museum’s description. That exhibit includes a replica of a fictional crazy cat lady’s apartment, crafted inside the museum gallery, with various cat-fancying touches.
What one won’t find in the museum, at least at the moment, is much in the way of advocacy or fundraising for animal rights causes. The admission fees charged for the museum just go to maintaining the museum itself and there seems to be no direct tie to any larger animal organizations. Nonetheless, some high-profile backers have lent their support to the project which boasts an advisory board that includes Ellen DeGeneres, Lionel Richie, Shepard Fairey and Poison frontman Bret Michaels.
The Animal Museum is located at 421 Colyton St and is currently open Thursday from 2pm to 8pm and Friday-Sunday from noon to 6pm. Admission is $5 to $7 for adults and free for children age 12 and younger.
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