Caturday by The Pet Project

Have you ever been utterly mesmerised by the gleaming, jade green eyes of a cat, or awed by its stubby nose and soft and gentle purrs? Well, I have, and that opportunity has been gracefully brought by an Artist Saria Saguaro and her event 'Caturday' under The Pet Project which took place on 10 November from 2-8 p.m. at The Clay Station Dhaka. 

Saria Saguaro is an amazing soul who decided to employ her talent for social welfare and safety of animals.  In a conversation with Saria, Star Lifestyle got to learn about her and the wonderful initiative known as 'The Pet Project' inspired by her own dog, Pookie and her sketchbook.

Saria is an animal lover, pastry chef, artist, and entrepreneur, and all these roles have been played to perfection in her pilot pet project. The inspiration behind it is also touching. 

“Back in March, my partner and I found a little puppy in the street badly injured by a car. We took her to the vet and eventually adopted her,” said Saria. That particular event ignited a fire within her to do something for stray animals all around Dhaka and that was how The Pet Project was born. 

'Pretty Shitty Art' is an alias used by Saria where she displays all her artwork and merchandise. The concept behind this is to create and incorporate art into everyday wear. 

'Caturday' was the first event that took place under The Pet Project. Saria tied with registered animal shelters and clinics and actively amassed donations for these wonderful, stray animals. She found a unique way of collecting the funds - by taking commission of drawing people's pet. All donations directly goes to animal shelters and clinics in Dhaka, such as Care for Paws, ALB Animal Shelter, Obhoyaronno -Bangladesh Animal Welfare Foundation, and PAW Foundation. 

The theme behind the event was, 'It's raining cats and dogs' and the décor at Clay Station was largely inspired by it. There was a spectacular display of all portraits that have been done so far for The Pet Project. The event took place without a glitch as ALB animal shelter brought 12 of their cats that visitors and patrons could play, cuddle, mingle with, or even adopt, as the animal shelter personnel were present at the event. 

Collaboration with Clay Station Dhaka has led them to offer the space for the event. A wide variety of creative merchandise was available by Stellar, 6 YARDS STORY, and Clay Station Dhaka. Saria also introduced a range of delicious vegan desserts from her cake studio – The Flourist.

As a change maker, Saria Saguaro wanted Caturday to be the inspiration for more events where she can raise awareness for animals by tugging at people's heartstring so that they start showing more kindness towards animals. 

“I hope this event makes people realise that you do not need to buy animals. You can adopt them. They will love you regardless!” Saria said.

By Mayesha Raidah

Photo: Saria Saguaro, Fabiha Bushra and Clay Station