In May 2024, 25 Jefferson County young people, ages 12-20, imagined and built a large-scale art project in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month.

Our cat puppet had it’s debut during the Rhody Grand Parade and another community appearance at the Port Townsend Pride Festival. See below for photos and a description of the process.

Thank you to everyone who helped participate in creating this wonderful expression of mental health.

Organized by The Benji Project, The Nest, and PT Artscape, MAAY is a youth-driven, arts-centered experience that fosters dialogue and awareness among young people about mental health. Over eight meetings, youth shared their personal journeys, found common ground, and translated those themes into a collaborative art piece.

Meet the Cat:
The cat represents our animal companions who calm us when we are out of balance. The teen artists have a variety of special animals in their lives, but they chose the cat to convey the elusive and sometimes challenging nature of mental health as well as comfort and independence.

About the Patchwork Sweater:
Each patch is made by a young person in Jefferson County expressing what mental health means to them – from struggle to inspiration and everything between. The cat’s cozy patchwork sweater represents the diversity of personal mental health experiences and the importance of a supportive community in the healing process.

Thanks go out to the City of Port Townsend Arts Commission for project funding, Jefferson County Fairgrounds for providing a place to make the magic happen, and artists Thaddeus Jurczynski and Celia Fulton-Walden for their puppet-building expertise. Look for this patchwork cat around the community in coming months as project participants spark more conversation about youth mental health.

Look back at our 2023 Mental Health Awareness Month activities.