On 27 July，our “Click for Love” photography exhibition kicked off at Fanghua Street, Chengdu. The exhibition will run until 20 September.

Since 2011, our Cat and Dog Welfare Program in China has held four charity photography competitions to pay tribute to World Animal Day which falls on October 4^th each year. And each year, we receive hundreds of submissions from across the county with the focus on animal welfare, featuring cats and dogs as the main characters. Images that inspire both laughter and tears – presenting the complex and subtle connections between humans and animals.

In 2024 we received 474 submissions from nearly 200 cities and a total of 1,076 photos for the 'Click for Love: Public Welfare Photography Competition'! These works show the stories of domestic companion animals, stray animals, animals in shelters, and the people who take care of them day and night. Different perspectives show the survival of these companion animals, which moves viewers and provokes thinking and discussion.

For the first exhibition this year, we chose Beilei Community in Fanghua Street, Chengdu as the venue. This is an "animal friendly community" – it’s an old city street that attracts people from all walks of lives and different ages – as well as local media interested in featuring its activities as it’s currently part of the hottest district in town - and  it’s the city's promotional window. The Beilei Community is not only a friendly community for people and pets, but also a popular destination for social locals.

We have displayed the artwork on the walls of the street, so whether it’s older residents out grocery shopping, younger people frequenting coffee shops, or children going to schools, all can take the opportunity to view the photos as they walk along the street, and take in the messaging conveyed by the images.

Alongside the exhibition, we also prepared a series of related activities, including two presentations: 

Three popular internet influencers in China (in the companion animal area) were invited to hold a salon with an audience of around 70 attendees. The theme under discussion was ‘When animal protagonists become "hot icons": what are the public welfare opportunities for cats and dogs in the internet era?’

Three guests were invited to present at the second event – “The stories behind the ‘experimental’ dog - the Beagle”: Spencer, the Founder of The Beagle Commune NGO (a well-known rescue organisation in China) and two dog carers with their adopted beagles, who shared their stories with the audience.

It has been extremely hot in Chengdu in the last two weeks, but the weather didn’t deter people who are interested in cat and dog welfare and we had to add extra chairs to accommodate the larger than expected number of attendees at the presentations.

Meanwhile, seven coffee shops around Fanghua Street had been invited to be part of the activity with each deemed as an “animal friendly space” as dogs and cats are welcomed into these shops. We provided publicity materials for shop display, and stickers for their take-away coffee cups.

Roving exhibition

In the coming months, the exhibition will move to Guangzhou and the Guangxi area where the award-winning works will be on display again to reach even greater audiences. Presenting this exhibition on the open street has been hugely popular and confirms the benefit of everyone having easy access to animal welfare information.

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