Sarah Archer, Writer, Curator, Design & Material Culture Historian

“I was fascinated by cats from an early age.”

Listen to Episode #377 Now

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert.com.

Writer, curator, and design and material culture historian Sarah Archer speaks with Stacy about how her love of her rescue cats led her to her newest project. Sarah is a senior curator at Philadelphia Art Alliance, a contributor to Hyperallergic and many other publications, and has worked with organizations such as Project Meow and Morris Animal Refuge in Philadelphia, PA.

After a cameo by Sarah’s kitten Toast, Stacy and Sarah discuss Sarah’s most recent project, a book called Catland: the Soft Power of Cat Culture in Japan which explores the unique relationship between humans and cats in Japan. Japan has a rich history of cats in arts and crafts, and today images of cats proliferate all parts of Japanese culture. Because of small apartments in big cities, it’s less common for Japanese people to adopt cats, which leads to a more collective style of caring for community cats. Their discussion also touches on overpopulation of cats in Japan, TNR efforts, and the phenomenon of cat islands.

To find out more about Sarah and to learn where you can buy the book, visit Sarah’s website. She can also be found on Twitter and Instagram.

Kawaii!