Creative agency BLKJ Havas Singapore and Havas New York announced ‘The Rescue Collection’, an experiment created in partnership with The Sato Project and Powerhouse Arts and brought to life by Ode to Joy.
The Rescue Collection uses art to reveal the personalities of adoptable dogs and inspire a more meaningful approach to rescue adoption, and is backed by scientific evidence showing that dogs respond emotionally and behaviorally to visual stimuli.
Rescue dogs from The Sato Project were invited into a curated gallery experience at Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn, where their reactions to different artworks were observed by animal welfare scientist Dr. Holly Molinaro.
Molinaro measured how long the dogs looked at certain pieces, as well as reactive behaviors such as lying down, sniffing, or jumping. Their responses informed personalized “collections” that reflect each dog’s personality.
According to the release, the collections offer potential adopters a deeper understanding beyond appearance, breed or first impressions.
“We thought of The Rescue Collection as something to change the way people see dogs in the rescue system,” said Guilherme Machado, BLKJ Havas Singapore.
“Too often, they’re defined by where they came from or what happened to them. We wanted people to meet them as individuals, with their own personalities, preferences and quirks. By bringing art and behavioral science together, we hope we can help people understand them differently, and ultimately help more of them find a home.”
Some dogs seemed to spend more time looking at the surrealist statues, while they didn’t do that with any of the other statues.
“Projects like this add another layer to looking into a dogs’ personality, helping to change perceptions and reframe how we think about adoptable dogs from difficult backgrounds,” said Molinaro.
“You could see their personalities from the start and see that reflected in how they reacted. We measured how long the dogs were looking at certain art pieces over others, so we can tell what art categories dogs might like based on the prevalence of these behaviors. For example, some dogs seemed to spend more time looking at surreal statues. In the case of Rudolph, we actually saw him laying down in front of certain sculptures versus others.”
“It was a pleasure getting to participate in this experiment,” said Alessandra Migliore, Adoption & Foster Manager, The Sato Project.
“We are always looking for new ways to showcase the personalities of our incredible dogs so they can find their perfect forever homes. We actually just transported 116 formerly stray rescue animals to the mainland Northeast from Puerto Rico so they could enter loving homes. We’ll be using this tool to specially highlight the pups that went into foster, which you can view on our website.”
Through The Rescue Collection, BLKJ Havas Singapore & Havas New York, The Sato Project and Powerhouse Arts hope to change the way people have historically viewed rescue dogs and inspire them to consider adopting.
Learn more and explore adoptable dogs at The Sato Project or here: www.rescuecollection.com
