Fire Damages Waco Art Space, including Giant Happy Cat

by Paula Newton September 2, 2015
Rivera_cat

Jesus Rivera with Fiona. Photo via Facebook

A fire broke out early Tuesday morning at the Art Forum of Waco, a gallery with studio spaces, reports the Waco Tribune Herald. The Waco fire marshall states that an investigator was called to the scene of the fire at 4:11 a.m.

One studio resident, Brian Broadway, claimed to have $50,000 of artwork in the building. “It’s all smoke-damaged. We’re all having to relocate because of the smoke and everything.” Art Forum Director Jesus Rivera had been working on a 9-foot-tall sculpture of a cat for about a year. Officials think the cat sculpture, which was in a fenced-in patio area, is where the fire originated.

“It was going to be a really vibrant and happy sculpture,” Rivera told the Tribune Herald, through tears. “Why did they do this?” On his Facebook page, he wrote, “I dedicated this sculpture to my people in Waco, named ‘Fiona’ you always be in my heart Dear Fiona…Always.”

1 comment

1 comment

islandofmind September 2, 2015 - 11:52

Hmmm, Giant Happy Cat Arson.

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