Street art stories: Inside the fierce competition for Catlanta’s public art

Rory Hawkins displays his cicada-themed kittens in his MINT studio just before the drops. Racing into the last turn, the black Mazda leads the gray Chevy by less than one car-length. Emerging from the corner onto the final straightaway, the Chevy takes the low groove, but, to no avail, the black Mazda arrives first. The closing lap of the Daytona 500? No, the down-to-the-wire finish of Catlanta’s latest kitten drop. Artist Rory Hawkins, better known as Catlanta, has elevated his three-legged, visually pared-down cat icon into the pantheon of Atlanta’s best-loved street art symbols. He turns art into a participatory sport by dropping small, cat-themed artworks called kittens in unexpected public places for members of the public to take. To lead would-be collectors to the spot, he leaves online clues for treasure hunters to follow the last Friday of every month. In addition to his public facing art, Hawkins maintains a schedule of fine art and corporate commissions and is also one of Atlanta’s favorite muralists, sometimes even sneaking cats into non-cat-themed murals. Some of Hawkins’ recent work includes animal-themed murals at Remedy, a veterinary facility in East Lake, and at Fulton County Animal Services in Bankhead. He has been...