Craig Lassig / AP

Leroy Bergstrom of Maple Plain, Minn. arrives with his cat Maestro before the Walker Art Center's first "Internet Cat Video Film Festival," showcasing the best of cat films on the Internet in Minneapolis on August 30, 2012.

Craig Lassig / AP

The Associated Press reports — The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis tested the boundaries of legitimate art Thursday with a film festival devoted to the online cat videos that pervade YouTube and social networks. 

Organizers said they wanted to find out whether the private experience of viewing the videos online would translate to a shared and social experience when shown on an outdoor screen on the museum's grounds.

The festival made room for various kinds of cat videos, with categories for comedy, drama, foreign, animated, musical, art-house and documentary. Participants voted on a "People's Choice" award, and several "lifetime achievements" were handed out to a few of the all-time popular videos. Read the full story.

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Craig Lassig / AP

Melisande Charles of St. Paul, Minn., center, sits in the audience.