[Press Release]
1600 Pandas will Raise their Paws in 10 Hong Kong Landmarks for the
First Time in June to Promote Conservation
(Hong Kong: April 28 2014) As part of the government’s “Conserving Central” initiative, PMQ’s
two-year revitalization project will be ready in June. PMQ will partner with AllRightsReserved to
bring the “1600 Pandas World Tour in Hong Kong: Creativity Meets Conservation” for the first time
and to celebrate PMQ’s grand opening. 1600 Pandas will grace more than 10 Hong Kong
landmarks and help promote the city’s creative industry by fostering an interactive, imaginative
and sustainable environment where man and nature can coexist.
Traveled around the world and heading to Hong Kong for the first time
After ruling France, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Taiwan and nearly 100
exhibitions, the 1600 pandas will land in Hong Kong for the first time. This worldwide tour
originated in 2008 by WWF and acclaimed French artist Paulo Grangeon, who crafted 1600
pandas — the number of existing pandas left on Earth — in various sizes with recycled materials
in the form of papier-mâché. In June, the 1600 visiting pandas will come in six different shapes
and sizes. Paulo Grangeon will specially create four more one-of-a-kind papier-mâché versions for
his visit to Hong Kong.
Face-to-face interaction with Hong Kongers across various districts
The furry animals will leave their footprints on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, the New Territories
and even the outlying islands, taking residence at Hong Kong International Airport, the giant Tian
Tan Buddha, Tsing Ma Bridge, Shatin Racecourse, the Hong Kong Coliseum, the Clock Tower at
Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza and Victoria Park, as well as visiting their buddies Ying Ying,
Le Le, An An and Jia Jia at Ocean Park. More stopovers will be disclosed soon. The pandas will
get up-front and personal with Hong Kong citizens at every stop to promote conservation and
reinforce the importance of sustainable development.
Pandas will play host to PMQ’s exhibition opening ceremony
The finale of “1600 Pandas World Tour in Hong Kong: Creativity Meets Conservation” will take
place at PMQ’s headquarters on Aberdeen Street in Central, otherwise known as the urban
development and creativity hub. The 1600 pandas will also host the opening ceremony for PMQ’s
exhibition activities, to spread the gospel of conservation and sustainable development. Funds
raised in the project will be donated to WWF-Hong Kong for conservation and education work. In
addition, Hongkong Land – as the project’s Community Creativity & Culture Partner – will bring to
the public a unique opportunity to create and spread conservation messages.
“1600 Pandas World Tour in Hong Kong: Creativity Meets Conservation”
Organizer & Partners:
Organizer:
PMQ
Curator:
AllRightsReserved Ltd.
Artist:
Paulo Grangeon
Beneficiary Organization:
WWF-Hong Kong
Community Creativity & Culture Partner: Hongkong Land
For media inquiries, please contact:
Portia So
AllRightsReserved Ltd.
Tel：(852) 2712 0873 / 6152 0035
Email：[email protected]
About PMQ
PMQ is part of the government’s “Conserving Central” initiative and also one of the heritage
conservation and revitalization projects under the Development Bureau. Awarded with the
operating rights after an open invitation for proposals, the Musketeers Education and Culture
Charitable Foundation Ltd (“Musketeers Foundation”) set up a non-profit-making social enterprise
to run the project, in collaboration with Hong Kong Design Centre, the Hong Kong Polytechnic
University, and the Hong Kong Design Institute of the Vocational Training Council (VTC), namely
PMQ Management Co. Ltd. Not only an iconic design hub for the Hong Kong creative industries
and design community, PMQ also promotes “enterprising creativity” and creativity manifestation,
and sets out to nurture more local designers.
PMQ’s Partners:
About Paulo Grangeon
Paulo Grangeon is an enthusiastic French sculptor who has been active in his craft for more than
30 years. He, his wooden sculptures and stage designs have graced numerous countries in
Europe and America, and eventually, around the world; Paulo was later recruited as a wood
designer by an international brand, where he worked for almost 20 years. In 1997, Paulo was
mesmerized by the Thai craft of papier-mâché and started his own ceramics and papier-mâché
workshop in France, “Matiere Premiere”. He then frequented Thailand to further study the art. In
2008, Paulo was invited by the World Wildlife Fund to create the “1600 Panda” world tour. To date,
he’s made more than ten thousand papier-mâché pandas in Thailand. Aside from pandas, Paulo
is no stranger to other animals: in 2009 alone, he molded 120 papier-mâché whales for the
Overseas Ministry of France and 200 papier-mâché black bears for Taiwan.
About AllRightsReserved
AllRightsReserved (ARR) is a Hong Kong-based creative studio established in November 2003. It
always reaches out to wherever creativity springs. In 2014, ARR collaborated with worldrenowned British artist Lawrence Argentalong to curate the world's largest Panda art and charity
project “I AM HERE”, in order to raise public awareness of panda conservation. The
unprecedented 15-metre, 13-tonne, site-specific giant panda art installation was built directly into
Chengdu IFS, differentiating this new landmark by fusing art with architecture. In 2013, “Rubber
Duck Project - HK Tour”, the first public art exhibition ever curated in Hong Kong’s Victoria
Harbour, attracted international and local attention with overwhelmingly positive feedback. This
March, ARR art-directed the special edition booklet for the 33rd Hong Kong Film Awards. Other
projects include “WE PRINT ORIGINALS”, the first large-scale 3D scanning and printing exhibition
in Hong Kong, creative and art direction for the entire graphic visual system of West Kowloon
Bamboo Theatre, and “100 Years Before the Birth of Doraemon” in 2012. Other solo exhibitions
have featured Chinese contemporary artist Yue Minjun, American artist KAWS, Japanese avantgarde artist Yayoi Kusama, etc.
About WWF
WWF is one of the world’s largest and most experienced conservation organizations, with a global
network active in more than 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the
planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by
conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is
sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. WWF-Hong Kong
has been working since 1981 to deliver solutions for a living planet through Conservation,
Footprint and Education programmes. In support of our global mission, WWF-Hong Kong’s vision
is to transform Hong Kong into Asia’s most sustainable city where nature is conserved, carbon
pollution is reduced, and consumption is environmentally responsible.