SHANGHAI and WOLFSBURG,
Germany, August 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
- Première in Asia: Together,
Volkswagen Group China and YUZ Museum bring Rain
Room to Shanghai
- The largest installation to date of
the artwork by Random
International
- Opening with around 300 guests from
the fields of culture, economics and
politics
- Cross reference: Picture is available at AP Images
(http://www.apimages.com)
and http://www.presseportal.de/nr/9260/ -
Volkswagen begins its activities as a cultural partner in
China with the involvement of
Volkswagen Group China in the Rain
Room exhibition. Opened on Saturday evening in
Shanghai, the exhibition marks the
first display of Rain Room in China. The artwork created by the
British-German artist collective, Random International, has already
been met with great interest with displays in London and New
York and for the first time occupies an area of 150m² in
Shanghai so that it surpasses all
previously exhibited versions.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150827/261714 )
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150827/261715 )
Speaking to 300 invited guests, Budi Tek, founder of the YUZ
foundation which operates the YUZ museum, and Klaus Biesenbach, Chief Curator at Large at the
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New
York and Director of MoMA PS1, who, together with
Hans-Ulrich Obrist, was responsible
for exhibition of Rain Room in New York, as well as Prof. Dr Jochem Heizmann, President and CEO of Volkswagen
Group China and member of the Executive Board of Volkswagen AG,
underlined the role of the exhibition for the creative
dialogue.
With the support of the exhibition, Volkswagen is making an
important contribution to the construction of new bridges between
Western and Asian art. In this way, Volkswagen is linking its
activities in China to
collaboration with its other international partners. Since 2011,
there has been a close partnership between Volkswagen Group of
America and MoMA as well as MoMA PS1. Additionally, Volkswagen
Group has maintained a partnership with the
Nationalgalerie-Staatliche Museen zu Berlin since 2013.
Prof. Dr Jochem Heizmann said at
the opening: "Art and culture are the driving force behind
innovation, because often it is above all artists who manage to ask
questions which awaken the urge for new discoveries. Volkswagen
therefore promotes interaction with creative work with the greatest
conviction. By supporting this exhibition, we will provide the
starting signal to establish a creative platform which offers
people new inspiration and provides an interesting perspective on
the significance of environmental sustainability."
With Rain Room, the artist group Random International has
created an installation which combines technology and creative
interaction in a unique way. Rain Room is a room
in which it is constantly raining. As soon as people move inside
the room, however, the rain is interrupted precisely at these
points. This makes highly-developed digital control possible which
provides an unexpected refuge for the visitor in the middle of
torrential rain. Rain Room was first displayed in
London and subsequently in the New
York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). At the arrangement of Volkswagen,
the idea matured to give the Chinese public the opportunity to
experience this work. This idea was finally implemented together
with the YUZ Foundation.
The YUZ Museum Shanghai exhibits Rain Room from
1 September to 31 December 2015
within the framework of a project partnership with Volkswagen Group
China. The exhibition is supplemented with artistic learning
opportunities for different ages which were also developed by YUZ
Museum with the support of Volkswagen Group China. Volkswagen Group
China will additionally invite Chinese users to reflect
individually on the topic of water using various online channels in
order to connect awareness of art and the environment.
Notes for editors:
Volkswagen Group China
Volkswagen employees around 91,000 staff in China and currently produces models for the
Group trademarks Volkswagen Pkw, Audi, and ŠKODA for the Chinese
market in the SVW and FAW-VW joint ventures at 20 locations. The
vehicle production includes the local provision of engine and
vehicle components.
This press release and accompanying image material can be found
at http://www.volkswagen-media-services.com.
Contact:
Volkswagen Group Communications
Head of Cultural Engagement
Benita von Maltzahn
Telephone: +49(0)5361/9-89-31-8
Fax: +49(0)5361/9-57-89-31-8
Benita.von.Maltzahn@volkswagen.de
Spokesperson Cultural Engagement
Rita Werneyer
Telephone: +49(0)5361/9-79-86-4
Fax: +49(0)5361/9-56-85-22-2
Rita.Werneyer@volkswagen.de
Volkswagen Group China
Communications
Larissa Braun
Telephone: +86-10-6531-5482
Larissa.Braun@volkswagen.com.cn