2008-02-21

The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation
sponsors the exhibition Cai Guo-Qiang: I Want to Believe
at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

(21st February 2008 – Hong Kong) The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation takes great pleasure in continuing its collaboration with world-renowned museums in supporting the presentation of Chinese arts and culture to international audiences. Cai Guo-Qiang: I Want to Believe will open on February 22 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. It is the museum’s first solo exhibition devoted to a Chinese-born artist and the first project presented under the auspices of the museum’s newly inaugurated Asian art initiative. The three-month exhibition is timely, taking place in the same year as the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and will focus worldwide attention on the outstanding achievements of contemporary Chinese culture.

The Foundation and Cai: Sharing similar visions

Cai Guo-Qiang is a celebrated contemporary Chinese artist and a true global citizen. The Foundation shares the artist’s vision of using art as a means of social commentary, as well as the belief in the importance of providing creative opportunities for every individual.

Chairman of the Foundation, Mr. Robert H. N. Ho said, “We wish to highlight the importance of seeking harmony and co-existence amid differences and contradictions. We believe that the arts help explore the relationship between the individual and society, and inspire us to ponder the social landscape. By supporting this exhibition, the Foundation hopes to cultivate cross-cultural understanding and bring about positive changes in the world.

The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation was established in Hong Kong in 2005 with a mission to foster and promote understanding of Chinese arts and culture, in particular arts education and Buddhist philosophy. Underlying the Foundation’s philosophy is a strong belief in the importance of educating the whole person and cultivating mutual understanding among people, thus benefiting the growth of the individual and society. The Foundation believes that participation in the arts enriches lives, liberates potential, and encourages creative thinking. It also helps people approach issues in life, society, and the world with greater ingenuity.

The exhibition will travel to Beijing this year to coincide with the summer Olympics, then to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in early 2009. Through the exhibition, the education programs, and the publication of a scholarly catalogue by Guggenheim Foundation Director Thomas Krens and Senior Curator of Asian Art Alexandra Munroe, the Foundation hopes that the conceptual power of Cai’s work will inspire deeper reflection on ourselves and the world around us.

2008: Another step forward in the promotion of Chinese arts and culture

Because of the Olympics in Beijing, 2008 is the year of China and surely is an exciting year for the Foundation. In addition to the exhibition Cai Guo-Qiang: I Want to Believe, the Foundation will extend its support to a number of programmes to promote cross-cultural understanding between China and the world, as well as the teachings of the Buddha. Highlights of the programs include:

• Power & Glory: Court Arts of China’s Ming Dynasty - Organised by the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco and sponsored by the Foundation, the exhibition will open in June 2008, exhibiting new archaeological finds and collections from major museums in China. This exhibition features over 240 artifacts from three major museums in China, bringing to life the artistic achievement of the Ming Dynasty as well as dialogues between museums in China and the U.S.

• The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan - In collaboration with Honolulu Academy of Arts, the Foundation sponsors this multi-year project to preserve, document, and present the living Vajrayana Buddhist culture of Bhutan. The project provides conservation training for Bhutanese monks and creates a video archive for the Cham ritual dance. The first exhibition opens in Honolulu in February 2008. The Foundation hopes to inspire other endeavors in preserving and revitalizing traditional arts and culture.

• Peony Pavilion - The Foundation will continue its partnership with renowned Chinese writer Pai Hsien-yung to develop touring performance of the modernized version of the classic Kunqu opera Peony Pavilion. It is a pioneering project that helps revive and promote Kunqu, one of the oldest genres of Chinese opera and an art form classified by UNESCO as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Seminars and performances have been given at major universities throughout China in previous years, generating great acclaim and full-house performances. In 2008, while performances will continue at various universities in China, Peony Pavilion will also be staged in Hong Kong toward the end of the year.

About the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation

With deep roots in Chinese culture, the Robert H. N. Ho Foundation has a mission to foster and support Chinese arts and culture, in particular cross-cultural understanding between China and the world. The Foundation has taken an active role in supporting arts programmes internationally since its inauguration in 2005. In 2007, the Foundation sponsored Britain Meets the World: 1714–1830, an international partnership between the British Museum and the Palace Museum in Beijing. The Foundation also sponsors overseas tours of the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan.

onvinced that Buddhist philosophy can create an important path for personal and societal transformation, the Foundation supports programmes that provide a variety of views and tools to apply Buddhist insights to everyday life. It also supports programmes that explore the relationship between Buddhist philosophy and the arts.

In its home base, the Foundation develops arts education programmes and other initiatives that fulfil the cultural needs of Hong Kong society.

To learn more about the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation, please visit the official website at www.rhfamilyfoundation.org

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