The world-class art installation of 888 paper-mâché pandas by French artist Paulo Grangeon has made its first North American appearance at Metropolis at Metrotown.
From July 10 until August 8, 2018, Metropolis at Metrotown, consulting curator AllRightsReserved Ltd., and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Canada proudly present the exhibit 1600 Pandas+ World Tour in Canada to raise awareness of wildlife conservation, pandas, and sustainability. All proceeds from this exhibit will be donated to WWF Canada to fund wildlife conservation research and education.
Last night the girls and I had the pleasure of attending the official grand opening of the 1600 Pandas +World Tour at Metropolis at Metrotown, with artist Paulo Grangeon. The girls and I were in awe of the hundreds of pandas on display.
It is such a cool exhibit with various activities including a selfie station, contests, (including a trip for four to the Calgary zoo to see the Pandas), and… you can even adopt a panda!
At the grand opening event, we adopted a paper-mâché panda simply by pre-registering at the exhibit kiosk with a donation going toward WWF Canada. We can pick up our panda after the exhibit is finished between Aug 10th -12th. I have a feeling the girls are going to fight over the panda. Perhaps we should have adopted two! The pandas are being adopted quickly, so make sure to visit the exhibit if you would like to adopt one.
More information about The 1600 Pandas +World Tour
The 1600 Pandas World Tour was first launched in 2008 by the WWF and acclaimed French artist Paulo Grangeon, who handcrafted 1,600 papier-mâché pandas— the number of living pandas left in the wild at that time — with recycled materials. The updated exhibit title “1600 Pandas+” refers not only to the 17% increase in the population of wild giant pandas to over 1,800 in the past decade, but also to increased public awareness of panda conservation, as an always symbolic reminder of wildlife sustainability.
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 WWF Canada
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-Canada creates solutions to the environmental challenges that matter most for Canadians. WWF-Canada work in places that are unique and ecologically important, so that nature, wildlife and people thrive together. Because we are all wildlife. www.wwf.ca
Thank you to Metropolis at Metrotown for inviting us to the grand opening event, teaching my girls about animal conservation, allowing us to take a picture right in the middle of the exhibit, and for sponsoring this post.
Will you be checking out the 1600 Pandas World Tour at Metropolis at Metrotown? If you do, don’t forget to share your photos of the awesome display!
More information about 1600 + Pandas World Tour exhibit including the contest rules and regulations at Metropolis at Metrotown can be found here.
