Press Preview of “Pure Land: Inside the Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuang”- The Dunhuang Cave 220 Come to Life in Hong Kong!

We would like to invite you to cover the following event:

Event: Press Preview of “Pure Land: Inside the Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuang”- The Dunhuang Cave 220 Come to Life in Hong Kong!

Date: 15 March 2012 (Thursday)

Time: 11:00 am

Venue: Gallery 360, L8, Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, CityU
18 Tat Hong Road, Kowloon Tong

Event: Opening Ceremony of “Pure Land: Inside the Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuang”- The Dunhuang Cave 220 Come to Life in Hong Kong!
(Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre Grand Opening Festival programme)

Date: 16 March 2012 (Friday)

Time: 6:00 pm

Venue: M9001, L9, Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, CityU
18 Tat Hong Road, Kowloon Tong

Event: Seminar-Pure Land new techniques for museum interpretation and preservation

Date: 17 March 2012 (Saturday)

Time: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm

Venue: M3017, L3, Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, CityU
18 Tat Hong Road, Kowloon Tong

Artists and scientists at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and Dunhuang Academy, China, have developed an extraordinary animated 3D experience that allows visitors to experience in virtual reality the magnificent Buddhist wall paintings inside the Mogao Grottos at Dunhuang located in northwest China.

Spectacular interactive 3D animations and digital effects produced in a large 360-degree panoramic projection theatre dramatise for visitors figures and objects in these paintings, revealing their painterly beauty and underlying narratives. These early Tang murals are renowned for the unique illustration of Amitabha’s Western Pure Land and Bhaisajyaguru (Medicine Buddha)’s Eastern Paradise.

The technology is of great interest because Cave 220 in Dunhuang is open to select visitors. The high fidelity images in the “Pure Land” exhibition provide a powerful new　tool for education and cultural enrichment, a benchmark in museum technology and interpretation. The exhibition builds upon the world-class digital preservation and imaging efforts undertaken by the Dunhuang Academy, China, which has provided the laser scans and the high-resolution photos of Cave 220 for this project.

Officiating guests at the opening ceremony on 16 March will be Dr Norman Leung Nai-pang, Pro-Chancellor of CityU, Professor Way Kuo, President of CityU, Ms Lou Jie, Research Fellow and Director of the Fine Art Department and Exhibition Center at Dunhuang Academy, China, and Mr Gabriel Yu Chi-ming, Project Donor and Chairman of the Executive Committee of Friends of Dunhuang Hong Kong,

This world premier event at the Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre will be co-presented with the Dunhuang Academy, China, and sponsored by the Friends of Dunhuang Hong Kong. It is a milestone in new methods of archeological exhibition for museums, digital interpretation and sustainable preservation.

The exhibition will be open from 17 March to 7 April, 2012, Monday to Saturday, 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Entry is free. Advance booking is recommended and is available at http://cmc.scm.cityu.edu.hk/en/events/pure_land.html. For more information or enquiry, please call 3442 2845 or visit the above link.

Notes to editors:

RSVP essential by 14 March to Fion Ng, School of Creative Media (Tel: 3442 7659 or 9133 9599, fionang@cityu.edu.hk)

Please download photos at the following link and credit to ©ALiVE, CityU & Dunhuang Academy when you use these photos:

http://sweb.cityu.edu.hk/fionang/PureLandPRESSPHOTO.zip

Media enquiries:

Christina Wu, Communications and Public Relations Office (Tel: 3442 6806 or 9841 2774)
Fion Ng, School of Creative Media (Tel: 3442 7659 or 9133 9599)