Exclusively sponsored by the Institute of Philanthropy, “Galloping Through Time: Digital Reimagination of Horse Art and Culture” exhibition in The Great Hall of Exalted Mystery at the Beijing Palace Museum is an interactive 3D journey through the ages
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Established with a seed grant from The Hong Kong Jockey Club and its Charities Trust, the Institute of Philanthropy (IoP) is an independent “think-fund-do” tank for China, Asia, and beyond. It seeks to provide a platform that brings stakeholders together to promote the betterment of societies. To further promote Chinese culture and nurture arts tech talent, IoP is exclusively sponsoring the “Galloping Through Time: Digital Reimagination of Horse Art and Culture” exhibition organised by the Palace Museum. Its opening ceremony was held in early June in The Great Hall of Exalted Mystery (Dagaoxuan dian) at the Palace Museum in Beijing.
This exhibition, aims to showcase the essence of Chinese culture through interactive 3D digital technology, following the “FLASH! The Palace Museum – A Pop-Up Digital Experience” exhibition held at Tai Kwun, and “The Ways in Patterns: An Immersive Digital Exhibition from the Palace Museum” exhibition currently underway at the Hong Kong Palace Museum. These initiatives collectively demonstrate IoP’s continuous support for the Palace Museum’s efforts to promote digital cultural heritage conservation.
The horse culture-themed exhibition is part of a five-year initiative titled “Promotion of Chinese Culture and Arts Tech Talent Development in the Mainland and Hong Kong” – a collaboration between IoP and the Palace Museum to foster cultural exchange and develop arts tech talent. It also coincides with the museum’s centennial celebration and the 140th anniversary of The Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Cultivating Arts Tech Talent
This five-year collaboration between IoP and the Palace Museum is an important contribution to the development of Hong Kong as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange as outlined in the National 14th Five-Year Plan.
The initiative also includes the restoration and conservation of the historic Chengqiangong, one of the six eastern palaces of the Forbidden City, which holds significant architectural heritage value. The restoration process is providing opportunities for knowledge exchange and internships. When completed, “The Palace Museum Hong Kong Cultural Exchange Hub” will be established to host exhibitions and educational activities, promoting the development of art, technology and cultural exchange. In addition, the initiative will implement various educational activities to deepen the appreciation of Chinese history and culture among the younger generation in the Mainland and Hong Kong. These will include Hello! Palace Museum mobile digital exhibitions travelling to schools in Hong Kong and the Mainland, knowledge dissemination and education projects to promote Chinese culture, including forums, archaeological research and the production of documentaries.
Six Themes on Horse Culture Showcased through Advanced Digital Technology
“Galloping Through Time: Digital Reimagination of Horse Art and Culture” is the inaugural exhibition of The Great Hall of Exalted Mystery Digital Gallery, the Palace Museum’s newly established second gallery with full digital capabilities. It not only showcases Palace Museum records and relics digitally, but also displays them in an exhibition format with research and educational functionality. The gallery serves as both a one-stop library of artifacts and a digital exhibition hall.
Lou Wei, Executive Deputy Director of the Palace Museum, said that in recent years the Palace Museum completed a digital visual data collection of almost one million historical artifacts. These are available to the public through “The Palace Museum’s Collection Online Platform” and “365 Days of Masterpiece” digital platform. As the 3.0 version of the museum’s digital showcase, The Great Hall of Exalted Mystery Digital Gallery is a consequence of continuous museum efforts to promote digitalised cultural heritage conservation and enhance the discovery, presentation and dissemination of digitalised artifacts.
Visitors to this extraordinary exhibition embark on an immersive journey with interactive 3D digital display through six captivating thematic sections: “The charger thundering in gallop”; “The rider breaking boundaries”; “The courser heralding triumph”; “The winged-steed soaring high”; “The stallion winning glory”; and “The emissary knowing all roads”. In high-precision detail, the exhibition digitally presents more than 500 horse-related artifacts from the Palace Museum’s collections. By showing the connection between horses and humans in a creative way, its aim is to help visitors appreciate the multiple contributions of the horse to human history.
