Art exhibition on pandas opens in Beijing

The Global Art Exhibition of the Giant Panda, also known as Pandaful Art, launched its Beijing roadshow at the Beijing Museum of Natural History on Thursday, May 26.

The Global Art Exhibition of the Giant Panda, also known as Pandaful Art, launched its Beijing roadshow at the Beijing Museum of Natural History on Thursday, May 26, 2016. [Photo by Chen Boyuan / China.org.cn]

The exhibition is supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to promote the global Panda Naming Campaign for the UNDP Animal Ambassadors for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as Global Goals.

Previous to the Beijing roadshow, the exhibition was in South Korea and Hong Kong, and it will stop by Tokyo in June before wrapping up its global tour in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, a world-class panda breeding base in China.

In January, a pair of panda cub twins became the first-ever official Animal Ambassadors for the Global Goals, and the UNDP subsequently launched a global naming campaign for them.

The campaign includes over 22 zoos in 13 countries that have agreed to help spread the message. The global participants are required to state in video footage which of the 17 SDGs is the most important to them, and the winner will be conferred the title of "Panda Champion for the Global Goals" and will win a trip to Chengdu.

The Global Art Exhibition of the Giant Panda intends to inspire conservation and sustainability through art. It highlights art about pandas and "conservation across national boundaries" and features artists from around the world, according to the UNDP.

For this purpose, the UNDP has also launched a new microsite, pandas.undp.org, where participants can submit name suggestions and upload their SDG videos. Currently the campaign has received more than 900 submissions for name suggestions.

"Pandas represent the plight of the world's diminishing wildlife in the face of climate change and the loss of natural habitats," said Ms. Zhang Wei, chief communications officer for the UNDP China at the exhibition opening.

She said that the same biodiversity and healthy ecosystems that are essential for pandas are also essential for improving and sustaining human wellbeing. "In fact, addressing the loss of biodiversity is one of the SDGs. We hope the pandas will help inspire people to engage with the goals and raise awareness of UNDP's efforts to promote sustainable development around the world."

Furthermore, Lao Lang, singer of "The Panda Song," and actress Yuan Shanshan also joined the event with members from One Day Chorus, a musical project for children with disabilities.