Hong Kong Innovation Foundation presents Think Like Leonardo da Vinci 500th Anniversary Exhibition

• First large-scale
  exhibition in Asia by Italian international museum Leonardo3
• Unveils Leonardo da
  Vinci’s world at Olympian City with never-before immersive experiences

The Hong Kong Innovation Foundation and Sino Group have partnered with Italian international museum Leonardo3 Museum (L3) to stage “Think Like Leonardo da Vinci 500th Anniversary Exhibition” at Sino Group’s Olympian City shopping centre.

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HONG KONG, CHINA - Media
OutReach - 17 December
2019 - It was 500 years ago when Leonardo da Vinci, seen today
as the greatest polymath in human history, left behind his legacy. In
commemoration of the Renaissance master, elaborate exhibitions and events are
being held this year in different parts of the world. In Hong Kong, the Hong
Kong Innovation Foundation and Sino Group have partnered with Italian international
museum Leonardo3 Museum (L3) to bring its world-class travelling exhibition to Sino
Group’s Olympian City shopping centre. Entitled “Think Like Leonardo da Vinci
500^th Anniversary Exhibition”, the Hong Kong event is the first
large-scale thematic exhibition L3 has staged in Asia, and is designed and
curated following high museum standards to recreate the mind-boggling world of
the great Italian inventor and artist.

With remarkable accomplishments in multiple
disciplines spanning both science and art, Leonardo da Vinci can be viewed as a
pioneer of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics)
education, whose avant-garde ideas had inspired generations that followed. Committed
to promoting his innovative spirit, L3 devotes itself to the study of da
Vinci’s inventive concepts through research, analysis and translation of his
original manuscripts and drawings. The museum also endeavours to bring these
concepts to life by recreating da Vinci’s machines and art with scientific
methods and state-of-the-art technology, together with immersive and
interactive experiences for the audience.

In the past, L3 had brought its touring
exhibitions to the United States, Turkey, Germany, Poland and Canada, among
other countries. Unlike these previous exhibitions, which were held in either traditional
museums or art galleries, the Hong Kong edition will be staged at Olympian
City has organized a variety of large-scale STEM programmes, which, combined
with arts and cultural activities, have helped to popularize STEAM education.
It is the ideal of promoting new and fresh ideas that has brought Olympian City
and L3 together to organize the touring exhibition in Hong Kong, which will
also be the first time for precious exhibits and interactive installations from
the museum’s collection to be showcased inside a shopping centre.

Themed “Think Like Leonardo da Vinci”, the
exhibition at Olympian City thoroughly showcases da Vinci’s ideas, achievements
and contributions to human society, encouraging the audience to delve into the
amazing universe of the celebrated genius. In addition to fascinating
machines built by L3 based on da Vinci’s ideas and over 1,000 digitized
manuscripts and interactive drawings, the distinctive event features a host
of new multi-sensory experiences especially designed for this occasion. 

Ms Nikki Ng, Deputy Chairman of the Hong Kong
Innovation Foundation, said, “Established to support the development of the innovation
and technology (I&T) sector and promote the spirit of innovation, the Hong
Kong Innovation Foundation provides platforms for the local public to deepen
their understanding on I&T and foster Hong Kong’s development in this area.
Leonardo da Vinci, who is heralded as the greatest polymath the planet has ever
seen and a pioneer of STEAM development, has left a far-reaching impact on the
world with his forward thinking and brilliant ideas. We are honoured to
collaborate with L3 to bring an internationally renowned exhibition devoted to
this Italian master to Hong Kong. By showcasing machines built from da Vinci’s concepts
and providing interactive experiences, the exhibition is expected to not only
inspire Hong Kong people but also help encourage I&T development in our
city.”

 

Mr. Mario Taddei, Co-founder and Co-technical
Director of L3, said, “L3 is devoted to the study of Leonardo da Vinci’s
ingenious ideas and sharing his innovative spirit with the world. In a similar
vein, the Hong Kong Innovation Foundation and Sino Group’s Olympian City are
dedicated to popularizing STEM education, with proven success in the various
programmes they have implemented. Sharing the same ideal of promoting
innovation, L3 is partnering with the two organizations to bring the touring
exhibition, which has already travelled to France, Italy and the US, to Hong
Kong as its first Asian stop. We are certain the event will showcase the
innovative spirit of da Vinci to the people of Hong Kong, and hope that it will
pave the way for exhibitions in other Asian cities.”

 

Think Like Leonardo da Vinci 500^th
Anniversary Exhibition

Exhibition period:   9 December 2019 to 16 February 2020

Opening hours:      Noon to 9pm

Venue:                    Central Atrium, Ground
Floor, Olympian City 2

#OlympianCity  #OCXmas  #ThinkLikeLeonardoDaVinci

Awe-inspiring
displays and installations of da Vinci’s ingenious designs

Leonardo da Vinci was not only a celebrated
scientist and painter, but also an architect, engineer, mathematician and even
musician, with achievements in many different disciplines. Through the
interactive Codex Atlanticus and Codex on Flight at the exhibition, the
audience will be able to grasp more easily the concepts behind Leonardo da
Vinci’s multifarious inventions, presented through L3’s digitized manuscripts
and drawings, advanced technology and three-dimensional images.

 

The Codex Atlanticus is the world’s most
comprehensive compilation of illustrations made by da Vinci. It covers a wide
range of contents, from natural science to architecture, technology and music.
Meanwhile, the Codex on Flight includes da Vinci’s observations and concepts that
had contributed to the invention of human flight in the early 20^th
century.

 

The exhibition will also display mechanical
models of da Vinci’s flying machine, architectural structures, musical instruments,
ships, transportations and other conceptual designs that have inspired
inventions in the generations after him.

 

Highlights of the
Exhibition

Step into Renaissance
paintings through interactive experiences

(1)   
Smile like Mona Lisa for charity and a better
world

Mona
Lisa is the most famous painting of Leonardo da Vinci and arguably the most
famous oil painting and portrait in the world. The mysterious smile of Mona
Lisa has captivated art historians and laymen alike.

 

Through
an interactive installation, the exhibition will unveil the secrets behind this
acclaimed masterpiece. Visitors are also invited to take a snap at the “My MONA
LISA Smile” photo area. In addition to transforming into Mona Lisa, visitors
can become part of the interactive Mona Lisa mosaic displayed on the mega
screen at Olympian City. Furthermore, Sino Group will donate HK$5 for each
photo taken at the photo area to local charity Smile with Us HK.

 

(2)   
VR experience unfolds secrets behind The Last
Supper

The
Last Supper is an extraordinary masterpiece because Leonardo did
not conform to the traditional technique of drawing. With his paintbrush, he
created new and unprecedented aesthetic standards. For example, the window on
the left side of the painting is relatively short in real life, but,
considering that viewers would more often than not raise their heads to look at
the painting, he painted the window much taller than its original normal ratio
in order to achieve a visual aesthetic and a visual balance.  Leonardo was also very particular with
pigments.  In order to express a unique
amber colour, he experimented with various materials.  For instance, he used egg yolks as a pigment
and therefore created tempera.

 

At
the exhibition, visitors can participate in a VR experience of the widely
researched painting to find out about the drawing techniques and hidden messages
behind the masterpiece.  

(3)   
Are you Leonardo’s Ideal Man?

Referring
to ancient Roman architect Vitruvius’ theories on architectural golden
proportions, which proposed that every part of the human body should correspond
to the architecture of the time and maintain reasonable ratios, da Vinci
illustrated an adult male in the nude posing in two overlapping poses, with the
limbs stretched out to touch a circle and made to fit within a square made up
of sixty-four smaller squares. After some calculations, the “Ideal Man” with
the perfect human body came into being.

 

At the exhibition, visitors can
compare their body build to the “Ideal Man” with a body scanner. Those who are
found to be the closest fit in the weekly challenges may each receive a HK$200
voucher from an Olympian City merchant.

 

(4)   
Let’s Fly interactive game

In
addition to appreciating da Vinci’s flying machine and manuscripts,
exhibitiongoers can take part in the “Let’s Fly” interactive game, and receive
a gift upon completing the flying contest that requires them to control the
flight with a sensor. The challenger with the highest score each week may win a
HK$200 voucher that can be used at Olympian merchants.

Details of the
exhibition

Think Like Leonardo
da Vinci 500^th Anniversary Exhibition

Exhibition period:   9 December 2019 to 16 February 2020

Opening hours:      Noon to 9pm

Venue:                    Central Atrium, Ground
Floor, Olympian City 2

 

Programme	Details
Interactive installations of da Vinci’s manuscripts and machines	The exhibition features interactive installations of the Codex Atlanticus and Codex on Flight, as well as over 1,000 original manuscripts in digital format to provide a better understanding of da Vinci’s creative ideas.   In addition, various machines flown in from Italy will offer a comprehensive view of da Vinci’s inventions, which have inspired developments in aviation, architecture, geometry, music, art and other aspects.
My MONA LISA Smile	Mallgoers can turn into Mona Lisa and become part of the Mona Lisa interactive mosaic shown at the exhibition. For every photo collected, a HK$5 donation will be made to support the charitable mission of Smile With Us HK.   How to join: S+ REWARDS / Olympian Kids members can join for free.   Remarks: Members can redeem photo prints with points.
The Last Supper Virtual Reality Experience	Mallgoers may enjoy an immersive experience into da Vinci’s masterpiece The Last Supper, in which they can explore the master’s artistic techniques and unfold secrets behind the famous painting. How to join: One admission can be redeemed with 3 S+REWARDS points or 300 Olympian Kids points.
Are you Leonardo’s Ideal Man?	A body scanner allows participants to compare their body build to that of da Vinci’s “Ideal Man”. The participant with the closest fit each week may win a HK$200 voucher from an Olympian merchant. How to join: Present the “daVinci” electronic badge* on the S+ REWARDS mobile app   * To earn a ”daVinci” electronic badge, locate the designated QR Code in the mall and scan it with the S+ REWARDS mobile app.
Let’s Fly	Participants will wear a sensor to control the flying device with their body in a flying contest, and receive a special gift upon completing the game. The participant with the highest score each week may win a HK$200 voucher from an Olympian City merchant.    How to join: One admission can be redeemed with 3 S+REWARDS points or 300 Olympian Kids points.

About the Hong Kong Innovation Foundation

The Hong Kong
Innovation Foundation (HKIF) is a non-profit organisation founded by Sino Group
in March 2018. HKIF’s purpose is grounded in its belief that innovation and
technology are crucial to developing a diversified economy, driving meaningful
social change and enhancing the competitiveness of Hong Kong.

 

HKIF focuses on
cultivating the spirit of innovation of our next generation, increasing
opportunities and accelerating the path from idea to impact — working together
with alumni, partners and friends in the community to strengthen talent
development in support of Hong Kong’s transformation into a global innovation
and technology hub.

 

At HKIF, we are a
holistic innovation ecosystem. We have built a variety of platforms to serve
different sectors of the community.

About Olympian City

Located in the heart
of the “Golden Circle” in West Kowloon, Olympian City is a premier shopping
destination comprising 800,000 square feet of retail space. It is home to more
than 250 shops, including renowned brands in fashion, beauty, sports,
healthcare and kids’ products. It also offers over 40 dining options, including
the Food Garden at Olympian City 3 where diners can savour European and Asian
cuisines in an al fresco setting.

 

In addition to
regular events, promotions and campaigns, Olympian City engages customers with the
Olympian Kids loyalty programme, the Green Hub and the OC STEM Lab. The
interactive STEM lab, the first of its kind in Hong Kong, is equipped with
state-of-the-art facilities that cater to the evolving needs of a sophisticated
young audience. It offers a wide spectrum of tailored activities and workshops
to spark children’s potential, widen their horizons and unleash their
creativity, while engaging the community to build a better future through
technology.

About LEONARDO 3

L3 is an Italian international museum devoted to Leonardo da Vinci. The institution dedicates itself to the study and research on the inventive ideas found in some 6,000 manuscripts made by Leonardo da Vinci, and to spreading his innovative spirit across the world. It has organized exhibitions in a considerable number of cities, including Milan, Turin, Livorno and Vigevano in Italy, Tokyo in Japan, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Wichita in the US, Toronto in Canada, Doha in Qatar, Antalya in Turkey, Manama in Bahrain, Riyad in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait City in Kuwait, Sao Paulo in Brazil, and Mexico City in Mexico, drawing tens of millions of visitors.