Beijing Zoo to hold art exhibitions both offline and online

The logo of BeijingZoo.art, which was a new website that may accommodate zoo visitors online.[Photo: China Plus]

The Beijing Zoo is widely-recognized as one of the country's top attractions, and it is now undergoing a big transformation.

Visitors will not only be able to catch sight of animals but also have the chance to appreciate animal-themed art in a newly-launched museum.

The museum will make its exhibitions available online via "BeijingZoo.art".

Architect Cheng Dapeng is also an artist who's designed a few landmark constructions in China, including the Museum of the Yungang Grottoes near the city of Datong in the province of Shanxi and the Xi'an Contemporary Art Museum in Shaanxi province.

The new art museum in the Beijing Zoo is also his brainchild.

"Art gives a link to closer ties between humans and animals. Thus, we set up our goal and ambition to join hands with the Beijing Zoo in transforming part of its Lion and Tiger Enclosure into a public art space which is not only devoted to exhibiting animals or art alone but a type of New Era relationships between the human and animal. The new museum is free of charge for visitors. I hope this museum may serve as a good example in the city of Beijing in terms of innovatively plunging art into the life of ordinary citizens."

The Lion and Tiger Enclosure of the Beijing Zoo, which just underwent reconstruction, now occupies over a 320-square meter space, with each tiger accommodated to a 40 square-meter enclosure.

Visitors may feel better as they view animals via glass barricade, compared to their previous experiences of watching it behind an iron fence.

Statistics from the Beijing Tourism authorities show the Beijing Zoo is estimated to receive more than 80-thousand visits per day during the holiday seasons.

A crowded zoo may not be a perfect tourist destination, but a passionate art collector from Russia, Ulvi Kasimov, conceived of a better way to accommodate travelers.

"This is a global challenge that from one side, places, like museums need more visitors; from another side, physical place is a bottleneck for visiting. For example, in Beijing Zoo, I've found that it's less than a hundred-thousand visitors per day. And now, zoo authorities are thinking about how to rebuild wider space for accepting more visitors. So one of the potential answers to that problem or question, is giving digital access. So if you don't have enough time, or you are living afar, it is not a hurdle for visiting Beijing Zoo, because you can visit it through a website, and the same for nearly all other art institutions."

Kasimov's business expertise is extensive. He's the founder of UK Creative Ideas Limited, a company which holds a diversified portfolio of assets across construction, information technology, art, and the internet.

In December 2016, Kasimov and his team launched dot ART, a new exclusive domain for the art world, with the goal to unite the art world and the digital world, and establishing a global platform for all things art-related.

Knowing the Beijing Zoo has the plan to open a museum, Kasimov soon decided to help them build a website at "BeijingZoo.art" free of charge. This must-see attraction in Beijing, together with its museum, will allow visitors to navigate the online world of animal art.

Ulvi Kasimov (3rd from left), founder of a new exclusive domain "dot ART", architect Cheng Dapeng (3rd from right) and Chi Shoufei (2nd from right), curator of an exhibition that marks the launch of the Beijing Zoo's art museum, attend a press conference on May 31, 2018, announcing the launch of "BeijingZoo.art", a website that may accomodate zoo visitors online.[Photo: China Plus]

To celebrate the launch of this museum, an exhibition is planned to open at the end of June.

Chi Shoufei is the curator.

"We extended invitations to the artists who have an interest in designing animal-related artworks. They are basically young, influential artists in China and they created sculptures, canvas works, and installation works. I think the cultural exchanges are necessary, so that's something for sure to invite international artists to join our exhibitions thereafter."

As art and tech have become more intertwined, the Beijing Zoo's fame is expected to further prosper and excite citizens far and wide and provides a link for the international artistic communities to share experiences and expertise.