Touring the world since June 2007, the Beijing 2008 Olympic Landscape Sculpture Exhibition is making its first stop of 2008 in Atlanta’s own Centennial Olympic Park. Hosted by the Association of Chinese Professionals Atlanta (ACP-Atlanta) and the Atlanta Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), the exhibition will be located on the Park’s Fountain of Rings Plaza from Jan. 11 – 20, 2008.

The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, China Artists Association and other organizations initiated the 2008 Olympic Landscape Sculpture Designs Contest and Exhibition on Aug. 8, 2005 as a three-year countdown celebration for the 2008 Games. Artists from around the world were invited to submit sculpture designs depicting Olympic themes. Among 2,400 unique entries submitted from sculptors from over 90 countries, 290 pieces were selected for the tour made of bronze, iron, aluminum, stainless steel and various other materials.

After its Beijing debut on International Olympic Day, June 23, 2007, the exhibition visited many Olympic host cities including London, Athens, Seoul, Los Angeles, Rome, Tokyo, Barcelona and Sydney. The exhibition brings an international cultural exchange and represents the Spirit of the Olympic Games, promoting peace, friendship, competition, harmony and progress. Wenzhong Zhou, ambassador of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China said, “This Olympic Landscape Sculpture Traveling Exhibition fully illustrates the People’s Olympic concept that combines Chinese culture and the Spirit of Olympic Games. I hope that this exhibition can serve as a medium that brings American and Chinese people closer together on promoting the optimistic, positive and healthy spirit of Olympic Games.”

The opening ceremony for the exhibition is at 11 a.m. on Jan. 11, 2008 in the Park, where the general consul of the People’s Republic of China in Houston, local city and state governmental officials, media, members of the organizing committee for the Beijing Olympic Landscape Sculpture Exhibition and leaders of other sponsoring organizations will be present and giving speeches. The ceremony will also feature entertainment including traditional Chinese dancing and a ribbon-cutting. Please RSVP to nrateau@centennialpark.com or 404.223.4090 if you plan to attend. www.centennialpark.com  

OTHER INFORMATION:
A lasting legacy of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Centennial Olympic Park has become a performing-arts venue, community gathering-space and an anchor for downtown development. The Georgia World Congress Center Authority operates the 21-acre Park, as well as the Georgia Dome and Georgia World Congress Center. The three state-owned facilities are one of the largest combined sports, entertainment and convention center facilities in the world.