THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS AND THE PENINSULA ANNOUNCE INSTALLATION BY LEADING BRITISH ARTIST, CONRAD SHAWCROSS RA

The Royal Academy of Arts and The Peninsula Hong Kong will co-present a public art installation in Hong Kong by leading British sculptor Conrad Shawcross RA. The second instalment in a three-year partnership between The Peninsula and the RA, Shawcross' work is timed to coincide with the fourth edition of Art Basel Hong Kong, and will be unveiled on 22 March 2016.

The ADA Project combines sculpture, robotics and music to create a dramatic visual performance, comprising a series of collaborations between Shawcross and leading contemporary composers. Taking an industrial robot arm that is most commonly used on automated assembly lines, ADA has been programmed to perform four choreographed routines with each composer responding. The resulting compositions are played to accompany the robot’s movements.

The installation is part of the ‘Love Art at The Peninsula’ initiative, the hotel’s programme of exhibitions and events that celebrates its commitment to art. The second year of the partnership builds on the RA’s recent collaborations with cultural and educational institutions across Asia. Last year Richard Wilson RA was the first artist in the three-year partnership between The Peninsula and the RA with the installation Hang on a Minute Lads… I’ve Got a Great Idea, a full-sized replica vintage coach teetering on the edge of the hotel’s seventh floor Grade I-listed façade.

Other RA collaborations have included exhibitions in Singapore, Japan, Qatar and Australia, an artist exchange programme in partnership with Hong Kong-based not-for-profit Arts in Heritage Research Limited and the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, and a student exchange programme with Tokyo University of the Arts. In 2014 the RA collaborated with Art Basel to provide an art-handling training scheme in Hong Kong. Prior to this, the RA initiated a professional development programme for Hong Kong arts professionals in partnership with the Hong Kong government in 2012, and it has been behind a number of high-profile artist’s talks in the city over the past two years.

Notes to editors

About The Work Shawcross drew inspiration from Ada Lovelace the nineteenth century mathematician and daughter of Lord Byron, who is credited as being the world’s first computer programmer. Working alongside Charles Babbage, described as the ‘father of the computer’, Lovelace predicted that Babbage’s proposed counting machine could ‘compose elaborate and scientific pieces of music of any degree of complexity or extent’, and wrote an algorithm that many consider to be the first ever computer programme, although never put into action.

The ADA Project was first exhibited at Palais de Tokyo, Paris, in 2013 and at MONA, Tasmania, in 2014, and it will be displayed in the lobby of The Peninsula Hotel from 22 March to 6 April 2016. There will be four live performances by the British composer Mira Calix, at 3pm and 5pm on 23 March and on the evening of 24 March at the hotel’s Art Gala, with the installation in ‘salon mode’, performing all four musical sequences at other times during the day, alongside a display of accompanying prints by Shawcross in the hotel’s 1/F exhibition space for the duration of the installation.

About Conrad Shawcross RA Conrad Shawcross (b. 1977) explores subjects that lie on the borders of geometry and philosophy, physics and metaphysics. 2015 saw the artist starting to tackle public spaces with major works in Dulwich Park (Three Perpetual Chords), the Royal Academy courtyard (The Dappled Light of the Sun), and Chatsworth House (Beyond Limits). In April 2016, Paradigm, a 14m high monumental work, will be unveiled outside the Francis Crick Institute in the heart of King’s Cross, London, and in the summer, a new commission for the Greenwich Peninsula, The Optic Cloak. Shawcross has had solo presentations at institutions including New Art Centre, UK (2015); Dulwich Picture Gallery, London (2015); Careyes Foundation, Mexico (2014); The Vinyl Factory, London (2014); ARTMIA Foundation, Beijing (2014); Roundhouse, London (2013); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2013); MUDAM, Luxembourg (2012); Science Museum, London (2011 - 2012); and Turner Contemporary, Margate (2011). His work has been exhibited at galleries including the Royal Academy, London (2014 and 2015); MONA, Tasmania (2014 and 2011); Grand Palais, Paris (2013); and Hayward Gallery, London (2013).

About the Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts was founded by King George III of England in 1768. It has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to be a clear, strong voice for art and artists. Its public programmes promote the creation, enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts through exhibitions, education and debate. The RA is undergoing a transformative redevelopment which will be completed in time for its 250th anniversary in 2018. Led by the internationally-acclaimed architect Sir David Chipperfield RA and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), the plans will link Burlington House on Piccadilly and Burlington Gardens for the first time, uniting and revitalising the two-acre site. The redevelopment will also reveal the elements that make the RA unique, sharing with the public the historic treasures in its Collection, the work of its Academicians and the RA Schools, alongside its world-class exhibitions programme.

About The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH) Incorporated in 1866 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (00045), The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited is the holding company of a Group which is engaged in the ownership, development, and management of prestigious hotels and commercial and residential properties in key locations in Asia, the United States and Europe, as well as the provision of tourism and leisure, club management and other services. portfolio comprises The Peninsula Hong Kong, , , , , , , , The Peninsula Beverly Hills, and . Projects under development include The Peninsula London and The Peninsula Yangon. The property portfolio of the Group includes Complex, The and St. John’s Building in Hong Kong; The Landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; 1-5 Grosvenor Place in London, UK, and 21 avenue Kléber in Paris, France. The clubs and services portfolio of the Group includes The in Hong Kong; Thai Country Club in Bangkok, Thailand; Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel, California; Peninsula Clubs and Consultancy Services, Peninsula Merchandising, and Tai Pan Laundry in Hong Kong.

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For information about The Peninsula Hong Kong, please contact Winvy Lung on +852 26966608 or [email protected]

For further press information, please contact Annabel Potter on 020 7300 5615 or [email protected]

For public information, please contact 0207 300 8090 and www.royalacademy.org.uk Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J OBD

21/01/16