January 18, 2005
ZEUM GOES GLOBAL WITH ITS FIRST INTERNATIONAL EXHIBIT —
Our Home: Chinese and American Children's Art on the Environment

Provocative and Beautiful Children’s Art
Bridges Cultures for a Common Goal—Protecting our Environment

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 18, 2005 – Zeum at Yerba Buena Gardens, the interactive arts and technology museum fostering creativity and innovation in young people of all ages and backgrounds, unveils its first international exhibit —Our Home: Chinese and American Children's Art on the Environment —a showcase of four collaborative projects between China and America. The exhibit will feature children’s art in various mediums including painting, drawing, sculpture, collage, poetry, audio, video and photography. Our Home opens to the public on Saturday, January 22 and runs through Sunday, April 10.

“We’re very excited to host our first international exhibit, which promotes understanding and awareness of environmental issues through the eyes of Chinese and American children,” said Adrienne Pon, Zeum CEO. “Safeguarding our environment is a responsibility we all share. Using the universal language of art, Our Home reflects common concerns and hopes about the future that transcend borders and cultures.”

Zeum’s Our Home exhibit showcases thought-provoking and inspirational art from four different projects that illustrate Chinese and American children’s concerns and wishes for the environment:

• Flying the Child’s Hope – 100 original pieces of artwork on the environment by the children of China, selected from over one million entries in a contest by the 1990 Institute’s Children’s Art on the Environment Project (CAEP). For the first time in the U.S., all 100 of the winning pieces will be on display.
• From Menlo Park to China –A video by Sacred Bridges Productions that follows the journey of 15 students from Hillview Middle School in Menlo Park who joined hands and brushes with Chinese children to paint a mural wall in a public children’s park at the China National Children’s Center in Beijing.
• Our Water – A collection of self-portraits and poetry—created by Bay Area fourth and fifth grade students from Hatch Elementary School as part of the Our Water program at Kollage Community School for the Arts— that enhances knowledge of water history and promotes the importance of water awareness and conservation. The exhibit made its international premier in China in May of 2004.
• Tree of Hope – Created by eighth grade students at the Odyssey School in San Mateo, this award-winning sculpture uniquely illustrates the vital need for all nations to share responsibility to protect the earth. The art project was a prelude to the students' trip to China in 2004.

Our Home is presented through a partnership between Zeum and the 1990 Institute, an international organization that brought the exhibit participants together through their C2C-C2C (Children to Children- Connecting Two Countries) effort.

“The 1990 Institute is pleased to partner with Zeum on this exciting exhibit,” said William Lee, Director of the Institute. “We are especially pleased that our C2C-C2C effort has so far shown great success and deep
satisfaction in connecting our children from different shores to share their very basic concerns and dreams."

A celebrated fixture in San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens since 1998, Zeum consistently features original and interesting exhibits that allow children of all ages to articulate thoughts, feelings and emotions through artistic expression.

Recently voted SF Weekly’s 2004 Best of San Francisco Award for “Best Fun Place for Kids,” Zeum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Admission: Members - free, Youth (4-18) - $5, Students - $6, Seniors - $6, Adults - $7.

About Zeum

Zeum is an innovative arts and technology museum where kids and families combine hands-on experiences with the power of their imaginations to create movies, music, art and more. Zeum’s mission is to foster creativity in young people of all ages and from all backgrounds, communities and learning styles. This is achieved by providing a hands-on, participatory environment for self-expression; by creating opportunities for collaboration among young people, artists, educators, and communities; and by partnering with schools to enhance arts education in the classroom. For more information about Zeum and current programs and exhibits, please visit www.zeum.org or call 415.777.2800.

About Our Home Exhibit Partners

The 1990 Institute is a U.S.-based, action-oriented think tank dedicated to the study of major economic and social issues relating to China. The China Children’s Art & Environment Project (CEAP) was sponsored in partnership with the State Environmental Protection Administration of China (SEPA) to promote public awareness of the environment in China and the U.S. and to build good relations between the two countries. Learn more about the Institute’s work at www.e-planet.org

Recognized in 1999-2000 by the U.S. Department of Education as one of the nation's Blue Ribbon Schools, Hillview Middle School is the sole middle school for sixth through eighth grade students in the Menlo Park City School District.

Kollage Community School for the Arts (www.kollage.org) has been providing arts education programs to schools and community centers throughout the Peninsula since 1988. Our Water is an innovative curriculum that combines visual, literary and performing arts instruction with water conservation lessons.

Sacred Bridges Productions is a Menlo Park-based team committed to facilitating international connection and global healing through film.

Odyssey School (www.odysseyms.org) of San Mateo, California is the Peninsula’s only co-ed, independent middle school where gifted and talented students learn to think, feel and act.