오션파크로 떠나는 즐거운 여행에 필요한 모든 것
(12 December 2010 - Hong Kong) 5-year old local painting prodigy Kenny Lau Kin-Gi, whose 26 animal paintings are currently on display at the Atoll Reef, saw 19 of his paintings successfully auctioned off today at a Ocean Park-hosted charity auction at Panda Cafe, while the remaining 7 paintings will be arranged for an online auction later on through Yahoo!. The auction was a great success and raised close to $400,000 for the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, Hong Kong (OPCFHK).
The 26 paintings in the auction have been donated by the Lau family and feature young Kenny’s impressions of a variety of iconic animals at Ocean Park, including the giant panda, the dolphin, the seal and the sea jelly among other species. The paintings were done in different styles – acrylic, water color, soft pastel, Chinese ink – and employed a range of interesting techniques.
At the tender age of five, Kenny has already received numerous awards at international competitions and exhibitions, including most recently the Medal Award in the 14th International Art Exhibition for Children and Young People in Finland, and was selected as the overall winner of the 2010 “Protect the Tiger” International Drawing Contest organized by World Wild Fund for Nature.
The auction was hosted by Mr. Kevin Ching, Chief Executive Officer of Sotheby’s Asia, and garnered great interest from the bidders and raised close to $400,000. In addition, Ling Kee Publishing has offered 26 complimentary copies of Animal Kindergarten, an art book featuring the 26 paintings, as gifts to the successful bidders. The book will soon be on sale in bookstores in Hong Kong and royalties will also be generously donated to OPCFHK.
Mr. Tom Mehrmann, Chief Executive of Ocean Park and Ms. Suzanne Gendron, Director of OPCFHK also attended the auction and expressed their gratitude towards the charity of Kenny and his parents in donating proceeds from the paintings to OPCFHK, which will help fund animal conservation efforts in Asia.
Mr. Mehrmann said, ‘With the closing of Atoll Reef on 2 January, we are glad that Kenny has decided to give back to the animals which first inspired his paintings by supporting OPCFHK. With the opening of Aqua City, our brand-new theme zone featuring 450 species of fish in the Grand Aquarium, we hope that our animals will continue to inspire guests from all over the world in supporting wildlife conservation.’
