Fundación Canal to exhibit Warriors of Xi'an starting November 4 in Madrid

The exhibitions Voices and Inhabiting the World may continue, according to comments made today by the Forum's director general during the transfer agreement signing ceremony for the exhibition, which was open for 141 days at event's site and seen by more than one million people

Ignacio González, president of Canal de Isabel II and first vice president of the Community of Madrid, and Jordi Oliveras, director general of the Universal Forum of Cultures - Barcelona 2004, signed today at the Fundación Canal Auditorium the contract for the Warriors of Xi'an. The exhibition will be on display in the new hall Centro de Arte Cuarto Depósito, located below the Plaza de Castilla Park in Madrid. Representatives from both institutions, in the presence of Santiago Fisas, Culture councilor for the Community of Madrid, agreed to the moving of the exhibition prior to its return to its country of origin, the People's Republic of China.

Following the signing, Ignacio González took the opportunity "to thank the Forum for all its help in making it possible for this magnificent exhibit of funerary art to be seen by the citizens of the Community of Madrid and those who come here to visit. We are delighted that the exhibition will be shown at the Cuarto Depósito de Isabel II, which is located in the north of Madrid and has been reformed for leisure use by our neighbors."

The exhibition, which will be entitled Los guerreros de Xi'an ocupan Madrid (The warriors of Xi'an take over Madrid), will be on display from November 4 through January 9, 2005, with uninterrupted opening hours of 11:00 a.m. until midnight except Mondays, when the doors will close at 8:00 p.m. Ignacio González added that "this exhibition will be the biggest exhibition as well as the big cultural attraction in Madrid for this year's holiday season." González also stated that negotiations are currently underway between the Canal de Isabel II Foundation, the Forum and the Chinese authorities regarding the possibility of extending the dates for the exhibition in Madrid in the event that it reaches estimated attendance figures.

Jordi Oliveras indicated that a substantial portion of the transfer costs for the funerary exhibit come from "the moving, insurance and preservation of the warriors." Oliveras added that "for the Forum, one of our goals after closing the doors here was for one of our main exhibitions to have continuity, perhaps even as a traveling exhibition. We are very pleased that a public institution has taken the baton from Barcelona and that now it will be the citizens of the Community of Madrid and its visitors who will be able to enjoy what we have so enjoyed here in Barcelona during the 141 days of the event."


Voices and Inhabiting the World
The Forum's director general also suggested that both Voices and Inhabiting the World, exhibitions housed at the Forum Site, "could continue and, we will perhaps soon have more specific news on the subject." This, however, is not the case for the exhibit Cities, Corners, given the fact that, according to Oliveras, "the scale models of New York, Tokyo and Strasbourg will soon be returned to their owners. Besides, of the entire exhibition only a few models of emblematic buildings belong to us."

The Warriors of Xi'an is one of the largest exhibits of Chinese funerary art ever shown in Europe and over the course of 141 days was visited at the Forum by more than 116,000 people. The exhibition, which features a selection of 10 terracotta warriors of Xi'an as well as four additional life-sized figures, is made of more than 170 pieces from the Qin (221-207 B.C.) and Han (206 B.C.-220 A.D.) dynasties. The diverse selection of objects offers visitors a chance to span from the era of the first Chinese emperor of Qin Shi Huang, who brought about the construction of the Great Wall, up through the rule of Han Wu Di.

Among the highlights of pieces from the Qin dynasty are the figures of a general, an archer and an acrobat, as well as a full set of armor made of stone. Dating back to the era of the Han dynasty are two small but striking nude sculptures of two men whose function in the funerary entourage is still unknown by specialists, along with some ceramic domesticated animals.

The Warriors of Xi'an are part of the extraordinary tomb of the emperor of Qin Shi Huang, which is located in the state of Xi'an and, according to archaeological excavations carried out, holds an estimated 8,000 life-sized figures. An entire terracotta army accidentally discovered by farmers in 1974 that 13 years later was named World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. This great show of power beyond death shows the warring and unifying character of China's first emperor, from whom derives the name of the country.