Why do people notembark on adventures? If it were not for those who were willing to risk their lives for the sake of adventure, human beings would have never left the confines of Eastern Africa. The Gamania Cheer Up Foundation believes in the value of adventure, and insists on everyone daring to Dream Big. Ever since the completion of the Polar Challenge in 2008, we have taken on various extreme challenges over the years. In 2018, for the Tenth Anniversary, we decided to assemble a team for an Antarctic expedition, writing a new page in history for Taiwanese adventurers.
Design & Coordination Team: Gamania Brand Center
Photographer: Te-Fan Wang
The realization of any dream should be well-documented. The exhibition by the Gamania Cheer Up Foundation, titled “Gamania Antarctica Expedition” was curated for this very reason. It has been divided into three themes: “Risks of the Expedition”, “The Menace of Nature”, and “The Calling of a Dream.” The project depicts all aspects of the 30-day adventure and the 2-year plan for “An Expedition in Antarctica”.
At the start, a narrow, winding passage leads visitors into the exhibition, making it difficult to take a straightforward route or to walk side-by-side. This alludes to the fact that the path to fulfilling one’s dream is never smooth, and self-reliance is the only way to reach a destination.
For the main body of the exhibition, the focal point is the issues that needed to be tackled before and during the trek. This is seen in the display, which contains first-hand materialrelated to the expedition, including: the history and topography of Antarctica, route planning, risk management, training, communication devices, equipment procurement, and emergency management. To effectively spread knowledge and share the experiences gained from the expedition with visitors, images and texts in easy-to-understand language are used. Moreover, there is headgear, facemasks, gloves and other items that were used during the expedition for visitors to behold, providing a rough idea of how difficult this challenge was.
There is also a “Bar for Adventurers” that reconstructs a recruiting scenario before an adventure, as that is what a bar is for adventurers – a place to call for new members, conceive plans, and to form intimate associations with one another. In this part of the exhibition, three Arctic explorers are introduced so that visitors can familiarize themselves with early expeditions to the poles generations before, while the set and properties of the bar create an atmosphere that further prompts visitors to dauntlessly continue following their dreams.
Additionally, since the Expedition Team departed for Antarctica in November of 2018 and the exhibition opened in December that very year, a dynamic approach was adopted where the display is continually updated with the progress of the expedition. That way, it feels like it truly is an ongoing journey.
In essence, this exhibition attempts to sow the seeds of adventure in the hearts of every visitor that attends. We hope to transform Antarctica into a symbol of the risks one takes for their dreams, stirring the spirit of adventure inherent in the DNA of all human beings.
