World artists illustrate Chinese Alice in Wonderland charity edition
Proceeds from sales of Beijing publishing start-up Pickatale's crowdfunded 150th anniversary edition of Lewis Carroll's children's classic will fund children's art lessons in rural Mongolia
This year is the 150th anniversary of the publication of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and fans and organisations around the world are marking the occasion with exhibitions, readings, musicals and lectures on Lewis Carroll's tale. Among the more creative efforts is a collaborative book project by Beijing-based start-up Pickatale.
The multimedia publisher, which specialises in interactive tales for children, recruited 150 artists from 42 countries and asked each to create an illustration to accompany different passages for a commemorative edition of the fantasy classic. Aside from celebrating the anniversary, the project, 150Alice, also aims to help fund children's art education in Mongolia.
That's why Pickatale has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise US$50,000 by August 10 to cover the production costs of the book - a hefty tome weighing 2.7kg. Proceeds from sales of the book and related items will go towards running art classes in the small city of Zuunkharaa in Mongolia. The company hopes to produce 1,000 copies to begin with and to print more if there is demand.
Pickatale founder and serial entrepreneur Sigbjorn Dugal, who has frequently travelled to Mongolia since he moved to Beijing 13 years ago, came up with the idea for the charity book project.
"I first visited [Mongolia] in 2002, and it was very clear just how underdeveloped the country was, especially in rural areas. The country is filled with resources and beautiful nature, which was a sharp contrast to the poverty of certain communities," Dugal says.