Imagine Exhibitions, Inc., a leader in global traveling entertainment and immersive experiences, today announced a new partnership with Denmark-based recycle artist, Thomas Dambo. The partnership will include the development of an all-new touring exhibition featuring Dambo’s signature troll sculptures built from reclaimed materials. The outdoor exhibition will build upon the tales surrounding the more than 75 giant trolls (and counting!) that Dambo has already created, while also telling an original story in and of itself. The experience will fuse fairytales, whimsy, and incredible art installations to inspire visitors to explore the importance of nature, climate change and other complex issues related to our relationship with the planet, nature, and animals.
Dambo is an artist and recycle activist based in Denmark, best known for his colossal troll sculptures that range in height from 16 to 50 feet and ‘live’ as semi-permanent installations in parks, greenspaces, industrial parks, and in other site-specific locations around the world.
In the Spring of 2018, Dambo unveiled a temporary exhibition of six of his trolls at The Morton Arboretum just outside of Chicago, IL. The exhibition was an enormous success, leading to the park’s two highest attended years in its nearly 100-year history. 1.26 million people visited the park in 2018 during the run of Troll Hunt, with the first month of the exhibition clocking the most visitors the arboretum had ever had in a 30-day period (164,000 visitors). However, after a more than 2-year run, the exhibition closed in January 2021, despite a petition from visitors to “save the trolls.” The dismantling of these trolls represented a disappointing end for Dambo’s work, sending the materials he originally saved from the trash exactly there: into the trash. Throwing away the sculptures was contrary to the message and spirit of his work: to inspire creative re-use of materials. Seeing an opportunity for Dambo’s sculptures to both meet the incredible audience demand as well as to honor the concept of responsible re-use, Imagine Exhibitions President and CEO Tom Zaller reached out to Dambo to discuss the idea of a touring exhibition.
Imagine will work with Dambo to develop the trolls traveling exhibition with the goal of touring to zoos, gardens, arboretums, and like-minded outdoor visitor attractions. Imagine will also sell commissions of Dambo’s work as individual permanent and semi-permanent installations.