Honouring human achievement is the driving inspiration behind Rolex’s philanthropic program. The Rolex Institute supports individuals who make meaningful contributions to the world. Among its celebrants is Canadian artist Gregory Colbert and his masterpiece Ashes and Snow.Colbert’s project blends photographs and film in the world’s first Nomadic Museum. His life-affirming vision captures the extraordinary interactions between humans and animals. A “poetic field study,” Ashes and Snow is global in its subject and installation. The Nomadic Museum is a fluid eco-structure constructed entirely from shipping containers and bamboo.

The nature of the exhibition challenged us to build global awareness of Colbert’s work and grow audiences across countries. From New York to Santa Monica and Tokyo to Mexico City, each location presented geographic opportunities that we cultivated to achieve attendance of 500,000 people at showings.By targeting opinion leaders and cultural icons who exemplify human achievement and personify the Rolex brand, we realized outstanding press response and attendance. At the close of the Mexico City showing, eight million people had visited the exhibit in four months. Currently, Ashes and Snow has reached ten million people on three continents – making it the most visited exhibition by a living artist in history.

The exhibit and campaign spanned the cities of New York, Santa Monica, Tokyo and Mexico City during the years from 2002 to 2008. Visual promotion for the show was placed in high-end magazines and mass-market newspapers.The power of Colbert’s work is visually stunning and unforgettable. We used reproductions of the art itself, with nothing more than exhibition information on them. A small and subtle Rolex Institute logo signed off each piece.Cinema, TV and digital pieces were created. Targeted VIPs received tickets that ensured they could move to the front of show queues. And, upon arrival, all entrants received materials explaining Ashes and Snow and The Rolex Institute.

Over the months of the shows, we continued to gather attendance and coverage by sending email blasts and placing digital banners to encourage click-through for exhibition information.

The press response and publicity generated was outstanding. The once-in-a-lifetime experience of Ashes and Snow was making people stop and discover a haven among the chaos.The goal to reach successively more people at each showing was realized over the course of the exhibition years. For example, in Mexico City, the last of the show stops, the first few days were overwhelming. Each week drew in about 500,000 people compared to that of more than 31,000 attendees that previous exhibitions had achieved.Colbert’s work was widely promoted in on- and off-line media and news outlets in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Press about the innovative form and content of the work and the Nomadic Museum reinforced the Rolex commitment to human achievement.Most notably, ten million people on three continents have experienced Ashes and Snow – making it the most visited exhibition by a living artist in history.