Paragon turns Mid-Autumn rabbits into a canvas for inclusion

Paragon is turning the Mid-Autumn Festival into a showcase of art and inclusion, with 50 one-of-a-kind rabbit sculptures created by students and artists with disabilities as part of its latest seasonal campaign.

Called "Mid-Autumn Lumière", the initiative will see the Orchard Road mall work with Raffles Design Institute (RDI) and ART:DIS Singapore to reinterpret the rabbit, a traditional symbol of Mid-Autumn, through different artistic styles and disciplines.

From 2 to 27 September, the sculptures will be displayed across Paragon, including 50 additional rabbit sculptures along the mall’s exterior landscaping that form a visual trail towards the main display.

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The project brings together artists from ART:DIS with RDI students specialising in areas such as fashion design and marketing, jewellery design and product design.

Four of the 50 sculptures have also been designed by guest contributors from Singapore’s public, business, philanthropic and design communities, including Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Social and Family Development Eric Chua, CapitaLand Investment group chief strategy officer and CEO of commercial management Ervin Yeo, CapitaLand Development chief corporate officer Tony Tan and Raffles College of Higher Education principal and programme director Giuseppe Spinelli.

Beyond the exhibition, Paragon is putting a fundraising element behind the campaign through its adopt-a-rabbit initiative. Each of the 50 sculptures will be available for adoption at SG$800, with proceeds going to ART:DIS to support opportunities and inclusion for artists with disabilities.

The initiative is also backed by CapitaLand Hope Foundation, which will match contributions dollar-for-dollar up to SG$40,000 as part of CapitaLand’s #GivingAsOne campaign.

Funds raised will support ART:DIS’ Foundation Visual Arts Programme, which provides artistic development and creative opportunities for children and youths with disabilities.

The campaign also extends into Mid-Autumn gifting and in-mall experiences, with Paragon featuring offerings from Janice Wong, Old Seng Choong and Christofle, alongside live instrumental performances, candle-customisation workshops and children's activities.

“There is no lack of talent among artists with disabilities; what is often lacking is access to opportunities for that talent to be seen,” said Angela Tan, executive director at ART:DIS.

“This partnership with Paragon gives our artists an important public platform, placing their work where thousands of people can encounter and appreciate it," added Tan. 

The campaign reflects a wider shift in retail marketing towards turning seasonal occasions into experiential and purpose-led brand moments. Shopping destinations are increasingly using festive celebrations as platforms for cultural storytelling, community engagement and social impact, giving consumers reasons to engage beyond the traditional retail proposition.

Earlier this year, CapitaLand Malls tapped Mofusand for its Chinese New Year campaign, "Mofusand Paws-perity", bringing the popular cat characters to 17 malls and multiple workplace properties through immersive installations, interactive AR filters and limited-edition merchandise.

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