Arts | Autumn Salon to kick off with fewer artists participating

The Art For All Society (AFA) and the Orient Foundation will hold the opening ceremony of the AFA Autumn Salon 2017 on Saturday evening at Casa Garden.

The annual event has been held each Autumn since its inception in 2010, featuring contemporary artworks created by local Macau artists. This year sees a slight drop in the number of participating artists as well as the number of artworks on display.

It covers the areas of watercolor and oil paintings, photography, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics and installation art, and is considered one of Macau’s most prestigious annual exhibitions.

According to organizers, the Autumn Salon provides a platform for local artists, aged between 18 and 35, to showcase their latest work, “with the aim of giving the young generation more opportunities as a starting point in their road to art.”

A celebration of Macau’s contemporary art scene, this year’s Salon features 58 artworks from 30 Macau artists, though this is a decrease from the variety on display in 2016, when 32 artists brought forth a total of 67 artworks.

As in previous years, a competition will be held for the best artworks, and the winner, to be announced at the opening ceremony, will be presented with the Orient Foundation Art Award. The winner is selected by a jury composed of representatives from the Orient Foundation and AFA, as well as a selection of veteran artists from Macau.

The award permits the exhibition winner to visit Portugal for a month-long art exchange program, where they can visit different museums and art institutions and meet with Portuguese artists. It represents a total prize of MOP50,000, according to AFA, which includes the costs of airfare and accommodation.

In past editions of the Autumn Salon, the winners were Lai Sio Kit (2012), Eric Fok (2013), Lai Sut Wing (2014) and Yung Lai Jing (2015) and Sylviye Lei (2016).

According to the regulations of the AFA Autumn Salon 2017, exhibiting works must have been created either this year or last year. All artworks must be for sale and AFA will take 40 percent commission on any artwork sold at the event.

The exhibition will last until November 30, 2017 at Casa Garden, the local headquarters of the Orient Foundation, and entry is free of charge.