Arts Coalition to bring summer-long cultural festival to Macau

Contemporary dance production “Under Siege” by Yang Liping

Art Macao, a five- month international arts and culture event, will be held this summer, bringing to the city an array of exhibitions and performances organized by a coalition of private and public entities in Macau.

Spanning from June to October, this grand cultural and artistic festival features a series of events, including international art exhibitions, performances, youth festivals and visual arts exhibitions from Macau’s higher education institutions. Together, the 31 constituent programs held at more than 30 different venues form a colorful artistic experience to residents and visitors alike.

Art Macao is organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau and the Macau Government Tourism Office, with the support of a coalition of various other government agencies, all six gaming concessionaires, as well as foreign consulates.

THE CLASSIC AESTHETIC

Starting from April, Art Macao will be preceded by a series of exhibitions intended to evoke a highly refined classic aesthetic. The exhibition “Italian Renaissance Drawings from the British Museum” presents 52 drawings by 42 Italian Renaissance masters of the 15th and 16th centuries, showcasing the transformations and innovations that took place during this period.

The exhibition “Beauty in the New Era — Masterpieces from the Collection of the National Art Museum of China” features nearly 90 works by modern and contemporary masters, aiming to fully present the development of Chinese fine art over the last hundred years.

The exhibition “Reminiscences of the Silk Road—Exhibition of Cultural Relics of the Western Xia Dynasty” unveils the mystery behind the history and culture of the Western Xia. Some exhibits will also be presented outside the Ningxia for the first time, making this a rare opportunity for the public to appreciate these world heritage treasures.

THE CHARM OF THE CONTEMPORARY

Art Macao has invited several hotels and integrated resorts to collaborate in the organization of “Art Macao: International Art Exhibition”, the event’s highlight feature, which seeks to create a platform to encourage local artistic creation, “enhance the humanistic spirit” of Macau and create a new brand of cultural tourism.

The main exhibition will showcase valuable works selected by several hotels and integrated resorts, including paintings, ceramics, sculptures, interactive installations and multimedia presentations. It has the stated goal of capturing the charm of contemporary visual arts, according to organizers.

In addition to the main exhibition, which will be held at the Macao Museum of Art, several other exhibitions will also be organized by hotels and integrated resorts and by foreign consulates accredited in Hong Kong and Macau.

Six outdoor art installations which will be displayed at various attractions of the city, bringing together historic and contemporary works alongside one another.

CALL AND THE CITY ANSWERS

During the five-month event, consulates in Macau and Hong Kong, integrated resorts operators and other private sector entities will stage their own exhibitions and performances.

SJM will showcase “ART – Appreciation – Legacy”, a celebration of cultural heritage by SJM in collaboration with fellow artists, who have created seven exceptional and multidimensional exhibitions in various locations of the city every month from June to October.

Sands China will host “All That’s Gold Does Glitter – An Exhibition of Glamorous Ceramics”, curated by internationally acclaimed ceramic artist Caroline Cheng and featuring over 90 masterpieces by 27 ceramic artists. This exhibition will be the largest international ceramic art exhibition in the Greater Bay Area in 2019.

Galaxy Entertainment Group will host the exhibition, “GRACE KELLY: From Hollywood to Monaco – Artists’ Tributes”, tracing the legendary story of Oscar-winning actress Grace Kelly who became Princess of Monaco.

MGM will stage the exhibition “Hua Yuan”, revealing new developments in the art of ink painting through the presentation of works by contemporary artists, including the large-scale multimedia installation “A Metamorphosis: No End To End” by Ma Wen and the digital landscape painting “Journey to the Dark II” by Yang Yongliang.      

Melco Resorts & Entertainment’s “Unexpected Encounters” exhibition features a number of masterpieces by renowned contemporary artists from the City of Dreams art collection, including “Good Intentions” by KAWS and “Fat Convertible” by Erwin Wurm.

Wynn Macau’s exhibition “Wynn – Garden of Earthly Delights” presents a selection of modern and contemporary art pieces by several renowned artists for the first time in Macau.

Meanwhile, the consulates from Japan, Italy, Hungary and Belgium will also organize their own art exhibitions in Macau, adding to the festive and creative atmosphere over the summer months. DB