ARTS & CULTURE | Ung Vai Meng praised as he prepares for another 3-year term

Ung Vai Meng

The incumbent president of the Macau Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), Ung Vai Meng, will retain his current position for the next three years, according to an announcement in the Official Gazette.
The IC president’s reappointment has been well received by Alice Kok, the president of the Art for All Society, an association established in 2007 which aims to enhance the development of Macau’s contemporary art scene.
The local-born full time artist praised Ung for his “recognized capability in the cultural sector.”
“I hope there would be much more collaboration between IC and the private sector in the next three years,” she said.
“The bureau should continue to take the lead to strengthen communications with the private cultural sector and thus enhance the organ’s overall transparency, and their efforts in the past few years are rather evident though,” the AFA president added.
Macanese architect Carlos Marreiros, also a former IC head, also expressed his satisfaction when he learnt about Ung’s reappointment, saying that he was “the right man in the right place” and “an expert with managing skills”. “He has been performing very well in all aspects, that is why he got reappointed,” the architect asserted, adding, “He also has passion for art and this city.”
Nevertheless, he also pointed out that there was room for improvement for the bureau in regard to its publishing and heritage preservation efforts despite its attempts to promote local art-related activities over the years.
“The books and pieces published by IC on the city’s cultural identity should be strengthened,” he said. Besides, he also noted that the bureau head needed to reinforce his team’s efficiency to avoid the city’s historic heritage sites being compromised in the face of land shortage and over-modernization in the territory.
Around three months ago, architect and urban planner Francisco Pinheiro slammed the bureau’s lack of coordination and transparency in its management of the city’s historical heritage, warning that large infrastructure had taken a toll on the historic environment.
Ung Vai Meng assumed the position of IC president on March 1, 2010. Prior to that, he worked for the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau as the head of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Recreation.
Before embarking on his career at the government in 1983, the 57-year-old was an avid painter with an exclusive penchant for sketching and watercolors, who had more than eight personal exhibitions held before showcasing his artistic works in the city. Staff reporter

Recent changes in IC’s vice-presidency

Poet, translator and scholar Yao Jing Ming left the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), where he served as acting vice-president since 2012, in August last year. Chan Peng Fai is now the acting-vice president and Leung Hio Ming serves as vice-president. In 2014, Yao Jing Ming announced he would be leaving IC for personal reasons and told local media that he would be returning to his former post at the University of Macau. Under the pen name of Yao Feng, Yao Jing Ming launched in January his latest book.

Thumbs up from Dennis Murrell

According to Dennis Murrell, an Australian painter who has known Ung Vai Meng for many years since he first arrived in town in 1989, Ung was already a well-known artist by then. The Australian told the times that he was very pleased to hear that Ung was to serve for another three years, as he recalled the days when he helped Ung set up the Macau Museum of Art in 1999. The 68-year-old artist appreciates Ung’s initiatives of establishing public libraries across the city, as well as his determination to foster local art talents. He also hopes that the current IC head can ‘continue to work’ in the sector in the future, since “projects would never be finished” with too many changes of personnel for the top position.