Culture | Ung Vai Meng steps down to devote himself to artistic work

Ung Vai Meng

The President of the IC, Ung Vai Meng, announced on Friday night that he would be stepping down from his role, citing a desire to return to his previous life as an artist. The resignation will take effect from February.

According to Radio Macau, one of the current vice-presidents of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), Leong Hio Ming, will succeed the soon-to-depart bureau head from next month.

Ung, who has been the head of the IC since March 2010 and is now approaching 60 years of age, plans to formally retire after he steps down in February, focusing instead on his artistic creation. “I love art and painting and now I am going back to my paradise,” he said while explaining his resignation.

Aside from his desire to return to his artistic past, Ung said that he was tired after the process of transferring some departments formally under the Civil and Municipal Affairs Bureau to the IC. He explained that the transfer had left him in much need of a rest.

“It was a hard decision to make, because I like this area a lot,” Ung told reporters on Friday. “Art education, cultural and creative industries, museums and galleries, literature and libraries; I love all of these areas. But I think even a drink has its expiry date.”

He said that he was glad to have seen some of the projects under his purview come to fruition, such as the Cinematheque Passion, the Patane Library and the Red Market Library.

Local architect and former IC head Carlos Marreiros praised the “very good work” undertaken by Ung Vai Meng in the last few years and said that the qualities that he brought to the role – particularly his transparency and openness with the media – would be difficult to replace.

“On the one hand I am sad because I see the Macau government lose a very responsible [administrator],” expressed Marreiros. However, he also said that Macau would be “enriched” by Ung’s return to his former role as an artist.

Alice Kok, the president of the Art For All Society, told the Times that Ung had contributed to the local culture scene through his upbeat nature and positive which had proved that developments in the industry could be achieved.

“I think as someone who is passionate about art and culture, Ung has set a great example for many in Macau. I feel that his greatest contribution to the cultural sector of Macau has been his energy. He’s always upbeat and encouraging,” she said. “His energy has shown many of us who work in the art and cultural sector […] that work can be done and changes can be made.”

However, Ung will leave the position as IC chief before the controversial Central Library project is kicked off. Speaking to reporters on Friday, the government official implied that the criticism garnered by the project was unwarranted and that the library remains a worthy investment in his opinion.

“As a government official, I cannot be too emotional,” began Ung on the matter of the project’s recent reevaluation, but he followed the cautionary statement with a diatribe against the skepticism of the public.

“Why do we need to start the discussion all over again?” he complained. “When I learned that it [the Central Library project] needed to be discussed again, I was a bit disheartened […] We have done so much and they just still do not believe us… what have we done wrong?”

Speaking on Ung’s departure, Kok said that she suspects “it might be due to the increasing pressure that he has been receiving both from the public sector as well as from the orders of his supervisors.”

“[For example] at the answering of questions session for the Central Library, we could see that Ung has somewhat lost a bit of his patience. I think that was because he was under a lot of pressure and as the person who is supposed to be responsible for Macau’s culture, he was blamed quite heavily by some people […] which I think was a bit unfair,” she added. “I think he suffers from the bureaucracy and politics from the government way of doing things. As an artist in his heart, it is not surprising at all that he’s leaving.”

“He called me and told me that he was leaving the position so that he could dedicate himself to being an artist [again] and to the study of art history,” insisted Marreiros to the contrary. “He wants to focus on what he really loves to do.”

Born in Macau in 1958, Ung studied drawing and watercolor painting under Master Kam Cheong Leng. In 1986, he received a grant from the Cultural Institute of Macau to study painting and engraving at the Oporto College of Fine Arts, later continuing his åTo date he has been awarded more than fifty prizes in local and foreign graphic art competitions, including the 2nd Macau Biennial Art Exhibition and the HKDA Design ’96 Show.

During the year of the handover, Ung was awarded a badge from the Macau government for his contribution to the cultural sector and was also designated as the first director of the Macau Museum of Art. Ung will retire next month after having served the government as a civil servant for around 40 years.