EXHIBITION | A glimpse into the world of African art

Macau-born Maria Fernanda das Dores nurtured a special interest in African art while living in and traveling across the African continent. Collecting artworks from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Congo and Kenya, Maria Fernanda eventually decided to bring a sample of her collection to Macau.
“Windows on African Art,” is on display at Casa Garden until October 1, featuring a wide range of African artworks.
Maria Fernanda, managing director of Global Meios, moved to Maputo, Mozambique, after living in Macau for several years. Launching an events and advertising company there, she took the opportunity to travel across Africa with a special focus on the Sub-Saharan region, where she met numerous artists and gained a feel for the varied nature of the African art scene.
“In 2011, I moved to Portugal since my whole family was living there. I was unable to retire at that point and started working in the wine and other food products industry. One of the clients we represent exports baby rice to Hong Kong and Macau,” Maria recalled, adding that she thought of bringing part of her art collection to Macau about three years ago.
“I wanted to see whether people would be interested in African art, as I believe people here are not that used to seeing a lot of things from Africa,” she noted.
With the support of the Orient Foundation, Maria Fernanda launched the exhibition last Friday at Casa Garden.
From Yohure masks used in dance rituals to smoking water pipes used during ceremonial events across Africa, the exhibition features a wide variety of artworks, including paintings, wood statues, and ceramics – some crafted by members of famous African tribes.
Maria Fernanda assures that each artwork contains a different story and a special meaning. Visitors are also able to get to know the artists’ own stories as there are short bios made available at the exhibition. Most of them learned painting through practice, and use art today to convey vital messages to Africa, including the fight against HIV for instance.
“It was a very interesting experience to travel across Africa. In the French-speaking countries, after a few minutes chatting with locals it seemed we had known each other for quite some time already. Some of the artworks were used in traditional ceremonies, funerals… every artwork here has its own story,” she stressed.
Maria Fernanda acknowledged that she’s curious to see people’s reactions to the exhibition, but she admits she has no particular expectations of their feedback.
The exhibition will be on display until October 1. Some of the artworks are on sale with prices ranging from MOP1,000 to MOP9,000.