Fringe Festival launches search for urban treasures

Laura Nyögéri (third from right) pictured yesterday with children during an activity included in the Fringe Festival

The 17th Macao City Fringe Festival kicked off on Friday, bringing in different art performances from Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and other regions.

Organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau with the theme “Treasures Hunting”, the ten-day event comprises more than 20 activities designed to take the public on a downtown stroll to uncover urban treasures that have almost been forgotten.

On Saturday and Sunday, a number of colorful and interactive performances took place at Anim’Arte Nam Van. These included Macau Artfusion’s dual photo exhibition and live museum, which was titled Miró Lab, as well as workshops on body painting, movement, creative expression and photography.

Miró Lab explores the art of Spanish surrealist master Joan Miró and states that art should be accessible to all.

“We did a project in a way where we could share his art with everyone,” project creator and curator Laura Nyögéri told the Times.

“We want people to feel that art can be part of ourselves. […] All of us can develop ways to do it. We just have to have the chance,” she said.

Several local children participated in yesterday’s body painting workshop, where the children were given the task of “transforming themselves into paintings.”

“It’s been amazing to train children from Macau. Freedom is one of the key words [of the exhibition, along with] imagination and being spontaneous.  That’s what we actually see in the kids,” Nyögéri said.

During the workshop, the children created art with colors and shapes based on their individuality and imagination.

“When they do interpretation, they create stories behind it and that’s it. We want to motivate creativity and impulse imagination in Macau children,” the artist added.

Although the workshop had only two sessions during the ten-day festival, the curator said they have already received some invitations to exhibitions elsewhere in the region and overseas.

Nyögéri expressed her desire to host future children’s workshops in schools and other regions.

Meanwhile, the “Portrait of Macao’s Flavors” also launched an exhibition on Friday at Anim’Arte Nam Van, following live art activities that started earlier this month.

Under site-specific theatre Soda-City Experimental Workshop, participants created a live art portrait of Macau based on the findings of a three-day exploration of Macau’s streets and lanes, following certain smells or flavors and recording stories about them.

The production utilized mainly field collections, live art and collage, using collected pictures, videos, sounds and items to create an on-site exhibition.

London duo Igor and Moreno will perform tomorrow and Wednesday, presenting a show titled “Idiot – Syncrasy” that takes common elements of two ethnic dances and combines them to express a yearning for pure human nature.

Hong Kong dance group Unlock Dancing Plaza, a recurring winner of the Hong Kong Dance Awards, will also work with Japanese Namstrops to present three
different programs of improvised dance that showcase physical
strength and body movements, they will be titled, “bolero”, “Hurdle #3” and “A Short, Thick Rainbow.”

Another program titled “On the Move” by Macau-based Portuguese artists will present custom bicycle tours incorporating different combinations of sounds, images and maps. 

The Fringe Festival’s extended activities include a sharing session on “Art Festivals in the Cities 2.0” to be held on Thursday at the Old Court Building, which invites curators of performing arts events to share their experiences on local festivals and the cultural environment in their hometowns.

The Experience Sharing Session of Arts Administrators “Arts Administrators in Mainland China: Stay Deficient or Go Resourceful?” and “Interactive Talk: Know more about Theatre for Babies”, presented by Polyglot Theatre from Australia, will be held on January 19 and 21, respectively.