Photography | Exhibition celebrating Macau opens at Portuguese Consulate

Gonçalo Lobo Pinheiro

The Consulate General of Portugal in Macau is once again the stage for a photo exhibition featuring the works of 27 Portuguese-speaking photographers.

The exhibition, titled “A Look at Macau”, is organized by the Casa de Portugal to reflect on the past two decades of the Special Administrative Region.

It takes place in June because the month is celebrated as “the Month of Portugal”. It is also held as part of the inaugural “Art Macao” festival organized by the SAR government.

The exhibition started on a smaller scale, with the ‘three 20s’ concept: 20 pictures taken in 20 years by 20 individual photographers. But later the scale grew with more photographers showing an interest in joining the exhibition.

Currently, it shows 27 pictures that were taken in the 20 years since the transfer of sovereignty back to China. Some photos were taken exactly on the Handover Day in 1999.

Gonçalo Lobo Pinheiro, curator-photographer of the exhibition, explained that the main challenge of organizing an exhibition of this scale was that, “I have my other jobs and could not dedicate more time for the exhibition.” But he explained that he simplified the criteria for participating photographers. “As long as a photo was taken within the 20-year timeframe, it’s qualified. I don’t care whether it’s a portrait or scenery, greyscale or color.”

Local karate athlete Paula Carion was spotted at the opening ceremony. She was there to support her many photographer friends participating. “It is a wonderful exhibition because it made a stage for the not-so-famous, but talented photographers. Also, it is a showcase of the change that Macau has undergone in these 20 years,” she said.

The exhibition starts today and will run until July 5, on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. After its closure in Macau, the exhibition will relocate to Porto, in Portugal. Staff reporter