Fringe Chat: A Date with the Critics
The 18th Macao City Fringe Festival, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), features a series of outreach activities, including workshops, talks, art critique and sharing sessions, bringing the audience a rich programme of activities and diverse artistic experiences.
The “Interactive Installations Workshops”, instructed by local art group Little Studio Ensemble, explore how technology works with art to activate responsive pieces on the canvas of the installations. Each participant will create a simple interactive piece that will be assembled and curated into a bigger composition. Macao choreographer Tracy Wong, Hong Kong artist Mao Wei, dance group Hung Dance from Taiwan and flamenco artist Sònia Sánchez from Spain will host three dance workshops “On-Site – Body Playground”, in which they will teach techniques of floor flow, contemporary dance and flamenco, exploring the charm and vigour of contemporary dance. In addition, American artist Morgan O’Hara will hold the “Life Cycle Drawing Workshop”, guiding the participants in exploring the phenomenology of the unconscious as evoked through the act of drawing.
This edition of the Fringe Festival also features family workshops, encouraging families to get close with arts and to experience the beauty of art. In “Edi’s Mime Workshop”, French mime and shadowgrapher Edi Rudo will teach participating families how to manipulate imaginary things, such as touching walls, climbing ladders and pushing heavy objects, and share with them a number of his best magic tricks and audience mime interaction skills. In the “Family Dance Workshop – I Love Balls” by the Changde Modern Dance Company, the instructor Wu Bo will allow participants to explore the different properties of balls through impromptu dance choreography and physical interaction in a relaxed environment with no special requirements. Participants will also join an outdoor interactive performance after they complete the workshop. In the “Ephemeral Windows Creative Workshop”, Italian street artist Barlo and curator Filipa Simões and participants will jointly create a series of illustrations portraying people and their personal stories on rice paper.
Fringe Reviews will continue to bring the audience a different Fringe perspective through a number of exchange activities. In the workshop “Art Reviews 101”, local and overseas experienced instructors are invited to host five sessions of art review classes, allowing participants to interview artists of selected programmes during rehearsals and explore the backstage, enhancing participants’ appreciation, analytical and observation skills of art performances. This workshop is part of the Seed Project of the “Cultural Ambassadors Programme” – an initiative to cultivate talents of cultural promotion. Furthermore, this edition of the Fringe Festival will continue to host the sharing session “Fringe Exchange: Connect with Festivals”. Art festival organisers from the three regions are invited to share their festival experience and cultural environment, providing useful information for art groups and artists who are interested in holding overseas performances.
Registration for all workshops can be made online from 10am on 9 December or by phone from 9am on 11 December, subject to availability. Online registration can be made at www.icm.gov.mo/eform/event. For phone registration and enquiries, please contact IC through tel. no. 8399 6699 during office hours. For more information about the programme, please visit the Fringe Festival’s website at www.macaucityfringe.gov.mo or the “Macao City Fringe Festival” page on Facebook.
