Cheers, Macao! （Lampo Leong & Chao Yang）
“Art Macao: Macao International Art Biennale 2021” was officially inaugurated recently, followed by the successive launch of the Main Exhibition, Special Exhibition of Resorts and Hotels, Creative City Pavilion, Public Art Exhibition, Selected Works by Local Artists and Collateral Exhibition, trigging an upsurge of contemporary art, and creating an immersive cultural atmosphere to the entire city as a gallery and an art garden. The “Creative City Pavilion”, featured in the “Art Macao” for the first time this year, brings together the distinctive cultural essence of four UNESCO Creative Cities, including Macao, the City of Gastronomy; Nanjing, the City of Literature; Wuhan, the City of Design; and Linz, the City of Media Arts. The exhibition “Macao: City of Gastronomy - Bon Appétit!” will be inaugurated on Thursday (22 July) at the Macao Contemporary Art Center - Navy Yard No. 1, kicking off a series of exhibitions in the “Creative City Pavilion”.
Under the main curatorship of the Macao poet, translator and curator Yao Feng, four thematic exhibitions will be held at the Macao Contemporary Art Center - Navy Yard No.1, Tap Seac Gallery and Mong-Ha Villas No. 63-71 and No.55-61. The Organizer hopes to showcase the creative charm and resilience of the four cities through this platform for contemporary visual arts, and to strengthen exchanges and cooperation among member cities.
Macao was designated as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in 2017. The exhibition “Macao: City of Gastronomy - Bon Appétit!” at the Macao Contemporary Art Center - Navy Yard No.1, features 15 pieces/sets of works of 16 artists, including Carlos Marreiros and Konstantin Bessmertny, who each explore the interplay of “food” in relation to society and history in their own unique way and offer the audience a visual feast not to be missed. The awarding works of the romantic composition contest will also be exhibited in the same venue.
The exhibition “Nanjing: City of Literature - Opening Up the Realm” at the Tap Seac Gallery features works of dozens of outstanding poets, novelists, critics and artists of Nanjing, including Su Tong and Zhao Benfu. The works include manuscripts, calligraphies, documentaries, paintings of worms by Zhu Yingchun, and Ding Cheng Pharmacy, allowing the audience to reconsider the realm of life through the literary eyes of Nanjing writers.
The exhibition “Wuhan: City of Design - Empathy” at No. 63–71 Mong-Ha Villas features a number of empathetic works inspired by epidemic prevention, including photography works by the President of the China Photographers Association Li Ge and the artist Luo Xian, as well as sections “Design in the Epidemic”, facemask initiative “Color4Smile” and Art of Fashion Exhibition “Hui．Xin”, focusing on individuals in grand historical events from a micro perspective, and exploring the most dazzling facet of human nature - empathy.
The exhibition “Linz: City of Media Arts - The Art of Interface” at No. 55–61 Mong-Ha Villas features nine sets of media artworks based on interfaces, demonstrating the cutting-edge charm of contemporary interactive art and leading the audience to search for the form and existing meaning of interface.
Established in 2004, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), by selection, gathers cities from all over the world that have identified creativity as a development strategy, in order to promote sustainable economic, social, cultural and environmental development while facilitating cooperation among various cities in the development of creative industries, professional training, and knowledge sharing. Currently, the Network covers seven creative fields, including crafts and folk arts, media arts, film, design, gastronomy, literature and music.
The “Creative City Pavilion” will be held from 23 July. The exhibitions “Macao: City of Gastronomy - Bon Appétit!” and “Nanjing: City of Literature - Opening Up the Realm” will be held until 3 October, while the exhibitions “Wuhan: City of Design - Empathy” and “Linz: City of Media Arts - The Art of Interface” will be held until 24 October.
Admission to the exhibitions is free, and the public is welcome to visit and experience the infinite creativity of each city and the cutting-edge charm of contemporary art. A wide variety of outreach activities will also be available, and the details will be announced later. The Cultural Affairs Bureau will strictly follow the relevant guidelines of the Health Bureau and implement appropriate measures for “Art Macao: Macao International Art Biennale 2021”. Admission to all activities is free.
For more information, please visit the official website at www.artmacao.mo, “artmacao” on Instagram, “IC Art” page on Facebook, and “IC_Art_Macao” on WeChat. For enquiries, please email to creativecity_artmacao@icm.gov.mo or call through tel. no. 8988 4000 during office hours.
