It is with great enthusiasm that we present the debutant edition of “Art Macao”.

The project we are now unveiling is a more ambitious experience, based on the established good synchronization between culture and tourism we have been developing in Macao. Anchored on Macao’s over 450 years of east-meets-west heritage listed by UNESCO, along with our calendar of events and festivities, culture has been all along a main ingredient in shaping Macao as a dynamic city and tourism destination. In recent years, we have been pushing forward the coordination of initiatives in order to link some of the main elements our city has to offer, including heritage, events, gastronomy, and more, to enrich the city’s cultural life and appeal. “Art Macao” brings this attuning of efforts one step forward, presenting an enhanced version of culture and tourism cooperation, in consonance with the Macao Special Administrative Region’s (Macao SAR) objective to build a city with quality for living and travelling, as we develop Macao into a world centre for tourism and leisure.

With “Art Macao” we are introducing a comprehensive citywide arts event, involving a broad array of stakeholders. The project is a perfect example of public and private, local and international, professional and amateur partnership, which combines a multitude of art forms to suit different interests and expectations, brought to us by government, major tourism operators, professional meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) companies, consulates, educational institutions, among others. Under the patronage of the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government, the several entities involved are working together to place under the same umbrella of “Art Macao” many of our arts and music festivals, while also bringing in a myriad of new art exhibitions and performances to traditional and non-traditional venues, adding new life to the city.

I sincerely invite our residents and visitors to experience “Art Macao” over the half-year of the event, and witness Macao as a base for exchange and cooperation where Chinese culture is the mainstream and diverse cultures coexist, as aimed on the “Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”.

Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes

Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office of the

Macao S.A.R. Government