The mega cultural event “Art Macao” brings an immersive cultural atmosphere with the entire city as an art gallery and art garden, triggering an upsurge of visitors for art appreciation. It drew over 16 million participants in 41 activities at 55 locations in six months. The brand effect of “Art Macao” has continued to increase in the international and neighbouring regions, bringing a new urban experience and exploring a new path for the city’s cultural tourism development.

The “Art Macao” celebration dinner was held on 9 October in the Studio City Event Centre, with a toasting ceremony hosted by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam Chon Weng; the Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR, Xue Xiaofeng; the Deputy Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao SAR, Wang Dong; the Consul-General of Portugal in Macao, Paulo Cunha Alves; the Consul General of Japan in Hong Kong, Mitsuhiro Wada; the Representative and the Cultural Attache of the Consulate General of Italy in Hong Kong, Stefano Fossati; the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Mok Ian Ian; the Acting Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office, Cheng Wai Tong; the Acting Director of the Higher Education Bureau, Chang Kun Hong; the Deputy Director of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau, Kong Chi Meng; the Executive Vice President, Chief Creative and Brand Officer of Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited, Frederic Winckler; the Co-Chairperson and Executive Director of MGM China Holdings Limited, Pansy Ho; the President of Sands China Ltd., Wilfred Wong; the Managing Director and Chief Administrative Officer of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, S.A. (SJM), Angela Leong On Kei; the Vice Chairman and Executive Director of Wynn Macau, Limited, Linda Chih-Ling Chen; the Senior Vice President of Public Relations of Galaxy Entertainment Group, Buddy Lam; and the Assistant General Manager of Nam Kwong (Group) Company Limited, Song Xiaodong, celebrating the event’s success with the participating entities and forging a new path for the city’s cultural and artistic development.

In the dinner, local and international performing groups presented a number of splendid performances; the Macao Chinese Orchestra of the Cultural Affairs Bureau brought enthusiastic folk music performances; Hou Kong Dance Group, Macau Youth Symphonic Band and Japanese dance troupe Fabulous Sisters offered captivating performances. The dinner was held in a lively atmosphere and was attended by people from all walks of life and guests to witness the fruitful results of “Art Macao”.

A mega cultural event is organised with concerted efforts

The first edition of “Art Macao” drew over 16 million participants in 41 large-scale events, including 21 international art exhibitions, 6 outdoor art installations, 11 large-scale performances and 3 international youth festivals at 55 locations across the city, in which a total of 328 artists from 37 countries and regions participated in the events, together with 1,002 outreach activities. Over 17 million tourists visited Macao throughout the course of six-month event, which marked a satisfactory result.

Jointly organised by several departments of the Macao SAR Government, in cooperation with six hotels and integrated resorts and five foreign consulates accredited in Hong Kong and Macao, “Art Macao” reflects the good desire that all social sectors, from the government, enterprises, artists to residents, are keen to participate in this international cultural and artistic feast, while it changes the mode of cultural activities in the past at the same time. This dedication of the whole society is the major force for the sustainable development of cultural undertakings and cultural industries.

A signature art event shapes Macao into a platform for international cultural exchange, extending influence to the Cultured Bay Area

Over the past six months, “Art Macao” launched a series of international exhibitions to develop Macao into a crucial platform for international arts and cultural exchange, and invited various foreign consular corps accredited in Hong Kong and Macao to the city to explore exchange and cooperation. A series of promotional activities on “Art Macao” was also held in several international cities and major tourism markets, attracting numerous well-known media companies to participate, promoting the reputation of “Art Macao”. On the occasion of the 20^th Greater Pearl River Delta Cultural Co-operation Meeting, “Art Macao” hosted a “Gala Dinner” for in-depth exchange and further cooperation opportunities with professionals in the cultural and tourism industries in the Greater Bay Area.

During the event, “Art Macao” received great attention by media and art sector from the Greater Bay Area, who made extensive coverage to the event during their visit to Macao for exhibitions and performances, extending the influence of Macao as a cultural brand in the Greater Bay Area. By giving full play to its advantage in cultural resources, Macao actively participates and promotes mutual development with the cities in Greater Bay Area.

Artistic inheritance brings Macao onto the international stage, bringing culture and arts close by all sectors of the community

During the course of “Art Macao” event, the “Artists’ Talk” invited young artists from different fields to explore how to develop traditional culture in new artistic forms, stimulate and innovate the local artistic development, promote exchanges between artists and people from all walks of life, combine the specific practices of “Art Macao” and explore the future development of culture and art.

In order to promote the popularization of art education, the “Art Macao” launched “Art Tour” in a series of exhibitions, taking the public to visit the important exhibitions, introducing the cultural contents of the works, guiding them to appreciate the art from multiple perspectives and to re-experience Macao from the perspectives of cultural development. Since its launch, the “Art Tour” was well received by the public. Most of the public sessions were fully booked immediately after its launch. Participants were members of social service organisations and institutions, students and teachers from schools and higher educational institutions. Nearly 1,000 participants in 33 sessions were held in two months, which reached an encouraging results.

In addition, the school and public sessions of “Lectures on Cultural Topics x Art Macao” were held, with the theme “public art and installation art”, promoting public participation in culture and arts. During the exhibition period, a number of exhibitions launched guided tours to guide the audience to enjoy the exhibitions from various perspectives. The mobile application “Art Macao” was also launched, allowing residents and tourists to access functions such as route planning, exhibition venue information and photography with a number of graphic patterns. A number of prize games were launched on social media, increasing the interest of public participation.

Under the patronage of the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government, the first edition of “Art Macao” is organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau and the Macao Government Tourism Office and co-organised by the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau and the Higher Education Bureau, Galaxy Entertainment Group, Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited, MGM, Sands China Limited, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, S.A. (SJM), Wynn Macau, Limited, Nam Kwong (Group) Company Limited and foreign consulates. Some of the “Art Macao” events are still available. For more information, please visit the respective webpage at www.artmacao.mo, its official Instagram account “artmacao”, “IC Art” page on Facebook, WeChat account “ICmacao” or mobile application “Art Macao”.