On 19 March, it marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Macao Museum of Art (MAM) of the Cultural Affairs Bureau. On occasion of the 20th anniversary of Macao’s Handover to China and the 20th anniversary of the Macao Museum of Art this year, the Museum specially organizes a series of events and activities, including large-scale thematic exhibitions, publication of an album of works selected from its collections, promotion of the “Youth Internship Programme at Palace Museum” and a series of thematic talks and promotional activities in arts education. All are welcome to participate.
The exhibition “Masterpieces of Russian Art from the State Tretyakov Gallery”, which was inaugurated in January and will end on 22 April, has attracted over 10,000 visitors, with favourable feedback received for its various outreach activities such as expert guided tours, thematic talks, workshops and games with prizes. The exhibition “Strolling and Feeling: Watercolour Paintings of Lai Ieng”, to be inaugurated on 22 March, will feature Macao’s landscape paintings by local painter Lai Ieng.
The much-anticipated “Italian Renaissance Drawings from the British Museum” kicks off on 11 April at the MAM, featuring 52 works by Italian Renaissance artists including the Big Three, from the collections of the British Museum, one of the world’s top five museums. “Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 20th Anniversary of Macao’s Return to the Motherland Beauty in the New Era——Masterpieces from the Collection of the National Art Museum of China”, to be inaugurated in early May, is jointly organized by the MAM and the National Art Museum of China. This exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of the development of contemporary Chinese fine art through masterpieces by contemporary masters such as Qi Baishi, Fu Baoshi and Li Keran, among others. In the second half of 2019, the MAM plans to present paintings by Chen Zhifo, a famous 20th-century Chinese fine brushworks painter of birds and flowers painting and a pioneer of Chinese arts and crafts. These three exhibitions are part of the series of activities of the “Art Macao”, a mega-event which allows the audience to experience the charm of traditional Chinese culture and multiculturalism through the introduction of art collections with a brand effect.
In response to the national initiative of encouraging cultural exchange between countries and regions along the Belt and Road and the development of Macao as a major hub on the Maritime Silk Road, the MAM is planning on working with the Palace Museum again to jointly hold a large-scale exhibition of cultural relics under the relevant theme. It will be the largest exhibition ever held by the Museum and is of great significance.
With great emphasis attached on arts education since its inception, the MAM has organised a variety of activities, including seminars, talks, guided tours, courses, workshops and concerts, turning itself into an interactive learning space which embraces diversity. The MAM will continue to expand its service for a wider range of users by launching a research project on barrier-free design this year with an aim of bringing arts close by different groups of visitors and enriching people’s lives. This year, the MAM will continue to launch the “Youth Internship Programme at the Palace Museum” for youth in the Greater Bay Area. Registration for Macao higher education students will be open soon. In addition, the MAM will continue to hold a number of art courses for art lovers and launch family activities every month, allowing families to experience the beauty of art in practice.
On this 20th anniversary, the MAM will also publish the Selected Works from Collections of the Macao Museum of Art in March and launch thematic souvenirs to celebrate the event. The publication presents an overview of its collections in six chapters which have been acquired over the past 20 years: “Historical Pictures”, “Guangdong Paintings and Calligraphy”, “Ceramics”, “Macao Images”, “Art of Macao” and “Performance Art”. More information will be announced in due course at www.MAM.gov.mo.
Established on 19 March 1999, the MAM is currently the largest exhibition space for visual arts in Macao. Over the past 20 years, it has created countless wonderful memories for Macao citizens. The Museum currently has more than 16,000 sets of collection. It has held more than 450 exhibitions and has published about 260 exhibition albums, thesis collections and educational pamphlets.