Organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), various activities of the 6th “Encounter in Macao – Arts and Cultural Festival between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries” have successfully concluded. This edition of the event upheld the mission of intensifying mutual learning among civilisations, embracing heritage and innovation, and enhancing pluralistic dialogues and bonds among peoples. This year’s Festival was once again held in parallel with the “Lusofonia Festival”, featuring 70 sessions of programmes and outreach activities in seven series from October to December, counting with the participation of over 700 artists and performers at various venues including revitalised historical spaces, cultural heritage buildings, local neighbourhoods and modern theatres, revealing the splendour of cultural integration between different regions and attracting nearly 70,000 participants until today.
The “2024 GEG Lusofonia Festival”, jointly organised by IC and Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG), was held at Taipa Houses for an extended period of two weekends for the first time this year, with a focus on the cultures of Goa, Damão and Diu, which featured local specialities and art of body painting as well as captivating performances by a number of performing groups from the Portuguese-speaking countries and over 30 Portuguese-speaking art troupes from Macao. Through a wide array of booths, performances, gastronomy and games, the Festival showcased Macao's unique appeal featuring a blend of Chinese and Portuguese cultures and drew in around 38,000 participants.
This edition of the “GEG Traditional Music and Dance Performance in the Community” was also held for an extended period of two weeks, featuring 14 sessions of lively performances by the artistic group “Guangdong Zhongshan Torch Singing and Dance Troupe” from Mainland China and eight art troupes from the Portuguese-speaking countries and regions, namely Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, East Timor and Goa, Daman and Diu, in different districts such as the Iao Hon Market Park, the Galaxy Macau™ Diamond Lobby and Crystal Lobby, the Ruins of St. Paul’s and Carmo Fair in Taipa.
Themed “Forest Carnival”, the Chinese and Portuguese Picture Book Fair showcased and sold more than 500 picture books and children’s books at the Nostalgic House of Taipa Houses for 10 consecutive days. Featuring the largest children’s book publisher from Portugal, Porto Editora, Beijing Cheerful Century Co. Ltd. from Beijing, and children’s book publishers from Macao, the book fair gave the public a deeper understanding of publications from China and the Portuguese-speaking countries and attracted over 2,800 visitors to experience the joy of reading together. The event also introduced the large-scale activity “Picture Books Reading by 100 People” for the first time, where experienced readers led participants to explore the joy of picture book reading, further promoting Macao’s development as a “City of Reading”.
This year’s “China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries Film Festival”, themed “Creating an Interesting Contrast”, featured five sections, namely “Dual Screening Delight I.—Director in Focus: Guan Hu X Miguel Gomes”, “Dual Screening Delight II.—A Tale of Two Cities”, “Premiere of Chinese and Lusophone Films”, “Chinese-Portuguese Short Films”, and “Outdoor Screening—New Visual Forces in Macao”, presenting nearly 30 films from China (including Macao) and the Portuguese-speaking countries and regions, creating a series of thrilling and interesting dialogue and exchange. The Film Festival also featured outdoor screenings at the reopened Lai Chi Vun Shipyards, complemented by post-screening sharing sessions, workshops and other outreach activities to broaden the horizons of local audiences and film and television industry professionals. The event was met with strong support and participation from the public and film enthusiasts.
The concert “Tito Paris Concert with the Macao Chinese Orchestra”, as part of this edition of the Festival, specially invited Tito Paris, a musician, composer and singer from Cape Verdean, in collaboration with Zhang Lie, the Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Macao Chinese Orchestra, in skillfully and delicately re-arranging several of Tito Paris’ personal compositions, perfectly blending different Chinese and Western musical styles, showcasing the harmonious fusion of Sino-Portuguese culture to music lovers. The concert was highly acclaimed by the public.
Jointly organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau and Wynn Resorts (Macau) S.A., the “Memories‧Legacies‧Mutations–Annual Arts Exhibition between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries” was held on a larger scale compared to last year, featuring over 20 artists from Macao, Mainland China, Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, and East Timor. More than 130 pieces/sets of artworks were displayed at the Exhibitions Gallery of Taipa Houses and the Macao Museum of Art, respectively, covering a wide range of genres including paintings, videos and multimedia interactive installations. The exhibition is held until 9 February 2025 and presents a new contemporary art context formed by the cultural fusion through the artworks that link the past, the present and the future, leading the public to reflect on the continuity and diversity of cultures.
The “Encounter in Macao – Arts and Cultural Festival between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries” received extensive media coverage and was widely shared by artists on various platforms, allowing residents and visitors to experience the charm of Macao as a city of Sino-Portuguese cultural and artistic encounter. IC also introduced the highlights of the Festival through various channels, such as live streams of Greater Bay Area media outlets, the WeChat official account and Xiaohongshu, in order to further enhance the visibility of this cultural experience brand, provide audiences in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and other regions in Mainland China with an opportunity to learn about and participate in Macao’s cultural and artistic activities, and foster cultural ties among people in the region.
As a cultural and artistic link between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries, Macao further builds a platform for their cultural exchanges and cooperation. Meanwhile, through the construction of the “Culture City of East Asia”, it contributes to its development as “a base for exchange and cooperation where Chinese culture is the mainstream and diverse cultures coexist”. The 6th “Encounter in Macao – Arts and Cultural Festival between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries” counts with the support from the Macao Government Tourism Office, Municipal Affairs Bureau, TDM – Teledifusão de Macau, S.A. and Air Macau Company Limited.
For more information about the activities, please visit the Festival’s official webpage at www.icm.gov.mo/FCP, the “IC Art” page on Facebook, or the WeChat official account “IC_Art_Macao”.