Tap Seac Gallery

The Tap Seac Gallery was established with the mission to further public appreciation for the arts in Macao and to stimulate the creativity of the local residents. Not only has this institution been able to accomplish its goal, it has also become an important showcase for art from abroad.

Inaugurated on December 5, 2003 and run by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government, the Tap Seac Gallery hosts visual arts exhibitions and promotes a series of varied cultural events.
The gallery contains approximately 500 square metres of exhibition space divided into two parts, front and back. In the centre of the venue is an enclosed patio that lets in natural light with a short flight of steps joining the front and back sections.

The front half is the main exhibition space, while the back half is used variously for exhibitions, discussions, lectures or other activities. The gallery is equipped with computers connected to the Internet enabling visitors to access additional information on culture and the arts. Closed only for the installation and removal of exhibitions or for building maintenance, the gallery is open seven days a week throughout the year, including public holidays.

The Building

The Tap Seac Gallery is located at No. 95 Avenida do Conselheiro Almeida Ferreira. The noble cultural venue is housed in an historic building with a European façade. The earthen-yellow and brick-red outer walls match wooden louvers, and window tracery design and the Moorish arched doors form decorated vertical elements. The two cornices on the front elevation sport parapets, and top frontispiece pediments give the building a distinctly European, neo-classical flair. This large, two-storey detached house and the buildings that surround it all date from the 1920’s and make up an integral part of the Tap Seac Historic District.

The building is a typical example of an upper-class family residence in Macao. After the main house was built another building was constructed behind it. When the facility was converted to an art gallery, these buildings were joined together, but to preserve historic elements, the two inner walls that originally separated the two structures were left intact and in place.