As the only women artist international biennial, ARTFEM targets to contribute to greater visibility of women artists in the contemporary world and to a (re)discovery of the art of women who have played a socially and culturally significant role, gearing local arts towards international standards and bringing more dynamic and plentiful artistic experiences to the public and tourists. The work by women artists is increasingly showcased internationally; other Biennales of the past also had the merit to expose the need for female institutional representation, even if these outstanding projects did not survive the test of time. ARTFEM is devoted to being an exception, by maintaining the project in a city renowned as the location of important international events.
Following the success of ARTFEM 2018, with over 100 works from established and emerging artists from the five continents, ARTFEM 2020 features 142 works created between 2018 and 2020 by 98 women from 22 countries who are working actively as artists. 13 of the participating artists are from China, 16 from Portugal, 31 from Macau, seven hail from Hong Kong, two from South Korea, one from Japan, but also from Indonesia, France, Spain, the US, Canada, and many others.
This multimedia show displays painting, sculpture, ceramics, installation, drawings, silkscreen on diverse media, video, and photography. The exhibition aims to bring to the fore urgent discourses on the environment, including its protection or devastation, the relationship of humanity with nature, while containing a localizing “gaze” onto social aspects that result from its location in Macao SAR, the Pearl River Delta Region and the COVID-19 pandemic crisis that affected the world since December 2019.
The curatorial team dispersed the show in the Macau Peninsula to allow a “biennale feeling” to its viewers, who wander around town while searching for artworks. While the curatorial intention considered occupying and intervening in the public space, the COVID-19 crisis has provoked that the exhibitions happen solely indoors.
ARTFEM’s curatorial team is comprised of Arch. Carlos Marreiros, President of ARTFEM Organizing Committee and Head Curator for this edition, and co-curated by China-based Angela Li, who brings a Chinese-focus; the Macau-based duo Alice Kok and James Chu, who selected local Macau artists as well as Hong Kong ones, and Leonor Veiga, a Macau SAR Permanent Resident who curated, along with Carlos Marreiros the international selection of artists. In the meantime, renowned Chinese artist Xiang Jing and Macau artist Un Chi Iam are the Godmothers of 2020 ARTFEM.
2020 ARTFEM Women Artists International Biennial of Macau is open on September 30th until December 13th, 2020, and will be held in four separate art spaces in Macau, including Albergue SCM, Former Municipal Cattle Stable, Galeria Lisboa, and Orient Foundation with a mix of seminars, workshops, and tours, so to encourage the participation of artists, public and tourists. The admission is free.
When: September 30–December 13, 2020
Where: Gallery A2, Albergue SCM, 8 Calçada da Igreja de S. Lázaro, Macau
How much: Free admission
For more information, check the event’s Facebook page, send an email to [email protected] or call +853 2852 2550, +853 2852 3205
Artist Xiang Jing
