This September, dive into a series of cool and interesting events focused on culture and traditions. From art exhibitions throughout the city to a theater performance, live concerts, the very popular Macao Light Festival, and something traditional–Mid-Autumn Festival–there’s a lot to enjoy around the city! Take the littles ones with you or have a romantic getaway filled with arts and culture in Macau.
Haojiang Moonlight Night – Ethnic Dance Drama Awakening Lion
(See featured image above)
The ethnic dance drama Awakening Lion reflects a spiritual “awakening” materialized in the figure of the “lion”, narrating the story of two teenage lion dance dancers who achieve a self-awakening and growth when making various life decisions, manifesting the spirit of the Chinese nation–fighting bravely for honor and strength. The drama integrates the essence of Lingnan culture, including Southern Fist (Nanquan), Southern Lion Dance (Nanshi), and woodblock narrative singing, seeking to pass on and promote the intangible cultural heritage of the Lingnan region.
The drama presents the lion’s movements in a vivid manner by integrating the horse-riding stance from the Southern Fist and the acrobatics unique to lion dance into the performance. Produced over three years, the dance drama achieves bold innovations in dance, stage design, lighting, music, and costume, and is highly acclaimed by the audience.
When: 7:30pm, Thursday, October 1, 2020
Where: Grand Auditorium, Macao Cultural Centre, Avenida Xian Xing Hai s/n, NAPE, Macau
How much: MOP $100–200 per person
For more information, call +853 8394 3721 and for ticketing, call +853 2855 5555
*Tickets can be purchased from September 3 onwards. Macau ID card holders, full-time students and teacher card holders are offered a 50% discount on the tickets excluding online methods
Macao Light Festival 2020
The Macao Light Festival 2020 is bringing light installations, interactive games and projection mapping shows, accompanied by music, to brighten the city every night between September 26 and October 31, 2020.
Among the highlights of the festival are the projection mapping shows, with projections at heritage buildings in Tap Seac Square featuring as one of the main spots this year. The shows will also “paint” once again the façades of the Macau Yat Yuen Canidrome, formerly a dog racing track; and the Cozinha Pinocchio restaurant at Largo dos Bombeiros in Taipa Village, along with two other new sites on this edition, namely the China Products Company building in Hong Kung Temple Square and the Wong Ieng Kuan Library in Areia Preta Urban Park.
In addition to video mapping shows, different spots along the Nam Van Lake Nautical Centre, Anim’Arte NAM VAN, the Leisure Area at Rua do General Ivens Ferraz in Fai Chi Kei, Taipa Village, and several other locations in the different parishes of the city, are among the 12 sites forming the network of routes for this year’s festival, featuring light installations and interactive games. Along the routes are spots to take selfies and check in on social media.
When: Every day, 7:00pm–10:00pm, September 26–October 31, 2020
Where: Tap Seac Square, Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, Macau, Spots around Taipa Village and Anim’Arte Nam Van, 744B Avenida Panorâmica do Lago Nam Van, Macau
How much: Free admission
For more information, call +853 2833 3000 or check their website
Cinematheque Passion Reopening: “A Love Letter to the Cinema”
Companhia de Produção de Entretenimento e Cultura is Cinematheque Passion’s new management team and they’re creating an event for the reopening of this venue: “A Love Letter to the Cinema”. They’ve selected films from different countries and territories across different eras. Whether classics in film history or masterpieces in their own right, their themes are all related to the cinema. In form or content, they always manage to evoke an indescribable love for the films among film-goers–the director’s fantastical musings across reality and dreams in Otto e Mezzo; the heroine who walks into the big screen to seek her true love in The Purple Rose of Cairo; the memories and nostalgia of growing up with film in Cinema Paradiso; Gene Kelly tap dancing under the lamppost in the rain in Singin’ In the Rain.
All these classic scenes and different narrative styles invite the audience into one film world after another through the mind of every director. Selections for “A Love Letter to the Cinema: Making Films on the Big Screen” include Singin’ in the Rain (Remastered) (1952), Otto e Mezzo (Remastered) (1963), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Cinema Paradiso (Remastered) (1990), Close-up (1990), Center Stage (Remastered) (1992), Goodbye, Dragon Inn (Remastered) (2003), Phantom of Illumination (2017) and Talking the Pictures (2019).
Where: Cinematheque Passion, 13 Travessa da Paixão, Macau
How much: MOP $60 per person
For more information, check the organizer’s official website
Cultural Weekends at the Taipa Houses-Museum & Barra
The Cultural Institute is promoting a series of activities and events this summer taking place at two major locations: in front of A-Má Temple and at the Taipa Houses-Museum. From July till August, a lot of people enjoyed concerts, theatre, performances, and urban wall painting in these areas. The government entity is extending these activities throughout September, so everyone can experience these local performances at iconic spots in both the Macau peninsula and Taipa. The space in front of A-Má Temple–Largo do Pagode da Barra–hosts the following collectives: Macao Chinese Orchestra, Brotherhood Art Association, Long Fund Theatre Association, The Macau Culture and Arts Association, and the Miss White Dance Group, who present a series of shows focusing on Chinese traditional arts, including the Pui Sik Parade, Chinese painting, and dances of the drunken dragon.
The Taipa Houses-Museum surroundings are the chosen grounds for folklore performances by the Macao Orchestra, Concrete/Lotus, Danças e Cantares Portuguesa “Macau no Coração” Association, the Danças e Cantares de Macau group, the Macanese Tune, amongst others. The Carmo Fair is the stage for calligraphy master, Choi Chun Heng, the International Macau Association of Tea Ceremonies, the Macau Chinese Youth Orchestra, and the Bússola de Teatro Criativo Association to present their crafts as well.
When: Saturdays and Sundays, 4:00pm–6:00pm, August 29 and 30, September 5 and 6, 12 and 13, 2020
Where: Largo do Pagode da Barra, in front of A-Má Temple and Taipa Houses-Museum, Avenida da Praia, Carmo, Taipa
How much: Free admission
For more information, check their Facebook page
Macao International Music Festival – For a Special Year
The festival’s program features four community music performances: “Chinese Music Camp” in Iao Hon Garden on 22 August; “Late-Summer Music Camp” in the area next to Flower City Park on 29 August; “Family Music Camp” in the Leisure Area of the Lok Yeong Building on 19 September, at 4:00pm to 7:00pm; and the “Family Fun Music Day” in Dr. Sun Yat Sen’s Municipal Park on 26 September. The last concert, “Family Fun Music Day”, featuring a repertoire of familiar children’s songs, will be held from 3:30pm to 6:30pm, meanwhile, the eco-friendly “Musical Instruments DIY Workshop” and game booths will also be available on the same day, allowing residents to get to know and experience music in a diverse way apart from the concert halls.
The “Street Piano Programme”, which was well-received by the public in last year’s festival, will be back from 1 September to 30 December this year with pianos appearing at various parks and leisure areas in Macau and Taipa, as well as the Macao Science Centre, for residents to play at any time. The pianos will be regularly sanitized with photocatalysts and residents are advised to wear masks and disinfect their hands with alcohol-based hand rub before hitting the keys. Among the popular activities is the “Enjoy Music in Cinema: Screening of Musical Movies”, which features four music movies between September and October, namely This Old Road – Konomichi, Itzhak, Yesterday, and Nelson Freire. Post-screening sessions will be held after each screening.
When: From now till December, 2020
Musical Instruments DIY Workshop registration – from 9:00am, August 17, 2020 onwards
Where: Iao Hon Garden, Dr. Sun Yat Sen Municipal Park, Lok Yeong Building, Flower City Park and other places across the city
How much: Free admission
For more information, check their Facebook page
Credits: Macao Cultural Institute
Exhibition “Pirates in the Waters of Macao (1854-1935)”
The exhibition “Pirates in the Waters of Macao (1854-1935)”, is held from August, 2020 till January, 2021, presenting the phenomenon of piracy in the surrounding waters of Macau and the multiple meanings it had for the city. The word “pirate” conjures up the stereotype of adventures, romances, cruelties, and barbarities, which is a set of social representations cultivated fundamentally by literature and the film industry.
However, with a deeper study, one can see that “piracy” is a particularly complex subject. The exhibition “Pirates in the Waters of Macao (1854-1935)” is a project that aims, on the one hand, to encourage the public and researchers’ interest in the study and investigation of this subject and to give an account of the different dimensions of the phenomenon of piracy as a social practice in a much wider political, economic, social and cultural system; and, on the other hand, to showcase a particularly rich collection of documentation preserved in the Macao Archives.
The exhibition features a selection of over 100 documents, maps, and photographs from the Macau Archives’ collection that addresses the theme of piracy in the Pearl River Delta region, thereby revealing the diversity and thematic amplitude of the documentation, as well as developing knowledge about the multiple meanings of the phenomenon of piracy for Macau in the second half of the 19th century to the first decades of the 20th century.
When: August 19, 2020–January 31, 2021
Where: Macao Archives, 91–93 Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, Macau
How much: Free admission
For more information check the organizer’s official website or click here
A Retrospective of Collaborations with the Palace Museum
“A Retrospective of Collaborations with the Palace Museum” is an exhibition at the 1st-floor gallery of the Macao Museum of Art and that illustrates the achievements of the two decades of collaboration between this museum and the Palace Museum, featuring posters, books, and other documents. There are guided tours available.
When: January 11, 2020–September 27, 2020
Where: Macao Museum of Art, Avenida Xian Xing Hai, NAPE, Macau
How much: Free admission
For more information, check the museum’s website
Unreturned Wanderer – Works by Leong Chi Mou
Leong Chi Mou’s solo exhibition, “Unreturned Wanderer – Works by Leong Chi Mou”, organized by the Macau Art For All Society is part of the “Urban Identity” New Immigrants Artists Exhibition Series. Using Chi Mou as his pseudonym, the original name of the artist is Leong Chi Hou. He was born in China in 1991 and moved to Macau afterward. In 2015, he obtained a Bachelor’s degree from the School of Arts of Macau Polytechnic Institute, major in oil painting.
The language of expressions also adopts the techniques that are popular in the contemporary art industry (dislocation, collage). This work led to mild criticisms and adopted a tension state of mind that both opposes and agrees so that the reserved paraphrase dimension is no longer inappropriate. In this way, viewers are led to a space where they can judge by themselves and are free to extract any imaginations they need from Chi Mou’s works.
When: September 5–30, 2020
Where: AFA, 4F Macau Art Garden, 265 Avenida Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigues, Macau
How much: Free admission
For more information, check the event’s Facebook page
Present Future Film Festival Screening
iCenter presents the 2020 Present Future Film Festival – Macau X Taiwan X Japan. People are always interested in telling the world the ideas in their minds by creating their own videos. Want to know the crazy and funny ideas coming up this year? Fill in the registration form and join their screening sessions in September, 2020 at iCenter–the main session–and the coffee shop sessions, happening in cafés all across the city, including Quarter Square and one at Anim’Arte Nam Van. This festival offers both feature and short films.
These include the following movies: The Valley of Ginsengs, The Three Story of Macau, Metamorphose, Louisa And The Town of Iberis, The Road of Graffiti, For The Disassembled Dolls, Breeze, Fall For You, Lonely Encounter, Somehow It’s Still Like This, amongst many others.
When: Main venue – 2:30pm–6:15pm, Saturday and Sunday, September 19 and 20, 2020
Quarter Square – Saturday and Sunday, September 26 and 27, 2020
Café Seong Chi – Saturday and Sunday, October 3 and 4, 2020
Padaria e Café Faro – Saturday and Sunday, October 10 and 11, 2020
Where: Amateur Continuing Study Centre – iCentre, 258 Alameda Dr. Carlos d’Assumpção, Praça Kin Heng Long, Macau
Quarter Square, 89 Largo Maia de Magalhães, Taipa Village, Macau
Café Seong Chi, Edf. Jardim Kong Fok On, Macau
Padaria e Café Faro, Anim’Arte Nam Van, 744B Avenida Panorâmica do Lago Nam Van, Macau
How much: Free admission
For more information, check the event’s Facebook page. For reservation and screening times, click here
“I Have Wiped the Pen on the Paper So Often It Seems Like a Drawing” – an Exhibition by Rui Rasquinho
The work presented in “I have wiped the pen on the paper so often it seems like a drawing” is the result of the New Visions project by the cultural organization BABEL, which annually presents an artist from Macau and whose central objective is to support contemporary artistic creation as well as to produce a critical discourse capable of placing local creation in a national and global context. In “I have wiped the pen on the paper so often it seems like a drawing” Rui Rasquinho explores the possibilities of drawing. In the entrance lobby of the Orient Foundation, several leaflets on xuan paper are presented, a practice that is already known to the local public and which appears here as a prelude to the questions that arise throughout the remaining three galleries.
The show evolves to work with a more complex definition, first through a diversification of the supports, giving the role of xuan instead of wood and other materials used in construction sites, presented in the second gallery of the exhibition. The third and fourth gallery feature drawing machines (one of which was created in collaboration with Rui Farinha) that pose a variety of questions: what is a drawing? what is an image? what is art? what is authorship?
When: August 20–September 22, 2020
Where: Casa Garden, 13 Praça de Luís de Camões, Macau
How much: Free admission
For more information, check the organizer’s Facebook page
Involuntary Landscapes – New Photography Works by Hugo Teixeira
“Involuntary Landscapes – New Photography Works by Hugo Teixeira” exhibition interprets the author’s attempts to piece together a historical and cultural consciousness lost when his family emigrated from Portugal and settled in California in the 70s. The artistic collection reflects the result of a number of crafted landscape photos from his travels in the California chaparral and the Portuguese montado. In doing so, the present and past serve as lenses through which the other is interpreted.
When: August 5–October 2, 2020
Where: Taipa Village Art Space, 10 Rua Dos Clérigos, Taipa Village
How much: Free admission
For more information, call +853 2857 6118 or check the organizer’s website
Mid-Autumn Festival 2020
The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar. Festive vibes permeate the town where the main streets are decorated with colorful lanterns to celebrate the festival. As one of the most celebrated festivities in Chinese culture, the Mid-Autumn Festival symbolizes a time for a family reunion. Locals enjoy eating mooncakes and offer this sweet pastry as a gift to relatives and friends as a tradition for this occasion.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, families gather for a joyful dinner followed by a night out admiring the beautiful full moon. Others may enjoy a picnic in the garden, by the lake or beach, having mooncakes and fruits that are in season under the moonlight while children play with traditional paper lanterns or more flame-resistant plastic ones that light up.
When: Thursday, October 1, 2020
Where: TBA
How much: Free admission
For more information, check this website
