Main Exhibition and outreach activities of the “Art Macao 2025” will be held next Saturday (19 July) exploring inner aliens and engaging in talks on curatorial philosophy

MACAU, July 11 - The Main Exhibition of the mega international cultural and artistic feast “Art Macao: Macao International Art Biennale” (hereinafter referred to as “Art Macao 2025”) will be held from 19 July to 19 October at the Macao Museum of Art. The Main Exhibition, themed “Hey, what brings you here?”, invites the public to reflect on the history, memory and current complexities of Macao in a global context as well as exploring the nature of life. To extend artistic dialogues, two special activities will be launched on 19 July and the recruitment of “Twin Illusions” volunteers will continue, providing the participants with a unique interactive experience with the audience.

This year’s Main Exhibition brings together 46 participating artists from 13 countries and regions, showcasing nearly 80 sets/pieces artworks across 20 independent spaces in the Museum. It also utilises unconventional exhibition spaces and intersections of the venue to display artworks contextually in different environments, providing a miniature landscape of visual art that allows the public to travel through time and space, in order to feel and experience the diverse integration of the global and Macao cultures.

On 19 June at 3pm, the chief curator of the “Art Macau 2025”, Feng Boyi will host a talk with co-curators Liu Gang and Wu Wei, and artists Song Dong and Xue Feng, to discuss curatorial themes, concepts, and the differences and outcomes in the implementation of each detail of this year’s Biennale as a case study. They will also explore the current state, challenges and difficulties that they faced through the curatorial work, as well as the thoughts, strategies and methods they applied. The talk will be conducted in Mandarin, with simultaneous interpretation in English. On the same day, the participating artist Chan Hung-Lu will host two sessions of the workshop “Exploration of Inner Aliens”, using exhibited artworks and combining meditation practices with AI image generation technology in order to make the participants visualise alienated others in their mind through their mobile phones and to reflect on the origins and differences of these inner aliens. The workshops will be conducted in Mandarin.

In addition, the works of the famous German artist Gregor Schneider will explore the phenomenon of simulation by superimposing situations. The Macao Museum of Art is now recruiting “Twin Illusions” volunteer pairs from today. All interested pairs aged 18 or above, of the same gender, and with similar appearance and height (twins are preferred) are welcome to register. The selected participants will receive training and participate in performances during the exhibition period.

Registration for the abovementioned activities can be made through the “Macao One Account” from today. Art enthusiasts can seize this opportunity to explore the relationship between artistic concepts and practices with local and international artists. The Macao Museum of Art, located on Avenida Xian Xing Hai, is open daily from 10am to 7pm (no admission after 6:30pm), including on public holidays and is closed on Mondays. Admission is free.

Under the patronage of the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government, organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau and co-organised by the Macao Government Tourism Office, Galaxy Entertainment Group, Melco Resorts & Entertainment, MGM, Sands China Ltd., SJM Resorts, S.A. and Wynn Resorts Macau, in collaboration with the Chief curator Feng Boyi, the “Art Macao 2025” is presenting nearly 30 exhibitions across the city in six sections, namely the “Main Exhibition”, the “Public Art Exhibition”, the “City Pavilion”, the “Special Exhibition”, the “Local Curatorial Project” and the “Collateral Exhibition”, from July to October this year.

For more information about the “Art Macao 2025”, please visit the event’s website at www.artmacao.mo, follow the “artmacao” account on Instagram, the “IC Art” page on Facebook, or official WeChat account “IC_Art_Macao”.