In order to mark this year’s International Museum Day, eighteen Macao museums co-organize the “2016 Macao International Museum Day Carnival”, themed “The Mobile Museum – The Blending of Chinese and Western Cultures in Macao”. The Carnival’s opening ceremony will be held on Sunday, 8 May, at 3pm, at Calçada da Igreja de S. Lázaro. Representatives of the invited cultural entities from Guangdong Province and the Hong Kong Home Affairs Bureau and its respective museums will kick off a series of activities. The ceremony also includes the awards presentation ceremony of the “Photography Contest of the International Museum Day of Macao 2016”. The general public is welcome to the ceremony (in case of severe rain, the ceremony will be held at the Mount Fortress Corridor, located at Caminho dos Artilheiros. The public may refer to the relevant announcements).
The theme of the 2016 Museum International Day is “Museums and Cultural Landscapes”. In consonance with the theme, this year the “Macao International Museum Day Carnival” will create in Bairro de S. Lázaro a “mobile museum”. A series of excellent activities will be inaugurated, including thematic exhibitions such as “Photography Contest of the International Museum Day of Macao 2016”, “Auguste Borget: A Painter-Traveller in Macao”, “Festive Stamps”, “Macao Cultural Heritage Architecture Models”, “Food Ingredients - Plants Exhibition”, among others. These activities also include the workshops “Chinese and Western Cuisines - Mini Clay Models”, “Tea Sets Design”, “Street Name Plates Painting”, “Herbs Planting”, “3-D Macao Cultural Heritage Book DIY”, “3-D Pen Street Name Plate Magnet DIY”, “3-D Holographic Projection DIY”, “On-site Hand Drawing of Cartoon Portrait”, “English Name Drawing and English Calligraphy”, “Architecture x Seal Carving - Engraving Demonstration and Marking Experience”, “Architecture x Woodcut - Woodcut Demonstration and Printing Experience”, “My Loving Heart”, “Workshop - Recreating our Museum in Miniature” and “Wine and Taste”; as well as the seminars “Western Architecture Styles and Characteristics” and “Decoding the Fortress”; and the guided tour “The History of Religious Symbols of St. Lazarus’ Church”. On the same day, outstanding musical and dance performances will be held. T-shirts with thematic prints will also be available. All activities are suitable for families. Also on that day, the Communications Museum offers free distribution and commemorative franking service of postcards.
In addition, each museum organizes a series of activities during the month of May, including workshops on printmaking, clay modelling, tea sets design, street plates painting, seal engraving, herb planting, remote-control boats and stained glass painting, among others; guided tours to churches, gardens, cemeteries and wetlands, among others; as well as seminars by renowned scholars about art and culture topics, among others, thereby presenting the different aspects of the blending of the Chinese and Western cultures in Macao and showcasing its unique characteristics. Special traffic arrangement is made on 8 May. Some of the parking meters and motorcycle parking on adjacent streets are not allowed to use from 10pm on 7 May until the end of the event. For more information about the event, please visit the Macao Museums webpage (www.museums.gov.mo), or follow the Cultural Affairs Bureau and the Macao Government Tourism Office’s WeChat accounts, or call through tel no. 8394 1217 during office hours.