Jointly organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government and the Macau Scientific and Cultural Centre of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal, the exhibition “Journeys of Light: Macao Landscape Watercolours from the Macao Museum of Art Collection” was inaugurated in Lisbon, Portugal on 20 April. The exhibition features a total of 50 landscape watercolours by 17 Macao artists from the collection of Macao Museum of Art, presenting the development of local watercolours since 1970s from different perspectives and the city’s ever-changing urban landscapes and residents’ lives.
The opening ceremony was officiated by the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Leong Wai Man; the President of the Macau Scientific and Cultural Centre of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal, Cármen Amado Mendes; as well as the representatives of the participating artists, Poon Kam Ling, Sio In Leong, Ng Wai Kin and Lam Tsz Kwan. The ceremony was held in a lively atmosphere and was attended by the Secretary-General for Education and Science of Portugal, Raúl Capaz Coelho; the Former Governor of Macau, General Vasco Rocha Vieira; the Honorary Consul-General of Portugal in Hong Kong, Ambrose So Shu Fai and his wife; the Rector and Vice-Rector of University of Macau, Yonghua Song and Rui Martins; the President of the Association of Luso-Chinese Merchants and Industrialists, Choi Man Hin; the Director of the Macau Scientific and Cultural Centre Museum, Rui Abreu Dantas; and the Director of the Macao Museum of Art, Un Sio San. The President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau Leong Wai Man addressed in her speech that the exhibition featured both renowned veterans and emerging young artists, some of whom even mentors to other artists, so as to reflect the transmission and innovation of Macao’s art in painting. She also expressed gratitude to the Macau Scientific and Cultural Centre of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal for co-organising the exhibition, in order to provide an exchange opportunity for the artistic circles from both regions.
The watercolours testify to Macao’s numerous historical events in the cultural exchange between East and West. As a crucial bridge of communication between China and Portugal, Macao aims to help foster the spiritual contact between people of the two nations through the exhibition of contemporary watercolours from Macao, in which the familiar ambience of Southern Europe is intertwined with the diverse sceneries of the Lingnan region.
The exhibition “Journeys of Light: Macao Landscape Watercolours from the Macao Museum of Art Collection” is held until 11 August 2023 and is open from 10am to 5:30pm, from Tuesday to Friday, local time, at the Macau Scientific and Cultural Centre in Lisbon, Portugal. Admission is free. For more information, please visit the website of the Macao Museum of Art at www.MAM.gov.mo.