The 21st Macao City Fringe Festival, organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), will be held from 12 to 23 January, featuring 20 extraordinary programmes and 15 outreach activities. Adopting the concept of “All around the city, our stages, our patrons, our artists”, this year’s Fringe Festival will continue to bring art into the community and retain the participatory exhibition “Art Exhibition for All”, to offer the public a space to display creativity and talent. Interested parties are welcome to submit artworks or improvise on the spot.
“Art Exhibition for All” will be held at the space next to Flower City Park from 12 to 17 January and then move to the Leisure Area at Praça das Orquídeas from 18 to 23 January. All interested parties can submit their artworks together with a completed application form to the Cultural Affairs Bureau Building located at Tap Siac Square during office hours from 4 to 10 January, at the space next to Flower City Park between 12pm and 8pm on 11 January, or at the exhibition sites from 12 to 23 January. Creativity comes first, regardless of forms and themes. An improvisation zone will also be available on-site for members of the public to unleash their creativity, showing that everyone can be an artist. Application forms can be downloaded from the IC’s website at www.icm.gov.mo or the Fringe Festival’s website at www.macaucityfringe.gov.mo.
This year’s Fringe Festival will offer an array of wonderful programmes, bringing a brand-new artistic experience to the audience. The Sound Theatre Back Home from the Edinburgh Fringe Showcase, held in General Ye Ting’s Former Residence, is a unique participatory performance in which the audience will act as the characters to narrate the stories, transcending the artistic boundaries of the past and demonstrates the charm of theatre. In the show Dancing Veins of “Crème de la Fringe: Todos Fest!”, the elderly will share their memories of Macao with the audience through dance, showing their creative flair. Using the Danceability method and symbiotic dance elements, the show Body-Specific! of “Crème de la Fringe: Todos Fest!” will allow the audience to enjoy dances created with unique physical characteristics. In addition, the audience of the show Tenant of “Crème de la Fringe: Iao Hon” will act as tenants and look for apartments for rent, to experience the stories and changes of Iao Hon in person. The show Passerby of “Crème de la Fringe: Iao Hon” is a box theatre performance, which will review the changes of Iao Hon while imagining its future. The outreach activity “Not Junk Mail” will record the appearances and stories of Iao Hon on postcards and send them to different corners of the city. Another outreach activity “Iao Hon Pop-up Store” will connect the whole community with a hawker stall and enable passers-by and people from the Iao Hon neighbourhood to exchange stories with second-hand items.
Tickets for the 21st Macao City Fringe Festival are available at the Macau Ticketing Network. Online registration for outreach activities can be made at www.icm.gov.mo/eform/event. For phone registration and enquiries, please contact the IC through tel. no. 8399 6872 during office hours. From now until 5 January 2022,all participants will have the chance to win fabulous prizes in the Journey of “Margin Break” Lucky Draw on the Fringe Festival’s Facebook page. For more information about the programmes, please visit the Fringe Festival’s website at www.macaucityfringe.gov.mo or the Facebook page “Macao City Fringe Festival”. In response to the SAR Government’s epidemic prevention measures, all participants must wear masks, undergo temperature checks, and present their valid Macao health code upon entry.