This year is the XV Anniversary of the Instituto Cultural de Macau (Cultural Institute of Macao--[ICM]). They have been fifteen years spent serving the cultural needs of the various communities of Macao, deepening features of the Macanese identity and developing the huge work of cultural exchange between China and Portugal. Created in 1982, during the term of governor Vasco de Almeida e Costa, through the initiative of the then under-secretary for Educação, Turismo e Cultura (Education, Tourism and Culture), Jorge Hagedorn Rangel, ICM was established by Decree-Law no 43/82/M of 4th September to fill a recognised need and to respond to the pressing calls for the definition and implementation of a cultural policy in the Territory.
Its establishment was the result of a natural and positive need to compensate for the low level of cultural initiative within civil society which had become more accentuated in the preceding years due to a loss of any distinct social or cultural rhythm. Some of the reasons behind this can be explained by changes in Macao's sociological framework, the withering of specific Macanese cultural values strictu sensu, and the death of the great Sinologist Luís Gonzaga Gomes, which resulted in the subsequent decline of the two institutions which formed the very core of Macanese cultural life: the Instituto Luís de Camões (Luís de Camões Institute) -- and its "Boletim" ("Bulletin") -- and the Círculo da Cultura Musical (Musical Culture Circle).
Substantially split into two large departmental areas -- a Departamento de Acção Cultural (Department of Culture) --responsible for the overall initiation and execution of dance and theatre events, exhibitions, concerts and recitals, published material and research, etc. -- and a Departamento de Património Cultural (Department of Cultural Heritage) -- responsible for the classification, restoration and preservation of sites of cultural value within the city -- ICM, during its first few years, developed institutional character and creditability, earning a period of respite for the ensuing phase of spectacular growth.
Initiatives which stand out since its creation are the Concurso para Jovens Músicos de Macau (Contest for Young Musicians of Macao), the creation of the Equestrian de Câmara de Macau (Macao Chamber Orchestra) and, later, of the Orquestra Chinesa de Macau (Macao Chinese Orchestra), as well as the launching of the Festival do Ano Novo Lunar (Chinese New Year Festival), later to become the Festival de Artes de Macau (Macau Arts Festival). Since its very inauguration, ICM has also aimed support and incentives at developing culture through the establishment of associations in the territory.
Its growth was devised and intensified within the framework of an administrative structure which at the end of the '80s comprised, alongside a President and Administrative Council, and their respective duties, various administrative support services and specialised centres such as the Núcleo de Pesquisa de Fontes (Centre for Research Sources) -- História Comparada (Comparative History) -- Sector de Tradução (Translation Department), Gabinete de Projectos Especiais (Special Projects Department), Sector Editorial (Editorial Section), "Revista de Cultura" ("Review of Culture") and the Academia de Artes Visuais de Macau (Macau Academy of Performing Arts) embryonic form of the Conservatório (Conservatory), with music, dance and theatre centres.
With the integration of the Biblioteca Central de Macau (Central Library of Macao), Arquivo Histórico de Macau (Historical Archive of Macao), Centro Cultural Sir Robert Ho Tung (Sir Robert Ho Cultural Centre), Livraria Portuguesa (Portuguese Bookshop), and the various initiatives promoting and supporting the spread of the Chinese and Portuguese languages -- Centro de Línguas (Language Centre) and co-ordination of Lectureships for the teaching of geography for the area spanning from India to Japan -- under its control, the Cultural Institute of Macao saw its duties and responsibilities progressively widened. There was a sense of a great flourishing of activity within civil society and the local administration and institutions, but it was without doubt the Cultural Institute of Macao, in a central role, that was the primary catalyst of this cultural expression.
Nineteen eighty-nine represented a time of change and restructuring for cultural policy and the bodies and institutions involved. New conditions were drawn up within a framework aimed at provoking change.
Firstly, attention was given to the terms and spirit of the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration, seminal document for the evolution and transition of Macao and its administration and statute and its integration into the People's Republic of China as a Special Administrative Region.
Furthermore, the number of initiatives began to expand, Macao University launched its academic programme, the association movement started to revive in the context of social expansion, and new bodies and institutions emerged. The Serviços Culturais e Recreativos (Cultural and Recreational Services) of Leal Senado (Macau Municipal Council) was given new life, the Islands Council became involved in promoting cultural initiatives, and the Fundação Macau (Macao Foundation) [FM], Fundação Oriente (Orient Foundation) [FO] and Instituto Português do Oriente (Portuguese Institute of the Orient) [IPOR] were set up.
And within this framework, and the general context of institutional and normative reassessment of the territory's cultural affairs and bodies, a working group under the direct control of the under-secretary for Educação, Saúde e Assuntos Sociais (Education, Health and Social Affairs) and the government of Carlos Melancia (Dispatch of 27th March 1989) was commissioned to study the restructuring of the Cultural Institute of Macau.
"In respect and praise of those values which, specific, distinct and characteristic of the historical entity and communities of Macao, are the substantiation of its distinctness and collective identity."
Thus, Decree-Law no 63/89/M, published in the "Boletim Oficial" ("Official Bulletin") of 25th September 1989, which closed the Comissão do Património Arquitectónico, Paisagístico e Cultural (Architectural, Environmental and Cultural Heritage Commission) and the Sir Robert Ho Tung Cultural Centre (incorporated into the Central Library and the Cultural Instititute of Macau's Cultural Heritage Department) and also restructured the Cultural Institute of Macau, stated in its introduction that: "In this context, it would appear of most value to promote the adaptation of the juridico-institutional structures within the cultural sphere to the new necessities of the present day and the forecasts of its development in the future, through strengthening the identity of the people of Macao, promoting respect for the memory and collective experience of the Territory's Portuguese and Chinese inheritance and emphasising the conditions for the statement and development of cultural values."
In this spirit, therefore, Decree-Law no 75/90/M of 26th December withdrew "[...] the Portuguese Bookshop, the Language Centre and the co-ordination of Lectureships [...] from the Cultural Institute of Macau's control, placing the responsibility for their administrative and financial co-ordination in the hands of Portuguese Institute of the Orient." As a result of this restructuring and redistributing, the Cultural Institute of Macau assumed responsibility for the organisation and realisation of the Festival Internacional de Música de Macau (Macau International Music Festival), one of the territory's most noted and respected cultural events, both inside and outside the territory.
In an effort to adapt it to the necessities of the transition period, the Cultural Institute of Macau was restructured a further and last time through Decree-Law no 63/94/M of 19th December by the government of Vasco Rocha Vieira.
During the last fifteen years, the Cultural Institute of Macau has been characterised by its extraordinary level of activity and its untiring efforts to integrate and realise initiatives in all possible areas and cultural vocations, as summed up by the saying: "If it is cultural, we are interested."
Besides the specific work continued and developed by each of its departments, the Cultural Institute of Macau has become associated with the organisation of highly important cultural events, some of which have been well-publicised internationally, as was the case with the recent Concurso Internacional de Música Vianna da Motta (Vianna da Motta International Music Contest) held in June this year.
There is no space here to refer, even in summary, to the principal initiatives and activities for which it has been responsible during the last fifteen years. One thing remains indisputable, however. The expansion of the Cultural Institute of Macau can be directly attributed to the social and cultural growth of Macao.
The expansion of the Cultural Institute of Macau marks the dividing line between two very distinct eras. With its arrival, something new, different and qualitative was introduced into Macao. With its expansion, Macao carried more weight, both within and beyond its borders. Its cultural associations became better known as did its authors and artists. Through its actions, the concept of 'City of Culture' became a more viable proposition for Macao, a city for which the Cultural Institute of Macau was many times a flag-bearer.
The memory of the dedication, competence and loving work of the many who have helped in the success of this institution should be remembered, to which we add, humbly, that it has given us great pride to have contributed to the work of an institution that has made its mark on Macao, Portugal and China.
Gabriela Pombas Cabelo
President of the Cultural Institute of Macao
King Dom João Ⅲ[°1521-†1557](with St. John the Baptist) and Queen Catherine of Austria [°1507-†1578](with St. Catherine) Adoring. CRISTÓVÃO LOPES (Attributed to). Lateral panels of a triptych. Oil on canvas. Mid sixteenth century. Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (National Museum of Ancient Art) collection Lisbon.
In: MOURA, Vasco Graça, O Tratado de Tordesilhas, Lisboa, Correios, Telégrafos e Telecomuniações, 1994, p.89.
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