The 31st Macao Arts Festival (MAF), organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from its Portuguese acronym), was inaugurated on 30 April. After a one-year absence, this year’s MAF presents diverse forms of art, including 20 extraordinary programmes and visual arts exhibitions, in a total of about 100 performances and outreach activities, inviting the public to “restart” the journey together.
The opening ceremony was held at 7:40pm on the same day, in the lobby of the Macao Cultural Centre Grand Auditorium and was officiated by the Director of the Department of Publicity and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR, Wan Sucheng; the Counselor and Director of the Department of Public Diplomacy and Information of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao SAR, Zheng Xinyou; the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Mok Ian Ian; the Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office of the Macao SAR Government, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes; the Chairman of the Executive Committee of TDM - Teledifusão de Macau, S.A., Lo Song Man; the President, Chief Strategic and Financial Officer of MGM, Kenneth Feng; the Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors and General Manager of Air Macau Company Limited, Chen Hong; and the Deputy General Manager of Bank of China Macau Branch, Chan Hio Peng. The ceremony was also attended by the Chief of Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Ho Ioc San; the Advisors of the Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Lam Wan Nei and Lo Hou Chi; and the Vice Presidents of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Leong Wai Man and Cheong Lai San
This edition of the MAF presents a wide variety of cultural performances. The grand opening production White Snake takes to the stage on 30 April and 1 May, presented by artists from Lin Zhaohua Theatre Studio from Beijing, interpreting the well-known story intertwined with love and hatred among Fahai, Xu Xian and White Snake in a creative way from the perspectives of the young people. A number of extraordinary programmes are presented in the first week of the Festival, including The Coloane Game by the Dream Theater Association, to be held from 1 to 3 May and from 8 to 9 May, offering guided tours of Coloane, presenting the local customs and drawing the public’s attention to the importance of local history, culture and conservation; the documentary theatre See You through Memories by Soda-City Experimental Workshop Arts Association, to be held from 2 to 6 May and from 8 to 10 May, revealing unknown stories about the old district of Patane.
Meanwhile, the Organizer launches the “Festival restarts and the best yet to come” Lucky Draw from today to 31 May, which is easy to join. Participants are required to follow the Macao Arts Festival’s page on Facebook, like and share the lucky draw post to their personal page, then tag a friend and leave a comment on that post stating: “My most anticipated programme of this edition of the Festival is XXX”. After completing these steps, participants will stand a chance to win fabulous prizes sponsored by various institutions, including economy class Air Macau flight tickets, body massage and F&B coupons at MGM, and free spending credit sponsored by Bank of China. For details, please refer to the respective page on Facebook.
IC will strictly follow the relevant anti-epidemic guidelines of the Health Bureau and implement appropriate measures for cultural activities. All participants must wear face masks, undergo body temperature checks, present a valid “Macao Health Code” of the day, and comply with the crowd control measures. For more information about the programmes, ticket purchase and discounts, please check the 31st Macao Arts Festival booklet (the PDF version can be downloaded at www.icm.gov.mo/fam), follow the respective page on Facebook (search “Macao Arts Festival”), or subscribe to IC’s official WeChat account (IC_Art_Macao). Macau Ticketing Network ticketing hotline: 2855 5555; ticketing website: www.macauticket.com.
