Under the patronage of the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government, the 3^rd “Encounter in Macao - Arts and Cultural Festival between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries”, organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym) and co-organised by the Macao Government Tourism Office, is held from November to December in order to promote the cultural and artistic cooperation and exchange between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. It includes the Lusofonia Festival, the Traditional Music and Dance Performance in the Community, the China and Portuguese-speaking Countries Film Festival, the Annual Arts Exhibition between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, The Belt and Road Cultural Talk Series - Samba and Dance, and the Taipa Houses 100^th Anniversary Activities, and the Festival has presented nearly 100 activities to the public until now. The Annual Arts Exhibition between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries is held until 31 December. All members of the public are welcome to visit.

Experience the Sino-Portuguese culture and art, bringing the festive atmosphere to the attractions and the communities

The Arts and Cultural Festival between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries has provided a rich and colourful experience of Sino-Portuguese culture and art. 8 passionate traditional music and dance performances were held at Largo Eduardo Marques, Coloane, Barra Square, Ruins of St. Paul’s, and Iao Hon Market Park. These enthusiastic performances presented by the local Portuguese-speaking performance groups brought a festive atmosphere into the world heritage sites and the communities.

The two talks “Feminist Literature in the Portuguese-speaking African Countries” and “Brazilian Literature and the Image of Brazil in the World of Literature” under “The Belt and Road Cultural Talk Series - Samba and Dance”  went on a journey through Portuguese literature with the audience, from the extraordinary feminist literature in the Portuguese-speaking African Countries to the panorama of Brazilian literature and its subtle changes, in order to display the unique literary aspects of the Portuguese-speaking world.

To celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the Taipa Houses, the “Guided Tours at Taipa Houses” and the “Paper Cut Light Box DIY Workshop” brought the citizens onto a journey through Portuguese customs and features. Through making distinctive and architecture-themed lanterns, the citizens could know and understand more about the history of the Taipa Houses. In addition, IC also launched a limited edition of the 100^th Anniversary of Taipa Houses-shaped three-dimensional memo pads, which were very popular among the members of the public.

Explore Macao and the artistic relationship between China and Portuguese-speaking countries through movies

Themed “The Gourmet of Cinema”, this edition of the “China and Portuguese-speaking Countries Film Festival” was divided into three sections, namely “Contemporary China & Portuguese-speaking films”, “Macao shorts about food & life” and “Flavors of China & Portuguese-speaking Countries”, bringing together 30 gastronomy-related films and works. The Film Festival collaborated with local restaurants to offer promotional activities, themed souvenirs and even Chinese and Portuguese Cuisine Workshops, in which professional chefs guided participants to make traditional Portuguese snacks and classic dishes of Macao restaurants. These activities, as well as the post-screening talks and the theme lectures, allowed the audience to experience cinema and food from multiple angles from the screen to the dining table.

The “Annual Arts Exhibition between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries”, which features two exhibitions “Symbiosis” and “Embrace of Diversity”, has assembled 27 artists from Portuguese-speaking countries, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Macao with a total of 81 pieces/sets of works in a variety of formats. The exhibitions provide a platform for the participating artists to facilitate art exchanges among different regions, and at the same time showcase the diversity and charm of contemporary visual arts in China and Portuguese-speaking countries to the audience.

Lusofonia Festival aims to promote a festive atmosphere in the city

This year’s Lusofonia Festival, Arts and Cultural Festival between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries and other cultural and artistic activities, along with various tourism and sports events in Macao, have provided the public with a richer cultural and tourism experience and thus revealed the humanistic perspective of Macao, a city with a diverse and inclusive culture. The 24^th Lusofonia Festival was held for 3 days. Different booths of Macao Portuguese-speaking communities from 10 countries and regions, namely Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Goa, Daman and Diu, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, East Timor and the Macanese community, were set up to present gastronomy, games, music and dance performances by local Portuguese-speaking artistic groups, and Kirin dance (dragon dance), one of the items on Guangdong’s provincial-level intangible cultural heritage list, enabling the audience to experience the rich and colourful culture and traditions of Portuguese-speaking countries.

To enable the public in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and other regions in mainland China to understand and participate in Macao’s cultural and arts activities, IC, in addition to local promotion, has also published the information of the Arts and Cultural Festival between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries through social media such as WeChat and Xiaohongshu. In this way, the tourists get to understand and experience Macao’s role as a platform for cultural exchange between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. IC will continue to organise different types of activities to facilitate the development of a cultured bay area.

With the full support of all supporting entities, the activities of this year’s “Encounter in Macao - Arts and Cultural Festival between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries” have been carried out one after another successfully. Among all, the two featured exhibitions “Symbiosis” and “Embrace of Diversity” in the “Annual Arts Exhibition between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries” will run until 31 December in Macao Contemporary Art Center - Navy Yard No. 1 (Rua de S. Tiago da Barra) and Tap Seac Gallery  (Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, n.º 95).

For details of the 3^rd “Encounter in Macao - Arts and Cultural Festival between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries”, please visit its webpage at www.icm.gov.mo/FCP, follow “IC Art” on Facebook or “IC_Art_Macao” on WeChat. IC has been strictly following the relevant epidemic prevention guidelines of the Health Bureau and made proper arrangements for art and cultural activities. Participants must wear their own face masks, will have their body temperature measured, and need to show their health code of the day and cooperate with the measures of people control.