Organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), the Tap Siac Craft Market is held from today to 24 April and from 28 April to 1 May at Tap Siac Square, featuring over 100 original products of cultural and creative brands and a wide range of activities. Residents and tourists are welcome to participate.
The opening ceremony was held on 21 April, at Tap Siac Square, and was officiated by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government, Ao Ieong U; the Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, Yan Zhichan; the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government, Leong Wai Man; the President of the Administration Committee on Municipal Affairs of the Municipal Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government, José Maria da Fonseca Tavares; and the President of Administrative Committee of the Cultural Development Fund of the Macao SAR Government, Cheong Kin Hong. At the opening ceremony, the indie rock band from Mainland China, “EXCUSE ME”, served as a guest band and presented various songs with an independent and distinctive musical style, inaugurating the Tap Siac Craft Market with both visual and auditory splendour in its performance.
The duration of the Tap Siac Craft Market has been increased from three days to four days. The event is scheduled to be held from Thursday to Sunday at Tap Siac Square for two consecutive weeks, featuring over 100 distinctive handicraft and creative gastronomy stalls each week, showcasing and selling a diverse range of cultural and creative products, including daily necessities, clothing and accessories, handicrafts, as well as natural and handmade products. Meanwhile, brilliant music performances by musicians from Macao and Mainland China as well as creative handicraft workshops will be held, allowing residents to have a distinctive leisure, cultural tourism experience.
The Tap Siac Craft Market has become the largest platform in Macao for displaying and selling cultural and creative products since its inception in 2008, drawing the active participation of cultural and creative practitioners from Macao and neighbouring regions. The Tap Siac Craft Market is a cultural and creative project developed under the “Culture and Tourism Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”. Thus, IC will continue to optimise this event, in the hope of establishing it into a cultural industries brand event in the Greater Bay Area. IC also plans to arrange for local handicraft practitioners to participate in the markets held in the Greater Bay Area in order to present Macao’s cultural image as a creative and diverse city to the industry practitioners and the public in Mainland China, thus boosting the cultural and creative exchange and cooperation in the Greater Bay Area.
IC has been strictly following the anti-epidemic guidance of the Health Bureau and implementing appropriate measures for activities. In cooperation with the epidemic prevention works of the SAR Government, there are restrictions on the number of people admitted to the venue. Admissions will be suspended in case of overcrowding. All participants must wear their face masks, undergo body temperature checks, present a valid “Venue QR code” (also known as “Venue code”) and “Macao Health Code” of the day, maintain social distancing, and follow the anti-epidemic and crowd measures on-site.
The Tap Siac Craft Market is open from 5pm to 10pm on Thursdays and Fridays and from 3pm to 10pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Successful applicants are advised to attend the workshops on time. For more information about the event, please visit the “Tap Siac Craft Market” website (www.craftmarket.gov.mo), the “Macao Craft Market” page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/MacaoCraftMarket) or the Cultural Affairs Bureau website (www.icm.gov.mo). For enquiries, please contact Ms Zhou or Ms Lio, staff members of IC, through tel. no. 8399 6289 or 8399 6292 during office hours.
