Organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the 22nd Macao City Fringe Festival was inaugurated today (17 January) at the Former Iec Long Firecracker Factory. The opening ceremony was attended by the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Leong Wai Man; the Vice President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Cheang Kai Meng; the Head of Division of Performing Arts of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Chan Shuk Mei of the Cultural Affairs Bureau; and representatives of art groups participating in this year’s Fringe Festival. The participatory exhibition “Art Exhibition for All” was also inaugurated on the same day, followed by the launch of a range of programmes throughout the community, upholding the concept of “All around the city, our stages, our patrons, our artists”, while introducing audiences from all walks of life to a wider range of art creations.
This edition of the Fringe Festival features 17 extraordinary programmes and a series of outreach activities, including the opening programme 25 Feet, an immersive performance integrating dance and interactive experiences, to be staged at the Black Box Theatre II of the Macao Cultural Centre at 7:45pm for two consecutive days starting today, inviting the audience to explore the boundaries of interpersonal relationships through interactive experiences. The participatory exhibition “Art Exhibition for All” is held from today until 22 January and from 23 to 28 January at the Former Iec Long Firecracker Factory and the Areia Preta Urban Park (near the Health Centre) respectively, providing a platform for the public to showcase their creative works by setting up large circus tents. All are welcome to participate.
Other programmes of the Fringe Festival are also included. In Goodbye, See You Soon, creator Lei Sam I shares real stories of pets and owners. In A City of Visible Music, several local musicians will travel through the Outdoor Plaza of Ponte 16 Macau, Roman Amphitheatre square of Macau Fisherman’s Wharf and Broadway Food Street in a day, presenting live concerts and a flash mob radio station. Made by Beauty will engage the audience in a vote for beauty to explore universal concepts of physical attractiveness. In the show Let the Flower in Your Heart Bloom of the Crème de la Fringe: SilverARTS Festival, Chinese dance instructors and choreographers Stella Ho and Leong Iek Kei will lead the audience to explore their unfulfilled dreams through the art of dance; in conjunction with the performance, the Mandarin’s House will close at 2pm on 19 January. In the show FreeSteps – Swinging Years, ten elderly dancers from Taiwan will join hands with the audience to tell stories through their dance.
The Fringe Festival also features a number of outreach activities. In the narrative photography exhibition “Likewise”, the public can bring along their pets and listen to the touching story behind the pet-themed photographic works. The “Roundtable Discussion: Dancing and Living with the Body Through the Years” will invite artists from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to visit Macao and to share about their creative ideas, processes and experiences of working with elderly artists. The “At Your Doorstep” exhibition will showcase the verses and lyrics featured in Travelling at Your Doorstep as well as paintings and images jointly created by gardeners and residents. The handpan sessions will allow visitors to immerse themselves in the dulcet music and cleanse their souls in the urban greenery.
Tickets for the 22nd Macao City Fringe Festival are now on sale through the Macau Ticketing Network, telephone and online booking (local and overseas). 24-hour ticketing hotline: 2855 5555; ticketing website: www.macauticket.com. Limited tickets are still available for some of the programmes and the public is advised to purchase as soon as possible. Registration for the outreach activities can be made through “Activity applications” of the Macao One Account (activity.mo.gov.mo/activity-h5/activity-list-web). For enquiries, please contact IC through tel. no. 8399 6872 during office hours. For more information about the programmes, please visit the Fringe Festival’s website at www.macaucityfringe.gov.mo, the “Macao City Fringe Festival” page on Facebook, IC’s WeChat official account “IC_Art_Macao”, or the Macao activities website “Enjoy Macao”.
