The mega international cultural and artistic event “Art Macao: Macao International Art Biennale 2025” (hereinafter referred to as “Art Macao 2025”) will be held from July to October this year. The event, jointly developed by the Macao SAR Government and various sectors,brings together global creativity and has become a landmark cultural tourism brand of the city, injecting strong momentum into Macao’s development toward “One Centre” and “One Base”.

Under the patronage of the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government, organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym) and co-organised by the Macao Government Tourism Office, Galaxy Entertainment Group, Melco Resorts & Entertainment, MGM, Sands China Ltd., SJM Resorts, S.A. and Wynn Resorts Macau, the “Art Macao 2025” is presenting nearly 30 exhibitions across the city in six sections, namely the “Main Exhibition”, “Public Art Exhibition”, “City Pavilions”, “Special Exhibition”, “Local Curatorial Project” and “Collateral Exhibition”. Highlighting pioneering artists from about a dozen countries and regions, the event innovates artistic narratives, revitalises historical spaces, engages with community dynamics and inspires cultural vitality, transforming Macao into a city of Muses where life and art resonate in harmony.

Chief curator Feng Boyi takes on an exploration of art and philosophy

Chief curator Feng Boyi has taken the simple everyday phrase “Hey, what brings you here?” as the theme for the “Main Exhibition”, which will open at the Macao Museum of Art on 19 July. It engages in a philosophical discourse on art, reflecting and exploring the history, memory, and current complexity of Macao in a global context, and features nearly 80 cutting-edge works created by 46 artists from 13 countries. The curatorial team fully utilises the venue for setting up, naming, and interpreting everyday life environments, and folding out the personal journeys of the artists. This exhibition serves as an anchor, microcosm and container for “locality” within globalisation. It also extends into non-exhibition public spaces, such as restrooms, corridors and back windows, creating a unique narrative across up to twenty different spaces through angles, gaps and external elements. By showcasing works created in different media from paintings, sculptures, installations, videos, photography and artificial intelligence, the exhibition raises the ultimate iterative question of “Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going?”, taking visitors on a journey of exploring the profound meaning of the symbiosis between the individual and the world.

Feng Boyi is a renowned independent curator, a crucial trailblazer in Chinese contemporary art, and a researcher at the Institute of Art Sociology of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. He once served as the Art Director of the He Xiangning Art Museum and the Suzhou Jinji Lake Art Museum. Feng Boyi was honoured with the Curator of the Year award of the “Art Power List” in both 2010 and 2016, and received the Curator of the Year award of the 12^th “AAC Art China” in 2017 and 2018. His focus encompasses marginal and alternative arts, as well as the experimental, critical and practical nature of Chinese contemporary art. Feng wrote numerous papers and review articles and has curated influential exhibitions at home and abroad, such as Reinterpretation – The First Guangzhou Triennial of Contemporary Art, Cross-Strait Art Exchange Programmes and the Wuzhen International Contemporary Art Invitation Exhibition.

Public artworks facilitate mutual exchange and appreciation among cultures

The “Public Art Exhibition” section, themed “Waves & Ways”, integrates the historical, present, and everyday spaces of the Macao SAR into the urban fabric and daily life. Through five art pieces/sets of works created by eight leading artists, the exhibition unfolds across different public spaces and districts of the city, connecting a broader range of communities, residents and visitors through an embedding interactive approach that presents Macao’s “local” culture in a wider social landscape.

Among these five public artworks is Hands borrowed by American artist Ann Hamilton, which turns folk beliefs into artistic symbols that unlock the narrative potential of a World Heritage building as a historical and cultural stage. Not Terminal, created by Mainland artist Yin Xiuzhen, conveys a philosophical metaphor for the trajectory of life through the mechanical cycle of a conveyor belt, deconstructing the linearity of time by juxtaposing the dynamic and the static. The Community Co-Creation and Mutual-Aid Project of San Mei On, created by Australian artist Jason Ho, unfolds the spirit of the people from the social fabric of Macao. Merchants and Warriors, created by British art group Assemble, ingeniously builds a bridge of communication through in-depth collaboration with Macao businesses, bringing content closer to the local life and bridging the gap between land and the urban audience.

In view of Macao being honoured as a “Culture City of East Asia” this year, artists Guan Huaibin from Mainland China, Hirotoshi Sakaguchi from Japan and Kim Sang-yeon from South Korea jointly created Time Tower, an artistic masterpiece that embodies Eastern philosophical concepts of time and space and commemorates the cultural bonds and spiritual connections among East Asian cities. The schedule for the exhibitions and related activities can be viewed on the official website.

“City Pavilions” section expands dialogue among cultures; “Local Curatorial Project” bolsters creative momentum

The “City Pavilions” section is presenting the Portugal Pavilion and the Jinan Pavilion this year, which are coordinated and curated by the Consulate General of Portugal in Macao and the Jinan Art Museum, respectively. Although the two exhibitions are rooted in the independent cultural systems and different art forms adopted by the two cities, they both focus on the tension between tradition and innovation. The participation of the Jinan City, another "Culture City of East Asia”, is further reflecting the platform role of Macao as the “One Base” and highlighting Macao’s appeal as a hub of Chinese and Western cultures.

This year, the “Local Curatorial Project” continued to solicit exhibition proposals through an open call, and six proposals were selected from nearly forty submissions. Featuring a total of 35 artists, these proposals explore the dialogue between the historical memory of Macao and its situation in a global context, covering a wide range of aspects such as cultural DNA, linguistic landscapes, female narratives as well as technology and ecology.

To continuously promote the long-term development of Macao’s arts and cultural industry, and build an ecosystem for contemporary art, this year’s “Art Macao” initiated an open call for exhibition proposals for the “Collateral Exhibition” section. Nine proposals were eventually accepted, covering faculty and student showcases from several universities, joint and solo exhibitions from commercial galleries, and proposals submitted by individuals, all reflecting the diverse creative energy of Macao.

For more information, please visit www.artmacao.mo, follow the “artmacao” account on Instagram, the “IC Art” page on Facebook, or official WeChat account “IC_Art_Macao”.

The press conference was held today (2 July) at the Conference Room of the Macao Cultural Centre and was attended by President of IC, Leong Wai Man; Deputy Director of the Education and Youth Development Bureau, Wong Ka Ki; Head of Destination Marketing Department of the Macao Government Tourism Office, Lau Fong Chi; the Director of Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited, Clarence Chung Yuk Man; Senior Vice President of Corporate Brand Development and Marketing of SJM Resorts, S.A., Porcia Leung; Assistant Senior Vice President of Public Relations of Galaxy Entertainment Group, Linda Wong; Vice President of Corporate Communications and Community Affairs of Venetian Macau Ltd., Catherine Kong; Vice President of Special Events of Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace, Yolanda Lao; Arts and Culture Director of MGM, Canny Ho; Chief Curator of “Art Macao: Macao International Art Biennale 2025”, Feng Boyi; Vice Presidents of IC, Cheang Kai Meng and Choi Kin Long; Head of the Division of Visual Art of IC, Van Pou Lon; Acting Director of the Macao Museum of Art, Tong Chong; Co-curators Liu Gang and Wu Wei; and participating local artists, including Chan Hin Io, Chan Willa, Chau Hoi Lun; He Jun Yan, Ng Man Wai, Ng Sio Ieng, Situ Jian, Wong Mei Teng and Wong Weng Cheong.