The opening ceremony of exhibitions of artists from, respectively, Portugal, Timor-Leste and Macao was held at 6.30pm on November 19, at the China – Portuguese-speaking Countries Commercial and Trade Service Platform Complex. The exhibitions are the final activity of the 12th Cultural Week of China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries, the latter organised by the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries (Macao).

Officials at the opening ceremony included: Deputy Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, Mr Ding Tian; Deputy Director-General of the Commercial Office of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, Ms Li Huaying; Deputy Director-General of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, Mr Zhang Jianhua; Director of the Policy Research Office of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao SAR, Mr Ran Bo; Consul-General of Portugal in Macao and Hong Kong, Mr Paulo Cunha Alves; Representative of Timor-Leste to the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao on behalf of the Ambassador of Timor-Leste to China, Mr Danilo Henriques; President of the Executive Committee of Teledifusão de Macau, Ms Lo Song Man; and Director of the Portuguese Institute of the Orient (IPOR), Mr Joaquim Ramos Coelho.

Due to the pandemic, the current edition of the Cultural Week adopted a new arrangement, with activities held online and offline. 

Forum Macao Deputy Secretary-General Mr Ding said in his speech at the opening ceremony that the art exhibitions – held offline – had significantly enriched the content of the 12th Cultural Week. Although the health crisis had prevented the respective artists from Portugal and Timor-Leste from attending the ceremony, it had not inhibited the cultural exchanges between peoples. 

Videos of the artists’ work had been uploaded to the thematic website of the 12th Cultural Week of China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, and much of their iconic work was being shown in Macao for the exhibitions. Their pieces, and those also of the Macao artist, demonstrate the diversity and development of the contemporary arts in Portuguese-speaking Countries and in Macao. 

Mr Ding said Forum Macao would continue to make good use of Macao’s advantages, in order to help expand cooperation with the Portuguese-speaking Countries with the aim of achieving mutual understanding between cultures, civilisations and peoples.

The three exhibitions feature: paintings from Portuguese artist, Ms Raquel Gralheiro; photographs from Timorese artist, Mr Bernardino Soares; and paintings from Macao artist, Mr Alexandre Marreiros.

The work of Ms Gralheiro reflects her engagement with – and exploration of – the female form in the world of the imagination. In her exhibition “POP-PIN”, the artist uses a mixture of figurative and realistic art styles that sometimes recall pop art, to express positive energy through fluid relationships between the images. Her work also expresses good luck, peace, joy, and the strength of pure colours, feelings she wishes to convey to the general public.

Bernardino Soares’ photographs seek to inspire the audience. His exhibition, titled “HELIK” (Discreet), presents people’s physical bodies and facial expressions as if marked by the passage of time. It also showcases the unique cultural scene of Timor-Leste, via the depiction of the extraordinary cultural blending that has linked the proud Mambae people from the central region of the country, to the intrepid Makassae people that came from the Melanesian region to the island of Lorosae.

Mr Marreiros is a young architect, designer and artist working within the cultural crossroads that is Macao. His artwork exhibition, titled “The whispering rooms”, explores cultural integration and diverse elements. Those themes permeate the detailed, rich and rigorous designs in his work, which also serves to perpetuate and advance the artistic contribution of Macanese people within the city.

Concurrently, the exhibition on the achievements of Forum Macao takes place in the Multipurpose Room at the Complex. The exhibition presents the achievements of Forum Macao’s work, the history of cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, and cultural products from Portuguese-speaking Countries.

The exhibitions run until December 6. The Complex will be open to the public from Tuesday to Sunday each week during the exhibition period, from 11am to 7pm (the last entry being at 6.30pm), and admission is free. The Complex will be closed on Mondays. All interested parties are welcome to visit.

To help deepen the public’s understanding of culture and the arts in the context of the Portuguese-speaking Countries, guided tours are to be provided at the venue. There are also available, the following interactive sessions: “Exchange with Artist”; and “Meeting with Delegates from Portuguese-speaking Countries”.

For more information, please visit the thematic page of the 12th Cultural Week of China and Portuguese-speaking Countries: semanacultural.forumchinaplp.org.mo; or contact 8791 3390 or 8791 3316. Those wanting to book a guided tour, can also reach the organiser via either of the mentioned phone numbers.