The 20th Macao City Fringe Festival, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, (IC, from its Portuguese acronym), continues to present an array of intriguing performances across the city this week, including a number of unconventional yet exceptional programmes and outreach activities. In Fringe Chat, to be held at 5:30pm on 31 January at the Fundação Rui Cunha, critics from Mainland China and Macao will discuss the features and heartbeats of the Fringe Festival with the audience and artists. All are welcome to participate. The participatory exhibition “Art Exhibition for All” will be held next to the Flower City Park until 8pm on 31 January, offering the public a platform to display their creative works. Interested parties are welcome to submit artworks or create their works onsite during the exhibition period.
A series of shows under the series “Crème de la Fringe: Todos Fest!” will be presented this week. Hong Kong choreographer yuenjie MARU will join hands with people with mental or physical disabilities to perform Symbiotic Dance in Full Bloom at the Macao Cultural Centre Square, seeking to visualise the concept that everyone can dance despite his/her different abilities and physical conditions. In The Distance between the Ocean and Us – Puppetry Playback Theatre, marine waste collected from beaches is transformed in puppets, improvising stories about the ocean, and the audience is also welcome to participate in the “Marine Waste Puppet-Making Workshop” after the performance. The “Marine Waste Puppet Exhibition” is held at the performance venue and is open to the general public. Grandma’s Treasure Box tells the story of how a grandmother and her grandchild went through different stages of their lives together, seeking to convey the happiness of caring and being cared for. The production 1991, in which three creators from different fields of art, Lao Ka Hong, O Chi Wai and Akitsugu Fukushima, intertwine a visual installation with body, sound and image, and make a self-confession before turning 30, will be presented at Mong-Ha Villas.
Adhering to the concept of “All around the city, our stages, our patrons, our artists”, the Fringe Festival will bring art to teahouses, bars, street markets and the community. F'art for U spreads an artistic atmosphere in the neighbourhoods through the delivery of various art performances to the audiences. The public can take the opportunity to place orders for food and art performances until 9pm on 27 January (last order at 8:30pm). For details, please visit www.fart4u.com or the “Fart4U” page on Facebook. A Gentlemen’s Fight with Puns and Tea is staged in an old-style Chinese teahouse and features various forms of verbal performance art, including Chinese cross-talk, witty dialogues and stand-up comedy. The Enigma of the Actress is staged in a bar, where the audience will join the performance and hunt for the murderer. The show Stephen Chow is a medley of scenes from Stephen Chow’s films, which evokes pleasure for the audience in appreciating the philosophy of life. The Work Inspired Workouts – Macao Market Version features an exhibition on the ground floor of the Camões Commercial Centre that displays the videos and illustrations of the workout inspired from observations and experiences in the market, thereby preserving the memories of market culture. The “Focus to – Release” installation is shown at the Praça de Jorge Álvares, in which the public can enjoy the brainwave artworks created by strangers.
Tickets for the abovementioned programmes are sold out. Spectators with tickets are advised to arrive the venue on time. The programmes Symbiotic Dance in Full Bloom and 1991; exhibitions “Art Exhibition for All”, “Marine Waste Puppet Exhibition” and Work Inspired Workouts – Macao Market Version; and “Focus to – Release” installation, are free of charge and are open to the general public. Registration for Fringe Chat can be made online at www.icm.gov.mo/eform/event. For phone registration and 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 or the “Macao City Fringe Festival” page on Facebook.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau will strictly follow the related anti-epidemic guidelines of the Health Bureau and implement appropriate measures for cultural activities. All participants must wear face masks, undergo body temperature checks and present a “Macao Health Code” of the day.