Macau Museum of Art — Attraction in Sé

I went to the Macau Museum of Art a few times over the years, and even though it was never a great museum, especially compared to Hong Kong museums, was still an okay experience. However, I went recently to see the exhibition 'Integration of Art between China and the West in the 18th–19th Centuries' with just an okay number of exhibits and really poor museology, but what was strikingly bad was the lazyness in the preparation. When I got the pamphlet of the exhibition, even though titled in Chinese, Portuguese and English, the content was only in Chinese, so I already didn't take it and couldn't read an introduction to the exhibition and art pieces. Only some texts were in 3 languages, with the extensive legends in Chinese not translated at all. The timeline that opened the exhibition was also only in Chinese, leaving already a really bad impression at the beguinning with foreign visitors having to guess the contents. (I would like to know how they decide what to translate and what not, and why? So unprofessional). All the interactive spaces were also only available in Chinese, and the only digital interactive game (which was available in 3 languages) didn't work at all. There were stamps on several points of the exhibition but the paper provided by the museum had run out and they didn't replace it, making the stamps useless with most of the people complaining about it. The exhibition was free, but with the provided quality that is the only option really.

P.S. On another note, the security staff at the museum also only spoke Chinese, so they couldn't provide any guidance to foreigner visitors, even just simple directions. They were also extremely rude, with a security guard even shushing me and my friends, even though the exhibition was full of families with little kids screaming and...

The MAM is the only true art museum in Macau but has a rather limited collection compared to its international peers and lacks pieces capable of giving a 'wow' factor. We visited in the afternoon and found the museum quiet with only 5 or 6 other visitors. It took us around 40 minutes to make our way through the available exhibition rooms.

On the fourth floor there were two galleries dedicated to Chinese Calligraphy and some nice scrolls and historical Chinese pieces from the 17th century. This was a large collection which is potentially difficult for western visitors to appreciate without sufficient background of Chinese art and knowledge of Chinese characters.

The third floor offered a contemporary art exhibit and featured works of interesting compositions of mixed media, paintings and informally created images. This was worth a quick look but nothing stuck a huge interest for us unfortunately. On the same floor there is a small area where you can find Macau landmarks that have been photographed in the distant past next to more recent photographs. We always enjoy these 'Now-and-Then' themes. Also there are a few rooms on this floor featuring sketches and drawings by George Chinnery from the 1850s. This affords a peek of early Macau from a European perspective and gives an idea of what certain places in Macau must have looked like 160 years ago.

The second floor was closed for renovation. The 1st floor currently houses a temporary exhibition called 'City Face', which features eye-catching print and poster pieces from around the world, each uniquely designed to highlight and draw attention to their respective locales.

Overall we found the current collection in the MAM less substantial than expected, but we look forward to future visits as this museum transforms its...

In the past three months, I had watched two excellent performances. There was the Saxophone concert held at Macau Centre, and Indian dance held at UMAC Student Center. There were similarities and differences between these two performances, which was rather inspiring. Performers stand on the stage and show their talent. The performers’ dedication to their work has really inspired me to better myself with the work that I do. In addition, these two performances were interactive and changed dependent on the audiences’ reaction. In the shows, I was not only watching it, but also participated in it. They had an emphasis on expression of emotion. The performances would drive your thought, so that you would more enjoy the show. Despite the growing similarities between the two performances in the expression of emotions, they had been depicted very differently through the use of music and dance. Saxophone concern was using music to express the feeling whereas Indian dance was focused on the art of body language. Furthermore, the amount of performers differed in numbers. The Saxophone concert is required the cooperation of the group to bring out the story. In turn, Indian dance had two main characters that did not require the cooperation with each other to finish the show. In conclusion, these two performances were similar in the nature of delivering emotions but at the same time were different through their mode of delivery. I much preferred the saxophone performance due to my interest in...