BY THE TIME THE Hong Kong Arts Festival hits its final week in March, those who want a little more food for the soul can head to Macau, where the 14th Macao Arts Festival will kick off its month-long programme. But don't expect this to be a copy of the Hong Kong event. According to a festival spokesman, Macau is aiming for a more accessible showcase.
Festival organiser Marie Imelda McLeod, of the Macau Cultural Institute, says: 'Our annual Macau International Music Festival in October is more highbrow, the arts festival has a more eclectic mix of high and popular cultural events with an emphasis on reaching out to the people. We try to get as many people as possible involved at grass-roots level with school visits, street events, open rehearsals and workshops in the performing arts, including teaching nuts-and-bolts skills such as stage lighting and make-up.'
On that ground, the Macao Arts Festival also has a decidedly smaller budget, at six million patacas, half of the Macau International Music Festival's expenditure. McLeod wouldn't dream of comparing Macau's arts festival with its Hong Kong counterpart and its budget of $58 million. 'Hong Kong is a major international city of almost seven million people. Macau's population is only about half a million. We have a very different urban dimension,' she says. 'We do bring in international acts but some of them are of street-performance level.'
Despite the small scale and budget, McLeod believes the festival still takes a curatorial approach that represents the former enclave's identity. 'Our festival has a Chinese cultural focus with some emphasis on Mediterranean culture, which reflects our culture and historical background.'
The programme, from March 1 to 28, encompasses everything from visual to performing arts to film and video in its 36 performances.
Among the swathe of local highlights is Chinese Treasures, an exhibition featuring works of 183 local artists in a variety of media, held at the Macau Tower and Entertainment Centre. Macau's native tongue, patois, a mix of Portuguese, Malay, Spanish and Goan, will be the language used in satirical frolic Your Mum's Here!, a production by the Doci Papiacam de Macau Drama Group. A fully restored traditional Macanese home combining Chinese and Western elements will be the venue for another drama, Tang Pek Wan Visits The Lou's Home At Night, written by Hong Kong playwrights Gao Zhisen, Du Guowei and Zheng Chuanjun.
