The past 20 years since the Handover have brought dramatic changes to all aspects of the city. CLOSER talks to some of the most significant figures in the local art and cultural fields as they reflect on the challenges of finding space in the city for their creative expression…
At 11 o’clock on the evening of December 19, 1999, the area around Senado Square in the centre of Macau was still crowded. The streets were filled with excitement. The long bright red banners with slogans were everywhere: “Enthusiastically celebrating the return of Macau to the Motherland.” The slogan was written in Chinese, but it appeared to be somewhat foreign. Macau had always been a small peaceful town, but now it was boiling with passion: “Macau’s return to the Motherland is a reunion of the heart. The flesh and blood of a family love each other.” After more than four centuries of Portuguese governance, Macau, like Hong Kong, which had been handed back to China two years earlier, has welcoming its future, promised by the policy of “One Country, Two Systems” and “Unchanged for Fifty Years.”
People on the streets who held in their hands the new regional flag and the flag of the Motherland were thrilled and stunned. This was an unprecedented historic moment. Going uphill along Senado Square, the crowds would soon arrive to the symbol of Macau, “Dai Sam Ba” – the site of St. Paul’s Cathedral, originally built in 1562, and burnt down twice in 1595 and 1601, it was later rebuilt in 1602-1640, but burnt down again in 1835, leaving only the facade and the sixty-eight steps of the front staircase remaining intact. This, Macau’s most famous landmark, had witnessed the rise and fall of history, and was still standing tall.
Just behind it, as we go further down the stone paved road, a small street takes us to the ground floor of No. 70 A, Tomas Vieira Street. This place was the address of “Comuna de Pedra”(Stone Commune), where Che Che bar is now located, twenty years later. When people arrived to Comuna de Pedra that night, the time was close to midnight. The small place was full of people, surrounding a long table, where two artists were sitting at both ends, silently eating, watching a television placed next to them. On the screen was the live broadcast of the historic moment of Macau’s handover. The food on their table was particularly fancy, with chicken legs, western sausages, red wine and other delicacies. The more they ate, the more their behaviour became exaggerated. The big mouthfuls of food they were eating appeared to be grotesque, but they did not pay the slightest attention to the audience, only sitting with sadness in their expressions.
I looked at the performance and recognised one of the artists who was eating chicken legs. His name was James Chu and he was a graduate of the School of Visual Arts at the Polytechnic Institute where I used to study. I knew that this was performance art. I was 21 years old, and had just returned to Macau from an art school in France for the Christmas break. It was Frank Lei, a photography teacher at the Polytechnic Institute; and some other old classmates who told me there would be performance art taking place on the night of the Macau Handover. As I took photos, a person standing next to me handed me a leaflet with information about the performance.
After Comuna de Pedra, the next performance would take place at the Ruins of St. Paul and all the way down to Senado Square. The whole event was called This Night, We Walk Together, and the performance at Comuna de Pedra was entitled Last Supper.
Before finishing all the food on the table of the Last Supper, the artists suddenly stood up and bowed to everyone. I followed the audience’s movement and left Comuna de Pedra. People returned towards the Ruins of St. Paul. There were quite a lot of people. I tried to follow, but there was no host or guide during the event. I was not sure what would happen next. But the performance artists were recognisable. They wore special clothes and makeup and carried props. When I reached the Ruins of St. Paul, I saw some people wearing masks that were painted with human faces. The masks looked like Jiang Zemin, and some performers were holding paper guns and started to run down the stairs of Ruins of St. Paul. Later I learned that this was the performance artwork of Hong Kong’s famous satirical cartoonist Zunzi, who was present at the performance.
I continued to follow, and went down to the street of Palha. The political masks disappeared, and I found that the atmosphere was a bit different. A foreign artist carried out a human-sized cardboard box and there were two performers wearing green Chinese military uniforms standing guarding it. At that moment, the atmosphere began to become tense. I saw some people wearing suits holding digital cameras (which were not yet very popular at the time, I noticed them because I was holding a film camera). They were standing in front of the people and taking pictures of us. I did not know who they were, but when one of them photographed me, I picked up my camera and shot back.
As the event went on, the group set off to the next stop and came to Senado Square. Before I could spot where the artists were going to perform, suddenly there were a lot of police officers, pushing some of the artists towards a police car. I kept taking pictures, and then the police car drove away taking the artists with them. Some of the students present began asking about what had just happened.
I followed a few classmates and some other people who had participated in the performance to the police station to wait for some news. After waiting for five or six hours, it was already dawn. The 13 people who had been arrested were released. They told us that nothing had really happened. The police had not told them the reason for the arrest. They had just registered their identity cards, told them to sit for a few hours and then released them.
After that, my classmates and I went home. On my way home, I could still feel a sense of shock. I was not very sure what had happened. But what was even more uncertain was what would happen in the future. I remember thinking about this on the first day after the handover of Macau.
CROSSING THE RIVER BY FEELING THE STONES
Now, two decades later, I meet up with James Chu again, this time for a chat. I tell him that I am writing about the culture and art scene in Macau over the past 20 years since the handover. We sit down in Che Che bar and he picks up a glass of red wine again, takes a sip, and then tells me thinkingly, “Maybe you can start from here.” I look at the place where he is sitting. It was right here where he had performed the Last Supper 20 years ago, at the Comuna de Pedra, the Stone Commune. And the path we had walked along, was built from these pieces of stones.
Established in 1995, the main founding members of Comuna de Pedra included brother and sister, Frank and J Lei. The elder brother was born in Beijing, and the whole family later immigrated to Macau. They grew up in Macau and both studied in France. Frank worked mainly in photography and visual arts, while J was a contemporary dancer, choreographer and theatre director. In order to write this article, I also interviewed J. When asked about the situation of art and culture in the city 20 years ago, she says: “The local cultural development of Macau before the handover was very limited, in terms of resources, opportunities, etc. We needed to strive to get things done all the time, otherwise you could not survive.”
Stone gives the impression of being tough, powerful, and uncompromising; J appears to be someone quite discrete and somewhat stubborn, corresponding to these qualities.
“Stones are very ordinary things, they are everywhere. But in fact, when you look carefully, every stone is different. They do not consciously exist in the universe, but they have been here since forever. It is a material that will always be here.”
However, after the creation of Comuna de Pedra, especially in its early years, the organisation seemed to take on an approach of struggle and confrontation. Soon after its establishment in 1995, in contrast to the official Second Macau Art Biennale organised by the then Cultural Affairs Bureau, Comuna de Pedra held the Inside Annual Exhibition, which was a rebellious response to the former. In this exhibition, they placed the artworks on the ground of the exhibition space instead of hanging them on the walls. In turn, the walls were covered with black plastic garbage bags and painted with random graffiti.
Franck Lei
J. Lei
Later, in 1998, Comuna de Pedra organised the First Cultural Policy Seminar, which opened discussions from three perspectives: cultural policy, art education and cultural and art critique. In addition to local artists, many art educators and art critics from Hong Kong were invited to the seminar. At that time, Comuna de Pedra took the initiative to also invite representatives of the government to join the discussion panels. Although some officials did not attend, Education Bureau representatives did come to the seminar, and publicly expressed that they were also very focused on these issues. According to Frank Lei in a previous interview, this event could be considered as the first opportunity for dialogue between the artists and the government.
As for the incident that happened on the night of handover in 1999, J admits that it had some impact on the association. During those days, she was creating contemporary dance and theatre pieces through a lot of experimental media. And most of the time, her works related to some social issues.
“Before the 1999 incident, we did the show of Post Tai Ping Tin Kuok- The Kingdom of God is Near at the McAulay Theatre in Hong Kong. Of course, I really wanted to do it again in Macau,” J recalls. “But after the incident, it was obvious that this performance should not be done. (…) Because in The Kingdom of God is Near, there were actually a lot of social…commentary? We edited the national anthem in pieces and broadcasted it directly in the play, but now it would probably not be allowed. There were many approaches that were quite provocative. So after 1999, many actors felt that it was not suitable to stage it again in Macau.”
Later however, two actors insisted on performing the play.
“At that time, only two actors performed, and all of us felt that we were facing a big challenge together. The new performance stopped at about two-thirds of the way through the original piece. The whole thing was cut, and then the video clip taken during the 1999 incident was projected directly on a screen. Then the guests were invited to come up on stage to share their experiences and thoughts. It was like a kind of ‘forum-theatre’. So the show actually underwent a big change. It was also a response to that incident at the same time. For us, it was as if we needed to vent out our feelings through this show.”
BUILDING A BRIDGE
J reveals that there was a repressive atmosphere within Comuna de Pedra in the year 2000. She says however, that after that “there was an opportunity to collaborate with open-minded people working in the government.”
In 2001, the Macau International Arts Festival invited Albert Chu, founder of CUT Visual Arts Association, to participate in a series of exhibitions and film projections at the Festival. His idea was to follow the locations and route of the ancient Macau city wall and to discover some spaces where he could place art or video installations. He thought of the Old Ladies’ House, which was vacant at the time and had previously been used for film shoots. So he suggested Comuna de Pedra to rent the place and run it as an art space. The unique atmosphere and architecture of the Old Ladies’ House reflected the artistic and experimental nature of Comuna de Pedra. After the events and exhibitions were opened, they attracted a lot of attention.
James Chu
James Chu was working in the Provisional Municipal Chamber of Macau at that time, and was committed to the planning of many public cultural spaces such as libraries and museums. One of the main projects he worked on was the renovation of Taipa Houses Museum.
“If you look back at the environment of the 1990s, when the Macau Cultural Centre was not yet established, at the time, Macau Forum 1 was impossible to rent, so everyone would only go to Macau Forum 2 to perform” he comments. “The dance programs were more traditional Chinese dances. Even if it was not Chinese dance, the kind of performance was still very traditional. Therefore, the artistic expression of Comuna de Pedra was very unusual for Macau.
In addition to the topics that J Lei wanted to explore and express, her works also began to make people understand and get in touch with Environmental Theatre.
“Previously, everyone thought an exhibition space or a performance space must be a formal venue. It was the same in visual art; no matter how many different predecessors tried different art forms at that time, they would still want to show it in a formal venue. No one could break through the concept of a formal venue. I think it was from the time of the Old Ladies’ House that everyone started to break through the imagination of space,” J notes.
James Chu recalls, “The director of the Provisional Macau Municipal Chamber, José Luís de Sales Marques also liked art very much. At that time he also could not understand why there was no such art space in Macau, so that some local art and cultural workers could have a venue to develop their activities, rather than depending on official venues every time.”
J Lei adds: “The emergence of the art space of the Old Ladies’ House proved that the government and the private sectors could operate hand in hand. This mode of cooperation was regarded as a successful case. However, the eventual closing down of the space was also related to the closed-mindedness of the government.”
In October 2002, the officially established Old Ladies’ House Art Space hosted an exhibition entitled Hong Kong and Macau Newspapers and Cartoons Exhibition. At that time, Hong Kong artist Zunzi and several other artists created a performance piece and invited Hong Kong reporters to film their show. The sensitive nature of the work that pointed directly to the central government and the legislation of Basic Law Article 23, in turn led to some internal government discussions.
As a bridge between Comuna de Pedra and the government at the time, James Chu reflects on the incident and says, “Thinking about it now, the biggest harm caused to the Old Ladies’ House art space was that the government lost confidence in us. There were some suspicions in the past between the government and the artists. They had different opinions and they had not yet found a middle ground to solve their differences. The cartoon exhibition was a fuse that got burnt.”
Ultimately, the incident led to the artist group moving out of the Old Ladies’ House Art Space in January 2003. Later, after repeatedly trying to hold negotiations with the government, they moved into the Ox Warehouse Art Space near the Chinese Border Gate in February that same year. They were to stay there for more than 14 years and eventually moved out in September 2017.
After working as a civil servant for nearly a decade, James Chu resigned more than ten years ago and started his own business. He has been a leading figure in the art and culture space of Macau since the handover 20 years ago. In addition to the previously mentioned cultural spaces that he worked on when he was still working for the government, in 2007, after resigning from his position at the Macau Art Museum, he founded the contemporary artists organisation Macau Art For All Society (AFA). Later, together with other designers such as Dirco Fong, he headed up the Macau Designers Association in 2013 and established the Macau Design Centre (MDC). In 2015, he invited several local artist groups such as the Macao Fine Arts Association, to establish the Macau Art Garden (later sponsored by the Tak Chun Group and renamed as Tak Chun Macau Art Garden).
James mentions that behind this series of attempts to create new cultural and artistic spaces, was always his intention to unite the artists of Macau, to share resources and to more effectively showcase their works and achievements, and ultimately strive for more resources, which is important for their continuous growth.
“Unfortunately, the government has not kept up with local efforts in terms of policies and systems. Many of the decision makers or policy makers do not understand the nature of these art spaces. Sometimes they are too strict, or the funding is simply insufficient, so we have wasted a lot of opportunities. A lot of work was done for nothing, because the government has never been able to find a middle ground with the people,” James notes.
“It is important to consider how to keep a suitable distance from the local associations, but still maintain cooperation. In terms of policy, it is essential to consider how long-term support can help the development of art and culture in a continuous and targeted manner. But this has not happened. Instead, they make up some excuses, such as a fear of collusion between government and private business, and thus reduce the funding. It is because of this that we have wasted the time of Macau for many years.”
SURVIVAL UNDER THE DEVELOPMENT OF REAL STATE
As early as 1998, Hiu Kok Theatre had already established their own space in the northern part of the city. Its artistic director, Billy Hoi is a senior drama actor and theatre director, and has served in the government for more than 20 years. Billy, also known as “Big Bird”, spoke to CLOSER how Hiu Kok’s space has survived all these years.
“We must have space to play or perform dramas. Before we bought the current factory unit, we could only borrow other people’s places, or go to some members’ homes; we even tried to rehearse in the park,” Big Bird says.
Hiu Kok was founded in 1975, and Big Bird joined the group in the 1980s. He recalls that in the pre-handover period of Macau, there was a series of triad killings. The security atmosphere in the city was very poor and people were worried, which led to a fall in property prices, especially for factory buildings. Therefore, Hui Kok members from different occupational backgrounds discussed whether to try to raise money to purchase a factory building unit as the group’s meeting place.
“At the time, when this idea was put forward, it was kind of crazy. Where would we, a non-profit organization, get the money to buy real estate?”
Big Bird notes that some members found a place on the 12th floor of the Phase A, Nan Fong Industrial Building, at No. 82 Pescadores Street. At around 2,000 square feet, the price was a bit over HK$400,000. They came up with a plan for members to pay 10 years of membership fees (ie 5,000 patacas) to become permanent members. A total of more than MOP100,000 was raised to pay the first installment, and then the association paid the rest of the amount on a monthly basis.
“In fact, after we bought the unit, I regretted it immediately. Today the market price of this unit that we bought should be more than 10 million. But at that time, two weeks after we bought it, a friend told me that there was another unit of more than 4,000 square feet in the Ocean Industrial Building right next to Hiu Kok. It had a view of the reservoir and it was only MOP580,000! That is to say, if we had raised another 100,000 at that time, the market price of our property today could have been more than 20 million! That’s a lot!” Big Bird laughs.
Regarding the increasing demand for space since the handover, Big Bird believes that this is closely related to the professionalisation of artists. Since 2004, many students in Macau have decided to study abroad in theatre-related degrees.
“These graduates who were returning to Macau had the desire to make theatre their profession, so their requirements for more space was inevitable. This situation did not exist before the handover,” Big Bird says.
Big Bird continues to explain that because Macau had always lacked performance venues, by 2007, the rents had not soared. At that time, many theatre companies had been established, and the factory building units were being rented out as spaces for drama and performances. From Pescadores Street to Morais Avenue, there were four small theatres. During the peak period, other visual arts groups such as the CUT Visual Arts Association were on the same street. Not far from the Triangle Garden, there was the Ox Warehouse Art Space, and Vincent Cheang’s LMA (Live Music Association) was just up the road. At the time, the whole avenue of Almirante Lacerda was filled with art and cultural associations. There were more than 20 associations including the Youth Symphony Orchestras, the Orchestra of Macau and other dance groups.
“We imagined that these two areas could be connected together as an “Art Street”, and we could cooperate with the surrounding shops, or invite artists to paint Shakespeare on the walls of the factory buildings. The Macau Daily News had just moved to this area, so we thought it could help to promote this in the newspapers. All these ideas could have created a very unique artistic area in Macau.”
Billy "Big Bird" Hoi
But just as several theatre groups started to discuss this project, sadly this beautiful dream was shattered: “The first one to close down was Own Theater. The owner raised their rent by eight times, and then LMA also had the same problem; the rent went up ten times in just a few years,” explains Big Bird. “There was no way to survive this. Some of them closed down, others moved out. Many people lost a lot of money because of the installation of equipment, etc. After this, many people who had previously run small theatres were afraid to do it again.”
Two years ago, legal discussions about whether factory buildings could be used as theatres also had a negative impact.
“The future of factory building theatres is not yet clear. Although the government has hinted that it may not be so strict about this issue, the fact is that it is actually illegal. So I don’t dare move forward with my factory art festival idea as I always wanted to do. The government has hinted that we should keep a low profile, so we certainly can’t go against this.”
SPACE WITHIN POLICY
When it comes to art spaces around the city, Carlos Marreiros, as an incontournable local architect and artist, naturally has his thoughts on this issue. In 1986, Marreiros founded the CAC “Círculo dos Amigos da Cultura de Macau” (Macau Circle of Friends of Culture) with artists such as Mio Pang Fei, Ung Vai Meng, Victor Marreiros and Guo Heng. He also served as the chairman of the Macau Government Cultural Affairs Bureau from 1989 to 1992, and he was member of the Cultural Council of the Macau Governor from 1988 to 1999.
“Macau’s cultural heritage and art must go hand in hand and become the centre of cultural and creative industries. I have been working hard in this direction,” he says. “In 2005, the government took policy responsibility for the cultural and creative industries. Fifteen years have passed, and we still have a lot to do and must continue to work hard.”
In 2003, Marreiros began restoration of the Old Ladies House compound in the St. Lazarus’ Parish area, now known as Albergue. In 2005, he moved his office to the restored Albergue, and in 2009, the whole building was officially opened to the public.
“The St. Lazarus’ Parish area, which has a history of more than 400 years, has been listed as Protected Cultural Property by the Macau Government since 1976. It is forbidden for residents to demolish the remaining old buildings,” observes Marreiros. “This was a well-known fact, but still developers would invite me, as an architect, to demolish and rebuild some of the old buildings in this area. I was shocked at that time and felt that it was necessary to protect the cultural sites in this area. So I began to negotiate with Holy House of Mercy to rehabilitate the Old Ladies’ House, and to start a cultural and art incubation spot at the site to protect the area from being demolished by developers.”
As for the overall development of St. Lazarus’ Parish Creative Industry District, Marreiros says that he is not very satisfied.
“To protect this place is the most important thing, but there are still many things to do in urban planning, such as parking spaces and pedestrian areas. We have made many recommendations to the government since the time of Lao Si Io, but there have still not been any specific changes, only some traffic control, which is not enough.”
Marreiros goes on to say however, that the efforts of the Macau SAR Government in the past 20 years since the handover are worthy of note. One sees that cultural and artistic spaces are taking up residence on the small streets of Macau. But that does not mean there is no problem with the system or policy.
“The problem now is legalistic, which is excessively rigid. In recent years, this attitude has caused damage to Macau’s culture and art, and even to the economy and other aspects, because people begin to lose confidence,” he says. “Being legalistic, that means, the law or the rules are written like this, so we can only obey. And this means doing nothing! Just doing things according to the book. This is not enough to build the future, not enough to establish a cultural identity with strong characteristics. Bureaucracy will only make the world go backwards.”
Carlos Marreiros
Marreiros goes on to say that there are many bureaucratic officials in Macau, and the situation is serious.
“I hope that the new Chief Executive can notice this situation and rectify it and lead Macau towards a new level of development. This will bring benefits to Macau’s culture and art.”
On the other hand, he feels that the economic conditions of the whole society are getting better, and the lives of artists are also more comfortable. Consequently, many young artists are funded by the government and will not fight further.
“The problem is that artists no longer think about avant-garde issues. They don’t show that art is a way of interpreting life. Art plays a key role in our society. It has been circulating for 5,000 years of history. This is because art is very important to human civilisation. But we must show it to the society and show it to the politicians, otherwise they will not care about us,” Marreiros says.
On this matter, Billy ‘Big Bird’ Hoi has the same opinion: “In Chinese society in Macau, many people think that culture and art are things like ‘making parties’. They are things that are used to decorate the facade. It is a play between the actors. No one takes it seriously. This is the traditional attitude of people. The status of theatre art is very low. People may like to watch, but it is optional. Relative to bread and water, it is less important.
“This is the most fundamental problem. If the government officials or the organisers think like that, then it will be deadly. The person who promotes culture and art must know how important it is to human beings, and he must have a strong sense of power and mission. This is most basic, but this is not the case in Macau. This is what needs to be changed,” he adds.
FUTURE SPACES
Ultimately, the physical spaces in which people live are closely related to the mental spaces in which people think. The imagination we allow ourselves to have, defines what kind of physical spaces we can create. Over the past 20 years, Macau has had the privilege of having a group of artists with a sense of space and imagination. They are tireless and constantly opening up new spaces and fields, bringing important contributions to our future.
Regarding the freedom and space to continue to create, J Lei believes: “The freedom of creation since the handover, and the entire environment are gradually tightening. This is inevitable. But Macau creators may not have noticed this because not many of their works are related to society and politics.
“However, there are more restrictions on performances. If the National Flag Law takes effect, it can no longer be used in performances. Impromptu performances on the street cannot take place without prior applications to the government. The artists themselves will also self-censor, automatically deleting political elements in performances. Therefore, the growth of culture is bound to be related to the political environment.”
James Chu, who is currently preparing the establishment of the Zhuhai-Macau Design Center, says: “Now, the establishment of the Greater Bay Area begins a new era and offers big opportunities. Many unprecedented policies are now possible, but at the same time, there are still many unknowns. Is our positioning of the plan accurate? If so, are there suitable people to implement it? Can these policies be coordinated in a proper way? These historical developments are unprecedented, but will it be a success or a failure? There is no previous example to follow, so we can go as far as we can go.”
Regarding the development of Macau’s integration into the Greater Bay Area, Carlos Marreiros has the following view: “Macau right now is at a crossroads, very challenging and very enlightening, wonderful but also dangerous. Because if Macau is not using big data and 5G to spread our culture and to make local people proud of themselves, we will be swallowed up by our neighbours in the Great Bay Area, Guangdong, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and Macau culture will no longer survive. So it is a fundamental time for a fundamental fight.”
Culturally and artistically speaking of course.
吳衛鳴 Ung Vai Meng | 朱佑人 Albert Chu | 莫少忠 Mok Siochong | 馮文偉 Dirco Fong | 鄭志達 Vincent Cheang | Veiga Jardim | 鄧曉炯 Joe Tang
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