The 20th Macau City Fringe Festival is titled “Everyone is an Artist” because the organisers aim to narrow the distance between contemporary arts performers and the audiences, the festival’s curator Tracy Wong Choi Si said yesterday during a press conference at Jao Tsung-I Academy in Tap Seac.
Wong said the idea was inspired by the COVID-19 outbreak, adding that during the pandemic people started to miss human contact. Wong added that she hoped the performances could bring positivity and warmth to the audience.
Wong said that there would be a lot of interactive aspects in the festival, such as the audience could earn stickers or souvenirs after watching a performance and by collecting them, they could exchange them for a free ticket to the festival’s theatre performance or other rewards.
Wong said that a lot of people are still unfamiliar with contemporary arts, therefore she hoped that the festival could intrigue the audiences and “step by step” convince them to learn more about it. She noted that this year’s festival is divided into nine sections comprising ImprovFlashMob, Body Traveller, Open Space, A Step to Theatre: Shelf Life, Body Playground, Chitchat Space, and On Site Footprint as well as two workshops. She pointed out the festival is also holding workshops in hope of finding future contemporary arts performers in the city.
The festival’s artistic director Mao Wei said that Macau had the potential to become an art destination because of its cultural background. However, he added that the city was lacking a platform to develop. He admitted that building an artistic atmosphere in the city was not a job that could be completed in a short period of time but he believed that through art festivals they could help attract residents’ interest, and in the future they could do more to promote contemporary arts.
The festival, which starts next Wednesday, ends on January 31.
20th Macau City Fringe Festival Curator Tracy Wong Choi Si and Artistic Director Mao Wei address yesterday’s press conference Jao Tsung-I Academy in Tap Seac.
Photo: Prisca Tang
