News Feature by Prisca Tang
Two young men have decided to enhance their food delivery service by adding an art performance to it as one of the art shows for the 20th Macao City Fringe Festival entitled “F’art for U”.
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic started, ordering food through delivery apps has become part of life. However, the curator of the show, Sam Leong Son U, says that it’s not the only reason why they combined food delivery with an art performance.
“I was thinking that art should be as accessible as food. Art should be everywhere and art should be the food for your soul,” Leong told The Macau Post Daily yesterday at its editorial office in Avenida do Infante D. Henrique.
F’art for U’s producer Mark Chiu Chou Fai also told The Macau Post Daily yesterday that as technology is more developed nowadays, he started to think about how to digitalise art and ponder upon how it would be different or whether a virtual performance loses the value of art.
Chiu said that his team has been planning the performance since October last year and that they faced a lot of technical issues on its feasibility. He confessed that “it was a good idea but hard to execute”. Chiu and Leong both said that it was difficult to explain their ideas to the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) and restaurants.
Leong explained that it would be just like ordering food from AOMI, a local food delivery app, or one can call or WhatsApp his number. He added that his studio works with three restaurants and has a special menu just for their show.
‘Delivery costs 19 patacas extra’
“You have to purchase at least one dish or drink from the menu to order a performance. The performance could be drama, music, dance or Chinese opera. You may not choose what genre of music will be played or what form of dance will be performed, which is kind of like a lucky draw! The performance and the delivery service will cost 19 patacas extra, and our service covers the whole of Macau,” Leong said.
Leong said to test the feasibility of the performance, his team has been rehearsing at different locations such as a friend’s home, at a wet market or in front of a flat that has very limited space. However, Leong admitted that as this performance is the first of its kind in Macau there are still a lot of uncertainties.
“As an artist, these uncertainties are exciting challenges because we get to experience performing at different venues,” Leong said.
Leong said that he has a background in stage lighting design and he’s excited about the performance because he will be able to present art in various forms.
‘The stage is where the audiences are’
“Performances should not be limited to a stage or at the theatre. I believe the stage is where the audiences are, “Leong said.
Chiu agreed and said that contemporary art is not ubiquitous in Macau yet he believes that art should be part of life.
“There are two kinds of art, the glamorous kind that you watch at a theatre which has been intricately carved and shaped. But there is another kind that should be more common, the one you see in your daily life. The latter is the one that could develop one’s art sense to find the value of art,” Chiu said.
Chiu said the aim of F’art for U is to attempt to redefine performing arts, and explore the pros and cons of artistic productions being “commercialised and instantised”.
‘Touching the untouched’
“We hope that through this special performance, we can let art touch the untouched and reach groups that are unfamiliar with different art forms,” Leong said.
Chiu and Leong both said that their ultimate goal is to make edible art deliveries a more common thing but not just a “seasonal limited” event.
For more information, residents can visit fart4u.com or visit its Instagram or Facebook page.
The F’art for U performances will be staged daily from next Wednesday to the end of the month.
F’art for U producer Mark Chiu Chou Fai (right) and curator Leong Son U pose with Macao City Fringe brochures at The Macau Post Daily’s editorial office yesterday.
Photo: Prisca Tang
This poster shows the operating hours for F’art for U.
