The first edition of the Urban Sketchers Macao exhibition is being held at Casa Garden, the headquarters of the Macau delegation of the Orient Foundation (Fundação Oriente) in Praça Luis de Camões, until May 28, showcasing over 60 works of varying techniques and methods.
All the works depict Casa Garden (“Garden House”) and its environs.
Speaking about the exhibition, the foundation’s director of the Macau-China Delegation, Catarina Cottinelli da Costa, told The Macau Post Daily at Casa Garden during the exhibition’s opening ceremony on Sunday that it features works from a group called Urban Sketchers Macao. Not all the group’s members are fully-fledged artists but people who simply love to draw, getting together under a challenge posted on their Facebook group by their mentor to gather and draw in different parts of the city each Sunday.
“This is an activity that I am fond of” Cottinelli da Costa said, who is an architect by profession and also a sketcher by passion.
For the works currently exhibited, she said that the participants were asked to come for a session in Casa Garden on April 16, where they drew their pieces on the spot, with works in watercolours, oils and ink paintings, among others, and in different sizes. It also features works by Macau Artist Society members, and other well-known local artists who also attended last month’s session.
Through the event, Cottinelli da Costa introduced amateur sketchers in an initiative to bring people together to share their passions. She remarked that she was very grateful that the artists were able to share and see the development of different drawings and how they came out during the April 16 session.
Except for the master artists, whose works are also displayed, the pieces were then judged by a jury, with the best three chosen and awarded cash prizes. Cottinelli da Costa said that this was challenging as all “were so good”. Ultimately, 15-year-old Wong On U was awarded the first place with a cash prize of 5,000 patacas.
Meanwhile, the second and third prize winners received 3,000 patacas and 2,000 patacas respectively. All participants were awarded a “diploma of participation” to also encourage them to join next year’s edition, Cottinelli da Costa.
Asked about what she hopes to achieve through the exhibition, Cottinelli da Costa pointed out that she wants to show that everybody can draw and showcase how amateurs can also be skilled and be displayed next to established artists in Macau, which she added has a lot of very skilled artists who can draw very well.
Moreover, she also said she hoped to open the second edition not only to more artists, but also to those from the Greater Bay Area (GBA) and other cities for them to draw Macau from another perspective.
Casa Garden is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. except Mondays. Admission is free.
Fundação Oriente Director of the Macau-China Delegation Catarina Cottinelli da Costa poses with one of the paintings during the exhibition’s opening ceremony on Sunday.
First prize winner Wong On U’s winning work.
– Photos taken on Sunday by Rui Pastorin
