Ginnie Liang
Cultural Development Consultative Committee Vice President-cum-Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Leong Wai Man announced yesterday that the new Black Box Theatre – which will hold all performances and activities previously scheduled to take place in the Old Courthouse in Praia Grande – will be launched early next month.
Leong made the remarks in a press conference after the committee’s regular closed-door meeting yesterday at the Cultural Centre.
According to Leong, the new Black Box Theatre (Box I and Box II) – part of the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM) complex in Nape – comprises two theatres, which can accommodate 140 and 160 audience members respectively, and is expected to open early next month.
Leong underlined that the layout of the performance space of the two new Black Box Theatres is flexible, and the size of the performance area can be changed according to the needs of the performance, with the auditoriums being built to match the stage design, which is suitable for artists to develop innovative and experimental performances, providing more production possibilities for experimental theatre.
In addition, Leong announced that a large-scale international cultural and artistic event, “Art Macao: Macao International Art Biennale 2023” (藝文薈澳：澳門國際藝術雙年展2023) will be held at different venues in Macau from next month to October.
The event is divided into several sections including Main Exhibition (主場展), City Pavilion (創意城巿館), Public Art Exhibition (公共藝術展), Selected Works by Local Artists (本地作品徵集展) and Collateral Exhibition (平行展), according to Leong.
Committee member Ieng Weng Fat said he hoped that the government would step up publicity to expand the impact of the event. He urged the government to increase publicity at Macau’s border checkpoints, on public transport and with local associations, so as to make the four-month event a “grand occasion” and promote the development of cultural industries in Macau.
This handout photo provided by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) yesterday shows the new Black Box Theatre in the Macau Cultural Centre complex in Nape.
