The second Asian Manga Artists Exhibition is being held in the basement of the Portuguese Bookshop on Rua de São Domingos (板樟堂街), with the free-admission exhibition showcasing the recent works of eight artists from different parts of Asia through Friday.
The opening ceremony for the exhibition was held at the bookshop yesterday.
Marking its return since it was last held five years ago, this year’s exhibition gathers the works of manga* artists from Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, the Chinese mainland and Vietnam. It is organised by the Association of Promoting Macau Comics and Animation Cultural Exchange, which promotes various types of comics in the city.
The association’s chairman and curator Howard Chan (陳兆銘) said in a speech yesterday that his association was “really excited that we can do this and establish a platform to let different Asian manga artists come here [Macau]” to engage in cultural exchanges.
Moreover, Chan told reporters that what he wants to try and do is establish a cultural exchange platform and a point of exchange where local comic lovers and tourists can see works by different artists from Asia. He added: “I think they have fewer opportunities to see comic works of other countries such as Vietnam or Singapore because we are mostly influenced by Hong Kong culture, so we may only see more Hong Kong comics”.
He said that events like this exhibition are “seldomly held”, noting: “This is the first opportunity, in recent years, that we can have a chance to see different [manga] artists’ [from different countries] works in Macau”.
Chan also remarked that he hopes the government will provide more support for this kind of cultural exchange platform or programme. Next year, Chan said, he hopes to attract artists from places outside of Asia such as Canada, Germany and the US, aiming to gather international manga artists.
One can visit the exhibition daily throughout its run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
More photos of the exhibition will be published on tomorrow’s page four.
*The term manga is used in Japan to refer to both comics and cartooning. Outside of Japan, the word is typically used to refer to comics originally published in that country. – Source: Wikipedia
This photo taken yesterday shows some of the works displayed in the basement of the Portuguese Bookshop on Rua de São Domingos (板樟堂街) for the second Asia Manga Artists Exhibition.
Howard Chan (陳兆銘, third from left) poses with guests and artists during yesterday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Portuguese Bookshop. – Photos: Rui Pastorin
