An exhibition tracing the “real-life fairytale” of Grace Kelly from when she was an American actress to becoming Princess of Monaco through exhibits on loan from the collections of the Prince’s Palace of Monaco is currently on display at Galaxy Macau’s Crystal Lobby in Cotai.
Entitled “Grace Kelly, from Hollywood to Monaco – Artists’ Tributes”, the exhibition is co-organised by Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) and the Grimaldi Forum Monaco.
During yesterday’s opening ceremony, GEG Chairman Lui Che Woo said that the exhibition was also part of the government’s five-month-long “Art Macau: International Art Exhibition” initiative.
Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee Vice-Chairman Edmund Ho Hau Wah and HSH Princess Charlene of Monaco as well as government officials and community leaders from Macau and Monaco were among the dozens of attendees and media representatives at the event.
Lui said the exhibition would support the government in reinforcing Macau’s long history as an exchange platform for Chinese and Western arts and culture.
In an interview prior to the opening, Grimaldi Forum Director General Sylvie Biancheri said the exhibition aimed to foster cultural exchange and new opportunities for cooperation between Monaco and Macau, as well as to promote Monaco’s tourism industry in Macau.
Based on the “Princes and Princesses of Monaco. A European Dynasty” exhibition at the Forbidden City in Beijing last year, Thomas Fouilleron, the exhibition curator and director of the Archives and Library of the Prince’s Palace of Monaco, noted that the exhibition in Macau consists of five parts – featuring photos, film posters, iconic dresses, Grace Kelly’s wedding gown, the eponymous Kelly bag, and designer jewellery, as well as a rare portrait print by pop art artist Andy Warhol that is being displayed outside of the Prince’s Palace of Monaco for the first time.
Galaxy Entertainment Group Foundation Executive Director William Yiu acknowledged that it was a “challenge” to set up a high-standard exhibition in the middle of a busy integrated resort but with the expertise from Monaco, the exhibition had the quality of a museum, with humidity and lighting all strictly controlled.
Asked by The Macau Post Daily about the exhibition budget, Yiu simply said that it was “worth the money spent”, same as for the upcoming “double celebration” – the 70th establishment of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the 20th anniversary for Macau’s return to the motherland.
Joanna Lui, assistant vice-president of Lifestyle Curation for Galaxy Entertainment Group, said that this was the first time that the company is bringing an exhibition of such a scale to Macau, and there would be more events in art, culture and sports to come.
President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Monaco in March. Galaxy Entertainment Group has owned 5 percent of the Mediterranean principality’s famed casino company SBM. The Galaxy Macau complex in Cotai includes the Café de Paris Monte-Carlo.
Grace Patricia Kelly (1929-1982), born into an influential family in Philadelphia of Irish and German descent, became Princess of Monaco after marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956.
The exhibition is open to the public until August 28. Admission is free.
