Integrated resort operator Sands China held a seminar titled “Behind the Exhibition: Tracing Macao’s Firecracker Legacy” on Saturday at the Macau Museum of Art (MAM), being an extended activity of the ongoing “A Century of Iec Long Firecracker Factory in Radiance – An Exhibition on the Resonant History and Aesthetic Memory of Macao Firecrackers” at Sands Gallery.
The free-admission seminar, which saw students and cultural enthusiasts attending, was held to “further enhance public knowledge about the history and cultural value of Macau’s firecracker industry”, according to a statement from the company that day.
Speakers at the event were exhibition curator and Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) Faculty of Humanities and Arts Distinguished Prof. Guilherme Ung Vai Meng, who is also a veteran artist, and the exhibition’s visual designer and Macau Creations CEO Wilson Lam Chi Ian, each highlighting the curatorial concept and creative process behind the exhibition.
Ung talked about his years of collecting and researching Macau’s firecracker labels and documents. After being invited by Sands China to curate the exhibition, he spent two years studying and collating historical materials, the statement said. He also guided the audience through the industry’s history using texts, images, and tracing the times of the firecracker labels.
Lam highlighted the creative process behind the exhibition, as well as how the design team turned two-dimensional firecracker labels and archives into three-dimensional exhibition experiences, the statement said. He also highlighted design concepts for the exhibition’s publication, “An Illustrated Chronicle of Macao’s Centennial Firecracker Label Art”.
Both speakers also gave advice to those attending. Ung encouraged young people to cultivate their passions into fulfilling careers and use their strengths to support society and cultural preservation, among others, while among the points that Lam mentioned is for youngsters to remain curious, embrace new experiences and innovation, and continuously learn to seize opportunities for their future, the statement said.
Among the event’s attendees that day included Macao Museum Director Lou Ho Ian and local scholar of Taipa’s history and culture Lai Hong Kin
The well-received ongoing exhibition launched in March and features over 400 exhibits and celebrates the centennial of Macau’s largest surviving firecracker industrial site, which is also the most intact in the South China Sea region, the statement operator pointed out.
The exhibition ends on November 29. Meanwhile, the parallel exhibition “Legacy of Time – An Exhibition of Historical Documents on Macao’s Firecracker Industry,” hosted by the MUST Library, also ends on the same day.
Exhibition curator and Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) Faculty of Humanities and Arts Distinguished Professor Guilherme Ung Vai Meng (centre) speaks as the exhibition’s visual designer and Macau Creations CEO Wilson Lam Chi Ian (first from left) looks on during the extended seminar Behind the Exhibition: Tracing Macao’s Firecracker Legacy held on Saturday at the Macau Museum of Art (MAM). – Photo: Sands China
