Culture and Sport - Macao Yearbook

Grand Prix Museum
Culture Culture and and Sport Sport
The Grand Prix Museum was inaugurated on 18 November 1993. Various Government departments
and private institutions have donated exhibits, such as racing cars driven on the Guia Circuit over
the years, including by the late celebrated Ayrton Senna and motor racing champion Michael
Schumacher. Valuable pictures and trophies are also exhibited.
Macao Museum of Art
The Macao Museum of Art is the only museum in Macao with arts and cultural heritage as its main
theme. Covering a total area of 10,000 square metres, this five-storey museum has seven exhibition
halls boasting 4,000 square metres of display space. It is the largest museum in Macao that’s
devoted to the visual arts. Many precious works of art and antiquities, such as Chinese paintings
and calligraphy, seals, ceramics, Western-style paintings, contemporary arts and photographs are
displayed. Exhibits include Shiwan ceramic figurines created by Huang Bing, Pan Yushu, and Chen
Weiyan, masters of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican era. There are also works by
the famous 19th Century British painter George Chinnery, and Chinese trader and painter Guan
Qiaochang, commonly known as Lam Qua; and watercolours painted by Russian artist George
Smirnoff when he stayed in Macao from 1944 to 1945. Besides showcasing its collections, the
museum holds exhibitions in collaboration with other prestigious museums, cultural agencies,
consulates-general in Hong Kong, famous artists and collectors. Macao connects to the broader
artistic world by staging high-calibre exhibitions including the annual thematic exhibition on cultural
relics in collaboration with Beijing’s Palace Museum.
The museum founded the Friends of Macao Museum of Art. By encouraging interested parties to
join its occasional art-related activities, the museum aims to enhance communications and maintain
a dialogue with the community.
The Macao Museum of Art houses the Museum Shop and the Palace Museum Shop. The
Museum Shop sells museum publications, characteristic souvenirs, cultural and creative products,
and souvenirs from the Shanghai Museum and overseas cultural organisation and museums, while
the Palace Museum Shop sells souvenirs featuring arts and history of the Imperial Palace. Both
aim to increase cultural benefits.
In 2011, the Macao Museum of Art held more than 30 exhibitions and conducted a range of
activities including lectures, seminars, art workshops, and activities of friends of the museum.
Library of the Macao Museum of Art and the Art Square
The Library of the Macao Museum of Art is a reference library specialising in arts materials. It has
a collection of over 20,000 books, primarily about visual arts, covering subjects ranging from arts
history, calligraphy and painting, cultural heritage and archaeology, ceramics, Western fine arts,
architecture, design, films, photography, to illustrated children’s books. Nearly 50 arts periodical
titles, as well as Chinese, Portuguese and English newspapers are also available.
The library houses computers for citizens to browse artistic websites. Visitors may also choose
from the collection of nearly 600 titles of classic movies and animations, and enjoy their selections
in the two audiovisual rooms.
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