In response to this year’s International Museum Day, 18 Macao museums co-organize the “2016 Macao International Museum Day Carnival” themed “Mobile Museum – The Blending of Chinese and Western Cultures in Macao”. The opening ceremony will be held on 8 May, Sunday, at 3pm, at the Calçada da Igreja de S. Lázaro. Representatives of cultural entities from Guangdong Province and of the Hong Kong Home Affairs Bureau and its respective museums will be invited to kick off a series of activities. The general public is welcome to attend the ceremony.

The theme of the 2016 Museum International Day is the “Museums and Cultural Landscapes”. In consonance with this theme and in order to present the unique landscapes resulting from the collaboration and fusion of the Chinese and Western cultures in Macao, this edition of the “Macao International Museum Day Carnival” will be held at the Bairro de S. Lázaro as a starting point, bringing the surrounding areas, historical buildings and cultural atmosphere together into an emblematic area of “Mobile Museum”, where a series of excellent activities will be organized during the month of May. These activities comprise fusion elements of the Chinese and Western cultures, such as religion, architecture, art, music, stamps, catering and lifestyles, among others, including thematic exhibitions, workshops, lectures, guided tours and a street carnival, which aim to promote close by the residents and tourists the valuable cultural resources of Macao’s museums.

The thematic exhibitions integrated in these activities include several themes such as Macao’s historical architecture, works submitted to the Photography Contest of “The Blending of Chinese and Western Cultures in Macao”, art and history, among others. On the inauguration day, there will be a great variety of dynamic activities such as workshops of clay modelling, tea sets design, street signs painting, caricature drawing, seals engraving, herb gardening and magnetic tiles, among others; lectures on the unique architecture and the history of the Chinese and Western cultures in Macao; as well as T-shirts with thematic prints, wine tasting, etc.

This year’s 2016 Macao International Museum Day is jointly organized by the Natural and Agrarian Museum, the Grand Prix Museum, the Museum of the Holy House of Mercy, the Tung Sing Tong Historical Archive Exhibition Hall, the Heritage Exhibition of a Traditional Pawnshop Business, the Fire Services Museum, the Maritime Museum, the Communications Museum, the Museum of Taipa and Coloane History, the Handover Gifts Museum of Macao, the Lin Zexu Memorial Museum of Macao, the Macao Science Center, the Macao Tea Culture House, the Dr. Sun Yat- sen Memorial House in Macao, the Macao Museum, the Macao Museum of Art, the Wine Museum and the Taipa-Houses Museum; and is supported by Diocese de Macau, Albergue da Santa Casa da Misericórdia, Creative Industries Promotion Association of St. Lazarus Church District, 10 Fantasia and Tai Fung Tong Art House. In May, each museum will organize other celebrations, exhibitions, workshops, lectures and free admission days. For more information, please visit the Macao Museum’s webpage at www.museums.gov.mo, or follow the Cultural Affairs Bureau or the Macao Government Tourism Office’s WeChat accounts or call through tel no. 8394 1217 during office hours.