The 1st Macao International Children’s Arts Festival (MICAF) will take place from July to August, featuring a total of 45 performances and activities in over 1,000 sessions, including world-class performing arts, a Broadway musical, an art exhibition, a children’s film festival, large outdoor installations, art camps, masterclasses, workshops and an art carnival, according to a press conference held at the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM) in Nape yesterday.
Scheduled to be held at the CCM complex and its surrounding areas, the festival is organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) and co-organised by Sands China, MGM, Wynn Resorts (Macau), as well as supported by Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM), with Bank of China (Macau), Air Macau and the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf International Investment Limited as promotion partners.
A variety of diverse activities will be launched, brightening up the children with culture and arts, while also encouraging families and their children to get close to the arts and from diverse perspectives using all their senses.
In addition, the festival’s mascot “MICAF” will spend the wonderful summer with the families during the event, according to IC.
The festival features a selection of family programmes presented by art groups from Macau and around the world, including Broadway production “Annie the Musical” as well as the first musical for children ever by the Palace Museum, “Lu Duan”, which presents an immersive journey across the historical relics of the Imperial Palace through an innovative and perfect integration between theatrical arts, traditional culture and modern technology.
In addition, “Laika” by Spain’s Xirriquiteula Theatre will offer the audience a captivating visual aesthetics through various art forms like shadow play, puppets and film montage, while “CRASSH_Duo Circus” by WETUMTUM from Portugal will present melodious tunes and intricate rhythms with percussion instruments made of everyday objects, complemented with acrobatics and awe-inspiring stunts.
Also included among the programmes is the “Fantastic Art World from Centre Pompidou”, an exhibition presented by the world-renowned Centre Pompidou in France, which features educational functions set to inspire children to explore and create arts through interactive means, thus enabling them to enjoy the fun of creativity and broaden their perspectives on contemporary art.
Another exciting activity in the festival is the “Art Camps Mysterious Art Playground – Children’s Creative Camp and Fantastic Creative Door – Family Art Camp” that allow participants to camp at the CCM for two days, during which they will join the interactive workshops to have a storytelling experience in a small theatre and enjoy the fun of art.
Furthermore, the festival will feature more than 20 art workshops totalling 60 sessions, covering music, theatre, painting and dance – suitable for all ages.
For the “Macao International Children’s Film Festival” segment, a selection of over 20 outstanding films will be presented in four sections, including the films “Shrek”, “I Not Stupid”, “The 400 Blows” and “The Spirit of the Beehive”, as well as local animated shorts like “Mui” and “The Lighthouse and On His Back”.
The festival also invited Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell and various musicians of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields from the United Kingdom to hold the “Music Camp – Master Class”, where participants will have the opportunity to perform with the maestros on stage.
Meanwhile, the “Children’s Fun Book House (Pop-up Store) will be held at the “Art Space” (on the CMM’s first floor) during the weekends throughout July. Incorporating the elements of playground in design, the book house will feature over 200 exquisite picture books, books for teenagers, colouring books, educational materials and other related cultural and creative products from more than 10 countries and regions.
Additionally, the “MICAF Fun Day” Arts Carnival will be held at the CCM Plaza in the evening from 23-25 August, featuring an array of street performances presented by a number of artists, while special stalls selling food as well as cultural and creative products will be made available during this carnival, which will also feature outdoor art installations, large-scale splash sprinklers and outdoor film screenings for families.
And for this, the CCM Plaza will be transformed into a vibrant and colourful MICAF “elf wonderland”, according to IC. A range of outdoor installations themed around the festival’s mascots – MICAF elves – will be set up at the plaza from around mid to late July until early October
Tickets to the 1st MICAF programmes will be available through the Macau Ticketing Network outlets, telephone (2855 5555) and online booking (www.macauticketing.com) from 10 am today.
Tickets for the Macao International Children’s Film Festival will be on sale simultaneously through the Cinematheque・Passion or via online booking, while registration for the workshops will be made available through the “Activity Applications” of the Macao One Account, all also from 10 am today.
For more information about the festival visit its official website or e-mail micaf@icm.gov.mo, or contact 8399 6699. (Gilbert Humphrey)
Images: IC
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