Organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government and implemented by the Macao Museum of Art, the exhibition “Jacone’s Polyphony”, as one of the Collateral Event of the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, will be inaugurated on 8 May in Venice, Italy. Curated by Feng Yan and Ng Sio Ieng, the exhibition showcases installations, painting and video works created by Macao artists Eric Fok Hoi Seng, O Chi Wai and Veronica Lei Fong Ieng, reinterpreting the creative trajectory and spiritual exploration of Wu Li across the East and the West, a painter from the early Qing dynasty, poet and Catholic, from a polyphonic narrative structure. The exhibition aims to explore the resonance of culture, faith and spirit in the context of globalisation, echoing the theme of this year’s Biennale “In Minor Keys”.
In 1681 (during the reign of Emperor Kangxi), Wu Li travelled south to Macao, though he was intending to carry out missionary works in Rome, but the journey never took place. He resided in Macao to study theology, where he recorded the unique landscape of Macao as a city featuring the integration of Chinese and Western cultures at that time in his poetry album Sanba Ji (Poems from St. Paul’s). Inspired by the cross-disciplinary cultural pioneer, the exhibition is divided into four indoor halls which are connected with an outdoor space, forming a loop that runs through the past and the present, narrating Wu Li’s unfinished European journey through the contemporary art. By excavating fragments of the past, the exhibition traces Macao’s cultural roots, highlights cultural inclusiveness and innovation, and presents the unique multicultural heritage and vitality of Macao.
Last year, the Cultural Affairs Bureau invited exhibition curators from the “Local Curatorial Project”, one of the key programme of “Art Macao: Macao International Art Biennale 2025”, to submit proposals for the Collateral Event from Macao, China at the Biennale in Venice. The selected team is highly accomplished. Curators Feng Yan and Ng Sio Ieng have long been active in the field of contemporary art, whilst Fok Hoi Seng, O Chi Wai and Lei Fong Ieng are all emerging Macao artists who have participated in numerous exhibitions and art initiatives in Macao and overseas, and are skilled at exploring cultural identity and cross‑regional dialogue.
Since 2007, Macao has been participating in the “International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia”, one of the most prestigious art events in the world, in the hope of promoting the unique charm and creative force of Macao’s contemporary art. The exhibition “Jacone’s Polyphony” marks the 10th time Macao is participating in this great event, which not only further explores local historical context, but also reinterprets cross-cultural issues through an international language. The exhibition will be held at Arsenale, Campo della Tana, Castello 2126/A, 30122, Venice, Italy from 9 May to 22 November 2026. Admission is free. For more information about the exhibition, please visit the Macao Museum of Art website at www.MAM.gov.mo.
