Guided by the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangdong Province and the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government (INSTITUTO CULTURAL do Governo da Região Administrativa Especial de Macau), and jointly organized by the Guangdong Museum (Guangzhou Lu Xun Museum) and the Macao Museum of Art (Museu de Arte de Macau), the exhibition Focus: Integration of Art Between China and the West in the 18th-19th Centuries opened at the Macao Museum of Art on May 10, 2024. Attending the opening ceremony were Mr. Cheang Kai Meng, Vice President (Acting President) of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government; Mr. Wang Huijie, Division Director of the Department of Publicity and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR; Mr. Sun Xuliang, Level I Division Rank Official, and Mr. Sun Weiling, Level III Division Rank Official, of the Museums and Social Cultural Relics Division of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangdong Province; Mr. Xiao Haiming, Director of the Guangdong Museum; and Dr. MOK Kar Wing, Museum Director of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government, among others.
 

Opening Ceremony 

This exhibition marks a comprehensive presentation of export paintings within the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area. It brings together nearly two decades of collections from the Guangdong Museum’s Chinese Export Painting series, which are presented here for the first time. It is also another major original exhibition under the Guangdong Museum's "Chinese Export Art Series" brand. Based on the original exhibition of the same name held at the Guangdong Museum in 2022, this exhibition joins forces with several cultural and museum institutions in Hong Kong and Macao known for their historical painting collections. Together they have selected about 300 representative pieces, exploring artistic integration across artistry, techniques, and materials. The exhibition presents the “Guangzhou era” of artistic dialogue and integration between Chinese and foreign artists in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was awarded the International and Hong Kong–Macao–Taiwan Cooperation Award at the 20th (2022) National Top Ten Museum Exhibitions. 

As a leading cultural institution in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, the Guangdong Museum has been an active promoter of exchange and collaboration among museums in the three regions. Its major collaborative exhibitions include East and West: Cultural Relics from the Pearl River Delta Region, Maritime Porcelain Road: Relics from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Museums, and Historical Imprints of Lingnan: Major Archaeological Discoveries of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. Empowered by the “Five Dimensions of Guangdong Museum” development concept, the museum co-initiated the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area Museum Alliance in November 2023, along with 24 museums and art galleries from the three regions. The alliance aims to strengthen cultural synergy, foster the integration of diverse cultures, and promote Lingnan culture both nationwide and globally, contributing to the creation of a world-class culturally vibrant Greater Bay Area. Following the exhibition A Tale of Three Cities: The Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area and Export of Silk Products in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which toured the Macao Museum and the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Guangdong Museum has now brought another landmark exhibition—Focus: Integration of Art Between China and the West in the 18th-19th Centuries—to the Macao Museum of Art. As a major collaborative project under the newly founded GBA Museum Alliance, it stands as a testament to the close partnership and cultural vitality shared among the three regions.

Exhibition View 

The exhibition runs until September 15.