The best artsy spots in Macau to visit

Founded in 1999, the Macao Museum of Art (MAM) houses more than 16,000 artefacts across five storeys, and is the largest space for the displaying of art in Macau. Much of its collection has been inherited from the old Luís de Camões Museum, and visitors can expect to see Chinese calligraphy and paintings, historical pictures, ceramics, photography, modern and contemporary art, and more. Some of the MAM’s most important pieces include Peacock, Pine and Bamboo and Eagles by the Ming dynasty court painter Lin Liang, and Chinese paintings and calligraphy by masters from the Ming and Qing dynasties. There are also painting collections from the likes of Auguste Borget, George Chinnery, António Baptista, and Lamqua.

There’s a corner of Macau that’s home to street art and graffiti, where a group of international and local graffiti artists decorated their walls as part of the Outloud arts festival in 2018. So if museums are not quite your style, the area around Praça de Ponte e Horta is a great artsy alternative. See large-scale murals by well-known Portuguese artist Vhils, who carves his works out of walls, as well as works by Pibg2038, Kenji, Rukkit, Vance DNA, and more.

Take a journey into space at Wynn Palace’s Illuminarium, an exhibition that allows visitors to float through galaxies, be immersed in a multi-coloured nebula, and walk on the moon. Tracking China’s astronomical journey from the 11th century to modern space exploration, Illuminarium uses audio-visual technology to create immersive worlds where experiences can feel different based on where you are and how you interact with the show. 

Depending on the time slot, you can also experience Wild, another multi-sensory experience but this time set in the heart of a savannah. Spot almost 50 species of Africa’s native animals as you make your way through the plains using footage that was shot on location in Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tanzania. Admission to the Illuminarium shows are priced at MOP$288 for standard tickets and MOP$188 for residents of Macau.

Speaking of aesthetically pleasing attractions at Wynn Palace, the hotel itself is also a hub for artistic works. Casino mogul and real estate developer Stephen Wynn is also a passionate art collector, so it stands to reason that there is artwork, ceramics, sculptures, and more dotted throughout Wynn Palace. Tear your eyes away from the music and light show at their performance lake and visit the Buccleuch Vases, a quartet of porcelain baluster vases from the Qing dynasty that are extremely rare – in fact, the only other set of four matching vases belonged to Queen Elizabeth II and are in Buckingham Palace!

Transformed from its previous life as the mechanical room of an old dockyard, Navy Yard No. 1 is now a contemporary art centre. The spacious gallery interspersed with steel columns gives off a modern, slightly grungy vibe, and is the spot to hit up for experimental art performances or contemporary visual art.