Macao Art Society Research

For thousands of years,Chinese calligraphers,painters,poets socializing,creating co-authored art works or organizingart events in the way of gathering or establishing an artist group has been an elegant tradition among intellectuals.But the establishment of associations or groups of artists sharing the common purpose or with identical artistic pursuit began after the democratic revolution in modern China and soon became a trend.But the phenomenon whispered after mid 20th century.However,with 200 years of colonial history and now as a special administrative region in China,Macao SAR has developed its own culture as a typical "community society",with more than 7,000 nongovernmental organizations and associations of every aspect of Macao SAR society.Researchers cannot simply leave out the artist groups and associations in such a"community society",for their vital roles in Macao art history of 20th century.From the Lingnan School of Painting in early 20th century,Macao artists have established many artist groups,associations,societies and registered as nongovernmental organizations.Artists organize collective artistic activities as a whole under different societies,gaining financial supports from governments of different periods.Some of the early artist associations survive till today,uniting and influencing local artists since their founding day.Today almost all the registered organizations live on the government subsidy.The existence and development of artist societies is the result of the supporting policies of different governments in the history of Macao,the Portuguese colonial government and the government after December 20th,1999,under the reign of People's Republic of China.It reflects the politics,economics and cultural orientations of Macao over the centuries.The qualitative research method is used when literatures and publications are collected from those organizations("Yu Un" Chinese Calligraphers and Painters Association of Macao,Macao Artist Society,The photographic Society of Macao,Macao Sculpture Association,Art For All Society)established in Macao.From societies of traditional Chinese Painting and calligraphy,photography,modernism and contemporary art under global context,more than a hundred years of Macao art history are being examined,unveiling how art developed itself in a region where the art industry hasn't been completed yet.In comparison with the supporting policies of Hong Kong on contemporary arts,prospect and potential sponsoring policies have been put forward regarding the specialty of Macao society.Data are also from the government websites and research articles published by the Macao Foundation and local newspaper.See also Mr.Chen Jichun,Professor Mo Xiaoye and Professor Tang Kaijian 's articles on the art history of Macao.