CITY OF MUSEUMS : REFLECTIONS ON EXHIBITING MACAO
This article examines the phenomenon of "museum fever" in Macao during the final years of the Portuguese administration, a period marked by intense political and social transition prior to the 1999 handover. Between 1993 and 1999, the rapid inauguration of several major cultural institutions signale...
Saved in:
| Published in: | Review of Culture |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Articles |
| Published: |
Instituto Cultural de Macau
January 2003
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40005/2705 |
| Summary: | This article examines the phenomenon of "museum fever" in Macao during the final years of the Portuguese administration, a period marked by intense political and social transition prior to the 1999 handover. Between 1993 and 1999, the rapid inauguration of several major cultural institutions signaled a shift in the territory’s self-representation, moving away from its historical reputation as a "City of Casinos" toward a new identity as a "City of Culture." Drawing on ethnographic research and cultural anthropology, the author explores how museums function as sites of ideological production and "machines for recontextualization."
The study investigates the fundamental question of how material and artistic productions contribute to a society's construction of a collective self-consciousness. By analyzing the social and historical contexts of Macao’s museumification, Clayton argues that these institutions are not merely repositories of the past but are active participants in negotiating the city’s changing relationship with its heritage and its future. The article concludes that the development of Macao’s museums reflects a deliberate effort to institutionalize public meaning, providing a crucial lens through which to understand the evolving identity of a society navigating a complex period of decolonization and political integration. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1682-1106 |