The works of local Macao-based artist, Ieong Man Pan, have been acquired by private collector Sabrina Ho.　　Photo courtesy of Ieong Man Pan

For a long time, there is no mistaking the divide between business and art. Indeed, many arts and cultural activities are typically sponsored by the government, and seldom attracted the support of the business sector. However, in 2016, some business leaders, mainly from the gaming sector, have proactively organised several large-scaled arts and cultural activities. For example, Ms Sabrina Ho, daughter of the tycoon Stanley Ho, staged two Macao hotel art expos as well as a graduation art exhibition within a year’s time. Moreover, Chau Cheok Wa, the local gaming tycoon, pioneered the inaugural International Film Festival & Awards‧Macao ceremony, directed by leading international film show curator, Marco Müller, which led to much anticipation from the cultural sector as well as considerable international attention.

Judging from the discussion on social media, the local cultural sector has paid much attention to these projects, particularly because these projects will help them create platforms for business and international exchange, such as allowing artists to sell and promote their works. Later, Müller decided to resign from the role due to his conflicts in opinion with the rest of the organising committee, but a discussion with Müller has revealed the level of engagement by the potential in the new wave of Macao-born filmmakers. This also reveals that the project has been successful in offering international exchange for the local film enterprises. Nonetheless, as soon as the film expo started, there was controversy within the sector. According to the local sector, although the event was attended by international filmmakers or practitioners, there was little audience. This suggested that the event could benefit from more extensive publicity. The key to achieving industry recognition, therefore, has to do with how much the organisers care about the professional trade and local participation. In Macao, is the convergence of art and business a lasting one or a short term effect? This is certainly food for thought.

As far as international communities are concerned, enterprises and individuals have always been important sponsors for the arts and cultural sector. The United States, for example, has a substantial amount of such sponsors, with over 30% of income of the non-profit sector coming from these enterprises and individuals, which is five times higher than the income they received from government bodies. From a financial point of view, such sponsorship is usually motivated by certain agenda, such as tax exemptions, branding and social recognition. What is worth considering is that if the benefits of business sponsorships are so obvious, why do we still need to put in so much effort to lobby for it? The reason why the businesses and individuals are so keen to support arts and cultural events, after all, demand for some incentives other than fame or financial reward.

In recent times, the leading banking and financial giant in the United States, J P Morgan, has acquired an extensive art collection. In the 20th century, he was appointed the Chairman of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. His tireless advocacy for more business support to the arts has a reverberating impact on the American public arts industry. When we look at the history of J P Morgan, we can see that he majored in fine art history when he was at university, a time when he visited art galleries, museums and historic relics. As a result of his knowledge in arts and culture, Morgan became known as one of the important arts patrons and advocates.

As we can see, the motivation behind business participation in arts and culture could be related to certain agenda such as the knowledge on arts and culture of the patrons, or the networks developed between the enterprises and certain arts and cultural leaders. A similar parallel could be found in the art patrons in Macao, even now, in discussing individual and business sponsorships for activities, non-profit organisations in the United States care about the mutual understanding between the parties. This goes to show the social dimension of the convergence of arts and business. In the example of Macao’s arts and culture, this convergence is still in its early stage. Nonetheless, such mutual dialogue between arts and cultural enterprises and the businesses may perhaps encourage a more diverse and sustainable sector.