The Uncertain Future of the Macau Design Centre

09 2015 | Issue 9
Text/Joseph Leung and Day Ng

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Initiated by the Macau Designers Association, the Macau Design Centre went into operation in November last year. Rather than adopting a business-oriented approach, the centre’s mission lies in promoting creative and energetic design in the city, and in providing designers with the creative space for their work, giving designers from different media or disciplines a platform to collaborate and exchange ideas.

 

Other than providing studio space at affordable rates to practicing designers in Macao, the centre also boasts exhibition venues for showcasing their work. On the ground floor, there is a retail outlet for selling products created by the designers, as well as a small café. A membership is required in order for people to make use of these facilities and to receive the latest updates from the centre. The Chairman of the Macau Designers Association, Chu Cheok Son James, said that the centre’s decision to include retail sales at the venue is primarily to showcase the works of these designers, encouraging those who favour these products to approach the designers directly, an initiative that helps to bring more opportunities to the designers.

 

Currently, all 17 studio spaces in the centre have been taken up by designers with different specialised expertise. “The centre does not intend to house designers of identical disciplines. It is important that we cultivate different talents rather than promote a specific type of design.”

 

In fact, each designer can only reside at the centre for no more than three years, and is subject to an annual review each year. Since the centre is funded in part by the Cultural Industries Fund, the assessment panel to review the designers comprises two representatives from the government and a representative from the Centre. Chu considered this arrangement unsatisfactory: “Those who represent the fund should at least demonstrate a working knowledge on the design sector. Otherwise, it is unfair for the designers to be assessed by outsiders of the trade.”

 

Macau Design Centre tends to rely on some commercial sponsorship or, if not, on government subsidy and promotion. However, at present, the centre does not receive any corporate sponsorship, while government support comes only in the form of the Cultural Industries Fund. Chu said that while the centre has applied for a five-year funding, it has only received enough capital to operate for two years. At present, its expenses are supported mainly by the Macau Designers Association. In other words, the centre faces a degree of uncertainty about its future.

 

Chu felt that the creative industries in Macao are yet to be firmly established, and face an uncertain future owing to a lack of clear government support. “The government did not indicate whether it will intervene the market or to encourage the market to achieve its own equilibrium. This has inhibited the small to medium enterprises from supporting the creative industries. Many of these companies are waiting for the government to take the lead before they would do so, and in turn the lack of corporate funding has hindered the development of the creative sector.”

 

When asked about the prospects of Macao’s designers, Chu said: “Despite the forward-looking work of the designers, the people in Macao are still quite conservative in terms of their aesthetic taste, and so the local designers find it hard to appeal to this market. Nonetheless, a good designer should not just cater to the market, but play a more active role to bring about innovation. Design is a profession, and creative design has the power to transform a city’s ambience and aesthetics.”