Inner Whispers – Macao Youth Art Invitational Exhibition

喃喃自語——澳門青年藝術邀請展

Opening Ceremony: Friday, 21 August 2026, at 18:00

Exhibition Dates: 22 August- 27 September 2026

Opening Hours: 10am – 7pm (closed on Mondays)

Location: ˙ART Space, 1/F Podium, Macao Cultural Centre, Av. Xian Xing Hai, NAPE, Macau

Curator: Lai Sio Kit

Art Coordination: Lai Sut Weng

Artists:

Ho Si Man Lam Kai Weng

Wu Hin Long Cheong Hoi I

Liang Jia Hui Chan I Lei

Chan Wai San Cheang Chon Hei

Dai Bai Liang MCZ_Thomas

Organizer: Macau Youth Art Association

Funding Unit: Cultural Development Fund of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government

Venue Support: Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government

Supporting Unit: Macao Sculpture Association

Preface

Creation is a journey walked alone. In the silent studio, the artist repeatedly questions themselves: What concept do I want to express? What language should I use to articulate it? How will it turn out? How can I express it better, more appropriately? Should I choose painting, sculpture, video, installation, or some unclassifiable medium? How should the work be presented to reach and convey that elusive emotion? What kind of structure can carry those wavering thoughts? And how will the audience perceive it intuitively?

These questions never stop spinning. They represent not a linear progression, but a circuitous, repetitive, even self-negating inner dialogue. The artist is both the questioner and the respondent, whispering softly to themselves, questioning in a low voice, and revising over and over again through countless days and nights. I call this state “inner whispers”.

“Inner whispers” mean not aloofness, but focus; not chaos, but clarity. It is the murmur before inspiration arrives, the hesitation between choices, the repeated interrogation of form and concept. These sounds are usually not heard, yet they become the most authentic prehistory of the work.

This exhibition invites ten young Macao artists, presenting fifty works that reveal the unspoken fragmental thoughts in their creative process. It embodies the traces of the artists’ thinking—the repeated deliberations and refinements that lead to a work with their final conclusions. What viewers will see here is not just the “result”, but also the private and sincere self-talk that occurs in the “process”.

As you step into the exhibition room, please try to tread lightly and you may hear the ceaseless whispering at the bottom of the artists’ hearts—the most primordial, most essential sound in creation.

Lai Sio Kit

Curator

Curator Biography

Lai Sio Kit currently lives in Macau and works as a full-time artist and curator. He graduated from the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts with a bachelor's and a master's degree. He is a Director of the Chinese Artists Association, Vice chairman of the Macau Artist Society, and president of the Macau Youth Art Association.

His works have been exhibited in Macau, China, Portugal, the United States, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and other regions on many occasions, and he has held 22 solo exhibitions to date, including White Shade, Gleam Through Shade, Eternity in an Hour, Single Moment, As Time Goes by, Memory Matrix and The Secret Garden.

An artist keen on creation, Lai is also adept at curating. Since 2015, he has been involved in more than 10 group and solo exhibitions, thereby gaining rich curatorial experience.

Balancing the dual roles of creator and curator, he continues to inject energy into Macau’s art scene.

Artist Biography