Business Excellence Awards 2021

22 Acquisition International - Business Excellence Awards 2021 Best Contemporary Art Learning Organisation - Macau ABEL believes that learning enhances social inclusion, active citizenship, personal development and self- sustainability, rather than competitiveness or employability. It offers opportunities for ongoing, voluntary, self-motivated pursuit of knowledge and new ways of thinking, for either personal or professional reasons, for people of all ages. Its aim is educational excellence, informal learning, love, social commitment, innovation and experimentation, motivation, flexibility, evaluation, interdisciplinary approach, creativity and transparency. Tiago Quadros and Margarida Saraiva have the pleasure of coordinating an extraordinary teamacross the globe who help to create an outstanding programme in different locations: José Drummond in Shanghai is building BABEL’s public programme; Bernardo Amaral is curator for architecture in Portugal; Tomé Quadros is an expanded cinema curator; Leonor Veiga is an art historian and researcher specialised in the Southeast Asian from Mompellier and Lisbon; and Issaque Pereira is curating in the field of literature and performance, based in Macau. Besides this fantastic core team, there are other collaborators and partners who have helped to shape this unique business model which has been created and sustained since 2013. COVID-19 has accelerated the digitalisation of the art world, meaning that on one hand the art world has no borders in which one can attend any conference, any art talk, any art course and any exhibition from anywhere in the world at any time, while on the other hand artists will have to re-invent the way in which they work and the way in which they present their work. The competition is now truly global. What happens to theatre, for example, if the performance would have to be broadcasted simultaneously? If the largest shopping centre is in your own pocket, what will happen to all those gigantic store spaces? If all the exhibitions, concerts, films, performances are in your pocket, then what will be the future of a cultural centre, a museum, a theatre hall? Since COVID-19, BABEL has created a project which is already an initial attempt to address this specific challenge, which includes a series of online exhibitions and artist talks through a recently created platform, ZiZhi.art: www.zizhi.art Another challenging issue as a non-for-profit organisation is how to maintain sustainability in a world in which the competition for funding is fierce. BABEL is also this year launching a major global project titled SOS – Stole Object Stories, which aims to become an informal and B transnational archive bringing about a new set of interrogations over the knowledge produced under supremacy assumptions of one nation over another. Offering a kaleidoscopic perspective on the subject in a transparent way, “Stolen Objects Stories” digitally collects objects, stories, news, interviews, photographs, essays, and related contemporary art practices, introducing and describing objects displaced from their origins, from the indigenous communities in Africa, Asia, America, Australia and also within Europe and placed along with other objects at the centre of certain national museums. Simultaneously, SOS invites contemporary artists, curators, writers, and filmmakers to re-invent those objects and stories, re-introducing them into the flow of contemporary existence. As BABEL approaches learning with an open perspective and as lovers of art in the public space, it is planning a large-scale installation by Konstantin Bessmerty, one of the most distinguished artists working in Asia today, to be presented by the end of this year. The artwork consists of covering Largo Eduardo Marques, in Coloane Village, re-using carpets disposed of by one of the casino operators. By the end of the installation/exhibition period, the local community will be invited to cut a piece of the carpet and take it home, re-using it as they please or need. BABEL’s mission is to generate research and learning opportunities in the field of contemporary art, architecture and environment. It was conceived as a museum without walls and aims to work between cultures and across disciplines, while establishing regional and international partnerships with institutions of recognised educational and cultural merit. Therefore, a spirit of collaboration and the creation of fruitful synergies is essential to the fulfilment of BABEL’s goals. Apr21566 Company: BABEL – Cultural Organisation Contact: Margarida Saraiva Website: www.babel-cultural-organization.com