- MGM revitalizes former Barra Slaughterhouse site as a hub for creativity and collaboration.
- The company aims to leverage the Barra District’s distinctiveness to meet the consumer needs of different generations while elevating economic and cultural development.
MGM launched its Chinese New Year series event “Barra Lucky Blessing Market” ahead of the holiday, transforming the former Barra Slaughterhouse site into a cultural and tourism landmark with its innovative hybrid space concept.
As a major celebration for Chinese New Year, the market brought together partners from diverse fields including art, culture and business. It invited the prestigious Prince Kung’s Palace Museum (a national first-class museum), Japanese emerging illustrator Shinri Murakami and local creative retail brand Bookand, among others, to explore the flexibility of the space and showcase the potential for cross-industry collaboration.
The “Barra Lucky Blessing Market” brought together four major elements: Chinese intangible cultural heritage skills, trendy illustrations, Weekend Market and Music Festival. The market displayed 22 precious New Year paintings from the Prince Kung’s Palace Museum and offered workshops inviting visitors to unleash their creativity and make trendy reinterpretations of the paintings. MGM also offered an exclusive “Printmaking Material Set” for guests to purchase and collaborated with Bookand to host a solo exhibition of Shinri Murakami’s illustrations, alongside a pop-up café that combined themed beverages and cultural merchandise.
In addition, 35 local SMEs participated in the Weekend Market, offering a variety of cultural, handmade and pet-friendly products. Known bands and musicians from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan also held live performances, providing visitors with a diverse cultural consumption experience.
Meanwhile, MGM launched a series of other New Year activities in Barra District. Activities include the parent-child art experience “‘ART-ZOO Splashes of Joy’ World of Wonders”, the special exhibition “Zhang Yimou’s Studio: Mastermind Behind Macau 2049”, the global debut of renowned contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang’s AI model exhibition, “cAI™: Soul Scan”, as well as Chinese New Year activities such as Fortune God voucher giveaways and calligraphy workshops. These events offer citizens a chance to enjoy cultural and entertainment activities while experiencing a strong New Year atmosphere.
It is worth noting that all spaces in the Barra District have remained fully open to pets during the Chinese New Year period. Visitors can bring their pets along to experience the exciting activities.
Kenneth Feng, President and Executive Director of MGM China, said that after successfully hosting 14 events in Barra District in 2024, MGM is looking to further develop the area in 2025 by promoting cross-industry collaboration and resource sharing. By making use of the former Barra Slaughterhouse site to create a hybrid space that encourages innovation, MGM aims to not only build a new cooperative ecosystem for merchants that is complementary and collaborative but also to explore more flexible and diverse business models while providing visitors with a cultural and lifestyle experience that combines historical significance with trendy elements.
“We will continue to leverage the Barra District’s distinctiveness to meet the consumer needs of different generations, while elevating economic and cultural development,” Feng said.
