The Enchantment of the Serpent

The Rui Cunha Foundation opens today, Tuesday, May 27th at 5:30pm, the Student Art Exhibition 2025 “The Enchantment of the Serpent: Chasing Dreams”, an event annually promoted by the Macau Association for Intellectual Development Services (MAIDS) – the former Macau Association for the Mentally Handicapped – to share with the public the amount of imagination and creativity in the work carried out by young people with autism and other development disabilities.

This event is organized every year with the works of members from the associated Schools and Centers, which resulted in a total of 30 colorful artworks, created by students from the Kai Chi School, the Kai Chi Early Training Center, the Kai Lung Vocational Center, the Kai Hon Center and the “Sam Meng Chi” Snack Shop. The arts display is always joined by an internal competition – this year under the title “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” –, to challenge the minds of the participants in finding partners for MAIDS mascot – “Smart (Chi Chai)” –, a total of 52 contributors whose prizes will be presented to the winners at this ceremony.

The main exhibition includes paintings, drawings, collages, and handicrafts, resulting from the ongoing MAIDS’s project of validation through art, for its communicative potential, its ability to stimulate personal self-knowledge and to challenge the difficulties, stigmas and prejudices among the young people with special needs. This year the age group of participants was expanded, allowing more students to take part in the competition.

Founded in 1986, this institution offers early intervention services, special education, and day centers for didactic activities, as well as rendering employment support services for people with intellectual disabilities. At the same time, MAIDS has encouraged the learning of manual arts, as a way to develop emotional and behavioral skills through self-expression. These workshops offer children and young people an opportunity to manipulate materials, stimulating the exploration through alternative communication methods, which give them a sense of control of the creative environment.

By supporting and inspiring a free artistic creation space, the schools and centers associated with this project have been able to follow the growth of these students in terms of individual expression, improvement of social opportunities, greater self-esteem, well-being, and happiness. These feelings contribute to their mental health and the experience of a life with dignity, according to MAIDS.

The artworks will be displayed until June 7th, 2025.

Admission is free.
Don’t miss it!
For Macau, Further and Higher!

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