This book explores how urban spaces and imagery serve as vessels for artistic creation, conveying cultural identity and heritage, by focusing on Macau as a case study. The book examines the role of city imagery in the contexts of World Heritage and intangible cultural heritage, and its transformation into artistic expression. Through field research, artist interviews, and detailed case studies, the book presents the creative processes of 22 artists, revealing how the mountain-sea-city imagery is translated into diverse artistic languages and media. By tracing Macaus historical development, spatial patterns, landscape characteristics, and folk traditions, the text demonstrates how urban imagery functions as a multi-layered symbol connecting natural environments, historical sites, and cultural practices. This volume highlights the significance of artistic interpretation in shaping cultural identity, preserving heritage, and fostering urban memory. It also provides theoretical and methodological insights into how art and design can operate as interdisciplinary tools for reinterpreting and re-presenting cultural heritage in contemporary contexts. It is relevant to researchers, graduate students, artists, and cultural policymakers, offering a unique perspective on the intersection of art, urban space, and heritage, and serves as a practical reference for understanding cross-cultural artistic practice and the narration of urban memory.
Chapter
01. Introduction: The City as a Canvas.
Chapter
02. City
Imagery and Cultural Translation.
Chapter
03. Macaus City Imagery.
Chapter
04. Translating City Imagery into Artistic Language.
Chapter
05.
Contemporary Art and Localized Practice.
Chapter
06. Urban Heritage in
Artistic Narratives.
Wang Po-Hsun is an Associate Professor in Design Science and Executive Associate Dean at the Faculty of Innovation and Design, City University of Macau. He received his Ph.D. in Design Science from the National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Taiwan, China. His research focuses on visual communication design, urban and rural planning, cultural heritage, and city branding. He has authored multiple monographs, including MacaoCreative City and Cultural Design, and published extensively in leading peer-reviewed journals. He leads funded research projects on environmental perception and urban experience, integrating eye-tracking and metaverse technologies.
Ni Kang is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Innovation and Design, City University of Macau. She received her Ph.D. in Landscape Architecture from the University of Edinburgh, UK, and holds a Master of Social Science in Environmental Assessment from Waseda University, Japan. Her research focuses on urban green and blue spaces, city models, landscape preference, forest landscapes, and public health. She has published in journals such as Frontiers in Psychology and Journal of Transport & Health, and presented at international conferences including ICLEE and ESALA. Her work examines how residents interact with urban and forest landscapes, informing sustainable design and city planning.
