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Taking Charles Dickens as their unlikely muse, a group of young local artists are confronting questions of change and identity in the brave new Macau. With the rise of the casino-studded Cotai Strip, and the wealth and vice it brings to the ex-colony, is it the best of times, or the worst of times?

Inside Out is a launch concert for the Associação dos Criadores de Macau, or macau.creatives’, new concept album. The piece is a collection of creative work, ranging from poetry to stop-motion animation, which is based on eight songwriters’ ideas about the culturally confused S.A.R.

“From the cityscape and the economy to our value systems and sense of belonging, nothing is quite the same here anymore,” says Inside Out’s project producer Sio Ng, “We use music as a channel to ask how our generation is supposed to cope with all this abrupt change.”

Along with an eight-track CD that tackles issues from traffic to gambling, through pop, soft rock and rap, there is an accompanying music video DVD and an art book – all made entirely in Macau. The latter two exclusively showcase the work of Macanese filmmakers, graphic artists, writers and photographers. The concept album will be released immediately after the concert.

Prior to this year, the macau.creative, whose mission since 2005 has been to develop and promote the creative industry in Macau, had launched two major multimedia projects: macau.xmas.2005 and Untitled Chapters in 2008. Inside Out is their third, most ambitious production. Accordingly, the group has taken a poignant new slogan this year: “In an era of change, this is our way out.”

The concert’s title, Inside Out, further stresses the angst of a bright young generation with the ground forever shifting under their feet. And with all that’s happened in Macau – and the world – over the last year, who can’t relate to that?

For enquiries, contact Sio Ng at + 853 6689 0837, info@macau-creatives.org; www.macau-creatives.org.