Forensics and rescue in Mediterranean humanitarianism

The EGS seminar this year will continue to pursue the question of refugees, rights, and representation. The struggle for rights and recognition occurs on a battlefield of representations, among other things, and some of the chief actors on that field are humanitarians.  “Refugee” is a category for both humanitarian and human rights discourses, and the tension between the two representations of this condition has given rise to a robust critical literature. To claim rights is not the same thing to ask for help; the demand for justice can be very different than the plea for aid.  Both discourses, though, make reference to the concept of ‘humanity,’ and both practices increasingly rely on forensic or evidentiary strategies. We will explore critical accounts of humanitarian action and ask about their significance in light of the ongoing criminalization not only of migrants in the Mediterranean and elsewhere, but also of the humanitarians who seek to aid them. Is a new sort of politics of humanitarian action emerging in response to this targeting? We will continue to work with the investigators of Forensic Oceanography (this year Charles Heller will join us) , and we will also meet with humanitarian activists based in Malta.

SESSION 1: EXPELLED FROM HUMANTY ALTOGETHER
Hannah Arendt, “The Decline of the Nation-State and the End of the Rights of Man,” in The Origins of Totalitarianism, World Publishing (1958), 267-302
Jacques Rancière, “Who is the Subject of the Rights of Man?,” South Atlantic Quarterly 103:2-3 (Spring-Summer 2004), 297-310

SESSION 2: CRITIQUE OF HUMANITARIAN REASON
Didier Fassin, “Truth Ordeal” and “Conclusion,”  in Humanitarian Reason, U Cal P (2011), 109-129, 243-257
Miriam Ticktin, “The Illness Clause,” in Casualties of Care , U Cal P (2011), 89-127

SESSION 3: FORENSIC OCEANOGRAPHY  1: FROM NON-ASSISTANCE TO DEATH BY RESCUE
Charles Heller and Lorenzo Pezzani,  “Case: Left-to-Die Boat” and “Liquid Traces,”  in Forensis, Sternberg (2014) , 638-655, 657-684
Heller and Pezzani, “Ebbing and Flowing,” Near Futures Online 1, March 2016
Forensic Oceanography, The Left-to-Die Boat Case (2012): http://www.forensic-architecture.org/case/left-die-boat/
Forensic Oceanography, Death By Rescue (2016): https://deathbyrescue.org/report/narrative/

SESSION 4: FORENSIC OCEANOGRAPHY 2: CRIMINALIZING RESCUE
Amnesty International, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (2018)
Forensic Oceanography, Blaming the Rescuers (2018):
https://blamingtherescuers.org/
Valentina Zagaria, “When rescue at sea becomes a crime,” Open Democracy (15 September 2018)
https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/valentina-zagaria/when-rescue-at-sea-becomes-crime-who-tunisian-fishermen-arrested-in-italy-really-a
Giulia Bertoluzzi, “Tunisian fishermen on the front line of migrant tragedy,” Middle East Eye (31 October 2017)
https://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/fishermen-zarzis-1153799343

SESSION 5: SEMINAR WITH MALTA HUMANITARIAN ACTIVISTS

SESSION 6: RESCUE AS DEPOLITICIZING OR REPOLITICIZING?
Sophie Hinger, “Transformative Trajectories” (interview with Heller and Pezzani), Movements 4, no. 1 (2018), 193-208
Heller and Pezzani, “The Perils of Migration” (October 2018), draft  – no circulation
Paolo Cuttitta, “Repoliticization through Search and Rescue”,” Geopolitics 23, no. 3 (July -September 2018), 632-660
Paolo Cuttitta, “Pushing Migrants Back to Libya, Persecuting Rescue NGOs,” Border Criminologies blog (18 April 2018), Parts I and II

IF WE HAVE TIME
Joe Sacco, “The Unwanted,” in Journalism, Jonathan Cape (2012), 107-157
https://www.vqronline.org/vqr-gallery/unwanted-part-1
https://www.vqronline.org/vqr-gallery/unwanted-part-2

Sharing the Legacy

Kultura.TV legacy:

FRAGMENTA Book Crowdfunding Campaign from Fragmenta Malta on Vimeo.

Fragmenta
After 5 successful years, it was time for a celebration!
FRAGMENTA is proud to present all projects realized between 2013 and 2018 in form of a retrospective exhibition. Archive material of the past 5 years, as well as new contributions by FRAGMENTA artists, will be on display. Expect videos, live performances, anecdotes, jokes, surprises, fireworks, and bangs. We will show the real fragments of FRAGMENTA Malta. FRAGMENTA has been supported by Valletta 2018 – European Capital of Culture.
Fragmenta Malta
Malta’s Muses: Goddess, Madonna, Witch – A lecture and performance with Kay Turner. Fragmenta Malta is incredibly honored and proud to be able to present a site-specific performance by renowned folklore professor and performer Kay Turner on a special prehistoric site of Malta. Kay Turner will lecture on the overlapping her-stories of the Goddess, Madonna and Witch, three figures identifying Woman and women in Maltese life for generations, even millennia. Following the talk, Kay Turner will invite to a participatory performance. The performance will take form of a creative procession to which audience members are invited to join – or simply to watch. We are attempting to recreate a holy trinity. Additional performers from New York City: Mary Sanger, Karen Siegel, and Paula Schors
Since 2013, FRAGMENTA Malta has so far organized 25 art events and experimental exhibitions with many international artists. We are now raising funds to publish a book with an overview of these events, texts about art in public space and reflections on art’s responsibility in society, not only in Malta, but the whole world. The book also contains funny quotes, headlines, and absurdities. FRAGMENTA is an NGO based in Malta. It’s finally happening! The ultimate FRAGMENTA book is now available for pre-order! Written for both newcomers and long-time FRAGMENTA fans alike, this book – “FRAGMENTA 2013 – 2018. Art and Life in Public Space” – is a treasure-trove of art, art in public space and insider-information about Malta. Give your support here to help make this project happen! — https://www.indiegogo.com/…/fragmenta-malta-2013-2018-book-…Fragmenta Malta Bettina Hutschek

Art+Feminism
As part of the international Art+Feminism project, Spazju Kreattiv is hosting a wiki edit-a-thon to bring together people who are interested in learning how to edit Wikipedia to create new articles and improve existing content about women artists in Malta and their works. This hands-on event is led by Dr Toni Sant and facilitated by Wikimedia Community Malta and the M3P Foundation. There was also talks by historian Dr Tracy Prince, a Research Professor at Portland State University’s American Indian Teacher Program. Spazju Kreattiv M3P
Art+Feminism Edit-a-thon hija inizzjattiva bejn Blitz, l-Wikipedia Community Malta u Spazju Kreattiv ġewwa Saint James Cavalier taħt l-kappa tal-proġett Wiki Loves Art. Dan il-proġett inħoloq sabiex jiġu indirizzati ċertu nuqqasijiet fl-enċiklopedija diġitali, Wikipedia. L-attivitajiet infirxu fuq Spazju Kreattiv kif ukoll BLITZ li ospita’ wkoll esebizzjoni viżwali relatata mas-suġġett. Ltqajna mad-Direttur Artistiku Toni Sant fejn tkellimna aktar dwar dan il-katalogu li qed jinħoloq, b’kollezzjoni ta’ l-arti tagħna stess. Eventwalment dan qiegħed jitpoġġa fuq s-sit www.m3p.com.mt sabiex dan l-istess materjal ikun aċċessibbli għal kullħadd. F’kollaborazzjoni ma’ BLITZ, l-organizazzjoni ta’ l-arti kontemporanja fil-Belt Valletta matul l-avveniment li jmiss ser ikunu qegħdin iħarsu lejn l-arti u l-femminiżmu. Art+Feminism Edit-a-thon ser issir fid-9 ta’ Marzu fit-15.30pm sas-18.30pm u fl-10 ta’ Marzu bejn l-10.00am u l-16.00pm ġewwa BLITZ, Sta Lucia Street, Valletta.
During 2018 Blitz will be hosting an ART+FEMMINISM edit-a-thon. Art + Feminism is an international project aimed at improving content on women and the arts on Wikipedia, and encouraging women’s participation in the encyclopaedia. In the lead up to this event, Blitz invited Flora Katz to to present a public talk and raise awareness about Art + Feminism. On the occasion of the International Women’s Rights Day (March 8th), an edit-a-thon will be organised for the first time in Malta on March 9th and 10th, 2018 at the Blitz gallery, with the support of the French Embassy. Flora’s visit is supported by the French Embassy in Malta. For more information about Flora Katz: https://www.fondation-entreprise-ricard.com/…/134-flora-katz For more information regarding upcoming events by Blitz: http://thisisblitz.com/programme/

Transformer
Transformer, a multi-faceted, two-year project that builds relationships bet­ween the Maltese artistic context and international cultural networks through a series of border-crossing curatorial and artistic exchanges. There will be a project introduction by Transformer’s creative directors, Emma Talbot and Mick Finch, followed by a round table discussion with Transformer’s artists and artist-run organisations at 6.45pm, and a panel discussion, which will consider how the participating international artist-run organisations and artists involved with Transformer are operating in the con­tem­porary art context. There will then be the opening of the Transformer multi-site exhibition. Blitz Malta Society of Arts Villa Bologna
Sejjaħ lil Malta (Call Malta) is a site-specific performance by Lebanese artist Tania El Khoury, that take place on two shorelines. It is the sound of the relationship of Malta and Tunisia and the border in between: The Mediterranan Sea. El Khoury is also part of the group exhibition being held at the St Elmo Examinations Centre. Performances will be taking place between 4pm to 7pm (6 shows with limited capacity of 5 people each ride)

Utopian Nights includes a series of public events which bring artists and thinkers together to discuss important social issues related to exile and conflict. Utopian Nights
The Utopian Nights will take place over the course of four themed events, where experts will engage the public with artistic interpretations of pressing political themes. All sessions will include an open debate with experts and an invitation for public feedback, followed by the opportunity to continue discussion during a social mixer event. Utopian Nights: Inside the Border will be taking place from the 1st August to the 5th August 2018 at Howard Gardens, Mdina. Through an array of activities, including debates, storytelling, an open-air cinema, photo studios, street performances and a Spoken Word concert, the public is invited to explore the tangible and intangible borders that cut through and fragment our world today.

The Valletta Design Cluster
The Valletta Design Cluster is a community space for cultural and creative practice situated in the renovated Old Abattoir building (Il-Biċċerija) in Valletta, Malta. The site is undergoing restoration and regeneration in order to host the Valletta Design Cluster facilities as of late 2019. Openness is one of the main pillars on which the Valletta Design Cluster concept builds its vision, placing itself as a key facility for learning, networking, creating, sharing experiences, ideas and projects with a number of stakeholders coming from different communities.
The Valletta Design Cluster is a community space for cultural and creative practice situated in the renovated Old Abattoir building (Il-Biċċerija) in Valletta, Malta. The site is undergoing restoration and regeneration in order to host the Valletta Design Cluster facilities as of late 2019. Openness is one of the main pillars on which the Valletta Design Cluster concept builds its vision, placing itself as a key facility for learning, networking, creating, sharing experiences, ideas, and projects with a number of stakeholders coming from different communities.
Playspace: New narratives for public space is a Valletta 2018 and a Valletta Design Cluster event, developed and delivered by Valletta-based creative studios We Live Here and AP Valletta, in consultation with Invisible Playground (Berlin), Siġġiewi Local Council and Council for Kids. The project proposes an open, street workshop with children as protagonists, where questions as to the nature of public space can be explored through the eyes and voices of the young. While we continue to sacrifice our precious public space for vehicles, we forget that those unable to drive, particularly children, suffer the consequences of car domination most acutely.

The Strada Stretta Concept, now operating under the recently-established Valletta Cultural Agency is an initiative that was initiated back in 2015 by the Valletta 2018 Foundation. It is an initiative developed under the artistic direction of Valletta-born academic Prof. Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci who also led the project in the run-up to and during Valletta’s tenure as European Capital of Culture. The Strada Stretta Concept began with the objective of reviving the cultural life of Strait Street with a series of events bridging traditional art forms with more experimental and contemporary approaches. This year’s calendar will kick-off with Strada Stretta Jam x4 on Thursday 5th September, a live music event featuring three quartet bands and a duo along Strait Street, including veteran musicians Joe Cutajar, Joe Camilleri (Il-Bibi), Dominic Galea, and Spanish singer-songwriter Cristina Villalonga. A second event will be held on Wednesday 6th November: the macabre, the paranormal, and magic will be the theme of a cabaret-style event titled Macabaret. The audience is promised a captivating show led by Malta’s top magician, Vanni Pule’. For further information and to keep up to date with the Strada Stretta Concept, visit and like the Facebook page – www.facebook.com/thestradastrettaconcept Valletta Cultural Agency The Strada Stretta Concept

Cement Truck Procession
Artist Margerita Pulé’s Cement Truck Procession-event continued with the Cement-Bakery during the Mahalla Festival in Malta at the Palazzo in Zabbar November 18th – 25th. Our lives are run by the growl of the cement mixer. The builder’s truck welcomes in our mornings, and the chaser accompanies our lunch. Our days are counted by the digger and the crane. Construction vehicles are integral to our everyday lives, and now they would like an acknowledgment of this fact. In this procession, artist Margerita Pulè acknowledged the authority of the Cement Mixer and led it in a slow walk through along Tower Road in Sliema; a town that has long bent its knee to these construction vehicles. The procession began at the Piazzetta where Tower Road meets Qui Si Sana, walked along Tower Road, and up Dingli St. As the procession made its way along the narrow streets, the audience received small cakes and bread made of cement. At the end of the procession, the Cement Truck left, and the small company carried along Howard St to the small garden to the side of the Teatru Salesjan. Some cement was poured, and the procession’s bandalora was placed in the garden.

Shifting Contexts
The Shifting Contexts exhibition emerged following an open call for young artists by Aġenzija Żgħażagħ. Curated by Trevor Borg, this youth arts project explores the critical role of art in response to a rapidly changing world, one where young people are invited to contribute to the ongoing discourse on topical concerns. The exhibition illustrates how participating artists responded to the theme, which they all shift and move to an original context, thus generating new meanings that allow for further interpretations to emerge. Shifting Contexts promotes a shared vision for the future of young people in accordance with the National Youth Policy – Towards 2020. This will contribute to driving cultural, social and economic regeneration as envisaged in the mission statement of Valletta 2018 and collectively lead to the building of vital and dynamic visions for the future.

Constellation Malta
Curator Rosa Martinez, first female director of the Venice Biennale in 2005, brings an experimental and multi-disciplinary project to generate dialogue about contemporary art and popular culture in public spaces and heritage sites all over the Maltese archipelago. A contemporary art exhibition at various heritage sites sheds new light on megalithic sites like Ħaġar Qim, the fortified cities of Mdina and the Citadel, and other historical and popular venues on the Islands. Just as celestial constellations were shaped to provide orientation, the artistic interventions in Constellation Malta will propose points, routes and new itineraries to navigate the local crossover of social, political, economic and artistic contexts. Moving from the local to the cosmic, the project will address the complexities of our contemporary world.

the Commons
We would like to invite local activists, academics and anyone interested in discussing with international speakers the need for commons in Malta. We are welcoming persons engaged in the defense of collective and cooperative actions, confronting the neoliberalisation of the commons. On November 23-24th (Friday and Saturday afternoons) a round table on the topic of “the Commons” will be held in Valletta, Malta as part of the annual European Capital of Culture. The round table is the culmination of a series of events called Utopian Nights that have been bringing together the public, artists, activists and intellectuals since 2017. Utopian Nights Valletta 2018 – European Capital of Culture

TACTILE
TACTILE: 12 Concealed Sculptures is a visual art project intended to never be seen. Bringing together the works of Maltese, Japanese and other international sculptors within a space devoid of any light, TACTILE will leave its audiences no other way of understanding the artworks than through the sense of touch. This visually impenetrable setting will invite the general public to interact with the exhibits through what will remain a purely tactile experience. By having these sculptures concealed from the naked eye, the project aims to reverse any preconceived notions of the ‘normal’ process of perceiving visual art exclusively through sight. The Tactile: 12 Concealed Sculptures exhibition is being held at the Valletta University Campus between October 5 and November 4, 2018. It is open to visitors from Monday to Friday between 8am and 5pm; Saturdays from 10am till 2pm; and Sunday 4th November (last day of exhibition) from 10am till 2pm. The last admission is 30 minutes before closing time. Visit tactileproject.com for more information. Tactile: 12 concealed sculptures Valletta 2018 – European Capital of Culture

The Malta International Arts Festival provides a dynamic platform through which established and emerging Maltese artists can showcase their work and engage with broader audiences. Each year, the festival strives to enrich the cultural calendar with a host of events, including virtuoso music performances, visual installations, dance, and well-established international acts performing at various venues in and around Valletta. For more information visit www.festivals.mt Malta International Arts Festival Ruben Zahra
The Malta International Arts Festival (MIAF), produced by Festivals Malta, has just launched the highly-anticipated programme for its 2019 edition, taking place between 28 June and 14 July. The 14th edition of the MIAF will, once again, showcase an impressive mixture of local and international talent in different venues, encouraging wider audiences to join in the island-wide celebration of artistic innovation and cultural heritage. “The 2019 programme of this unique festival will present innovative productions with a strong interdisciplinary dimension that are accessible to a wide audience,” says Ruben Zahra, artistic director of the MIAF 2019. “Accessibility is at the heart of the MIAF.” Malta International Arts Festival Festivals Malta Ruben Zahra
Il-Malta International Arts Festival jippreżenta programm varjat ta’ mużika, żfin u tejatru dejjem bl-livell għoli ta’ eċċellenza artistika fl-istess ħin aċċessibbli għal pubbliku wiesgħa”. – Ruben Zahra, Direttur Artistiku. Malta International Arts Festival Festivals Malta

Magna Żmien
Magna Żmien is a project set up by a group of like-minded individuals with the aim of preserving and giving access to local content which was recorded on analogue, sound and image home collections. Central to the project is the reinterpretation and creative use of this digital content for artistic purposes. For more information visit www.magnazmien.com Magna Żmien Tal-Kultura Valletta 2018 – European Capital of Culture
Magna Żmien presents The Magnificent Memories Machine For the collection of local memories: Landing # 5 Kalkara
Kalkara Parish Hall, Archbishop Gonzi Square, Kalkara
Latitude: 35°53′21″N Longitude: 14°31′46″E
03.11.2018 – 19:30PM
The time-machine performance by Armchair Voyager Wistin and the Banda ta’ Memorji Meraviljużi.
Magna Żmien huwa proġett li twaqqaf min grupp ta’ nies bl-għan komuni ta’ preżervazzjoni u aċċess għal-memorji u stejjer popolari Maltin, li ġew irrekordjati fuq kollezzjonijiet awdjoviżwali li jinsabu fid-djar tan-nies. L-użu u interpretazzjoni tal-kontenut diġitali f’kuntesti ġodda u artistiċi huwa ukoll għan ċentrali għall-dan il-proġett.
Ġewwa Valletta Contemporary, għada ser tiġi mnedhija wirja jisimha ‘Here&Now’ u hija l-ewwel edizzjoni f’sensiela ta’ wirijiet oħra. L-għan tagħhom huwa li jippromovu arti żagħżugħa kemm f’Malta u kemm fir-reġjun mediterran. Din l-esibizzjoni ser tkun f’kollaborazzjoni bejn 9 artisti Maltin żgħażagħ.
Andrew Alamango minn Magna Żmien kellimna aktar dwar dan il-progett li huwa produzzjoni tal- Valletta 2018 – European Capital of Culture. L-ghan ta dan il-progett huwa t-tfittixija, ricerka ta formats antiki bhal analogue tas-seklu ghoxrin. L-intenzjoni hi li neqilbu l-memorji ta l-individwu ghal dik digitali.
Bhalissa qed issir ricerka f’erbgha lokalitajiet li huma: l-Birgu, s-Siggiewi, l-Mellieha u r-Rabat, Ghawdex. Magna Zmien qed iheggu n-nies sabiex jigu sabiex ihallu l-memorji taghhom. “Holl il-memorji tieghek sabiex ikollkom access. Meta jkollok access ghal-memorji tieghek, tkun tista tgawdi u taqsamhom mal-familja u haddiehor. B’hekk il-pajjiz u n-nies jirbhu!” – Andrew Alamango.

Artistic Multi Unique Sensorial Experience
AMuSE – standing for ‘Artistic Multi Unique Sensorial Experience’ – is a project led by Malta’s oldest arts organisation, MSA, aiming to present new creative readings on the sense of sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing through various interpretations in the realm of visual arts. The project is hosting a series of workshops and studio visits to support the artistic research of the 16 selected artists from the 4 participating countries. The project will culminate in an exhibition of artworks to be held in 2019 at MSA’s premises, the Palazzo de La Salle in Valletta.

Inizjamed tħabbar li l-Festival Mediterranju tal-Letteratura ta’ Malta għal din is-sena, l-erbatax-il edizzjoni konsekuttiva, se jkollu ġimgħa sħiħa ta’ attivitajiet, u se jibda nhar il-Ħadd, 18 ta’ Awwissu u jagħlaq bi tliet iljieli bejn il-Ħamis, 22 ta’ Awwissu u s-Sibt, 24 ta’ Awwissu fil-Forti ta’ Sant’Iermu, il-Belt Valletta. Bħal snin oħra fil-Festival se jikkontribwixxu erba’ awturi ewlenin Maltin – Antoine Cassar u Loranne Vella, it-tnejn friski bil-Premju Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb, l-awtriċi Rena Balzan li ilha fix-xena tal-letteratura Maltija mis-snin tmenin, u l-poeta emerġenti Elizabeth Grech. #FMLM2019 Inizjamed

ROTOT – Mediterranean Routes through Intercultural Dialogue
A seminar organized by the cultural association Inizjamed aims to address how different local realities can be brought together to reflect a wider, more common Mediterranean reality, or set of realities, that inter-relate with one another. The aspect of the Phoenicians being a sort of mythical, legendary archetype of common Mediterranean roots that however still inspires many cultural operators in seeking exchange through intercultural dialogue, as opposed to neocolonial and neoliberal economic measures, will provide us with a framework to which all of our speakers can relate to – this is so because in some way or another they either address this aspect through their work, or in a way act as contemporary Phoenicians, so to speak.
Ltqajna mal-Professur JoAnn Cassar, li hija l-Kap tad-Dipartiment tal-Konservazzjoni u Wirt Mibni. Bħala dipartiment għandhom żewġ irwoli mportanti li waħda hija l-konservazzjoni mhux biss tal-bini imma anke tat-tpinġija speċjalment fuq il-ħajt u l-oħra l-irwol li jgħallmu l-istudenti tar-restawr. Kif wkoll kellmitna dwar il-korsijiet tal-Masters f’dan il-qasam.

Download the Valletta 2018 Final Impacts Report

What makes a city better?
The fifth in the Valletta 2018 Foundation’s series of annual conferences, this conference encourages broad reflection on the central issues that define urban life by channelling its discussions through the basic question of “What makes a city better?”. This reflection aims to understand how cities can be shaped to better suit the needs and desires of the individuals and communities that it hosts, whether on a permanent or temporary basis. Valletta 2018 – European Capital of Culture

The Valletta 2018 Foundation’s Evaluation & Monitoring research plan enables the Foundation to assess the success, or otherwise, of the process in a consistent, accessible and comparable manner.

The Foundation has set up an Evaluation & Monitoring Steering Committee to monitor and evaluate the impacts of Valletta as a European Capital of Culture. The Steering Committee is composed of four public entities (Economic Policy Department, Jobsplus, Malta Tourism Authority, and National Statistics Office) and five researchers, conducting research of a quantitative and qualitative nature. The research plan runs for the period of 2015-2019.

The research plan is structured around 5 research themes, each containing a range of separate studies.

The annual Valletta 2018 international conference builds upon the vital dialogue established during previous editions. Over three days, the conference explores the legacy of the Valletta 2018 European Capital of Culture (ECoC) title locally and across the European spectrum. Topics discussed range from the creation of community projects to the regeneration of previously derelict areas in Valletta, all of which can foster a more vibrant and diverse city.

The conference is an invitation to assess and discuss the changing nature of the city and the future of cultural activity in Valletta. These reflections allow for a deeper understanding of the long-term residual impact of the cultural, social and economic regeneration that took place in Valletta in the run-up to and throughout 2018, ahead of the presentation of the Evaluation and Monitoring results which will take place in 2019.

Teodor Reljic reviewed V18 in MaltaToday: Looking back at 2018: After Valletta 2018, we will never be the same again

The Valletta 2018 Foundation and its ensuing initiatives were far from perfect, but the ability of the Capital of Culture title to bolster existing cultural infrastructure and networking opportunities cannot be ignored. This is the ‘big picture’ viewpoint that emerges from a conversation with a number of creative practitioners and cultural stakeholders on the island, when asked to give their take on Malta’s year as European Capital of Culture in 2018 — which officially concluded with a grand finale party in Valletta on December 15.

“The whole ECoC phenomenon generated unprecedented public awareness of the cultural sector and greater drive, funds and energy,” Albert Marshall, Executive Chairman of Arts Council Malta, said, adding that the series of events which made up the entire initiative also included some significant crowd-pullers, “but it was also this that might have engendered criticism about commercialisation”.

Despite this, Marshall believes that the events forming part of the Valletta 2018 calendar also made room for diversity and experimentation, citing projects such as Rima and Utopian Nights as “engaging people with diverse backgrounds or intergenerational participants”, while initiatives like AltoFest and the Gozo residency programme helped foster an international dimension.

Recalling the build-up towards the event, Kenneth Zammit Tabona, Artistic Director of Teatru Manoel, stressed that while the theatre itself was not directly involved with the Valletta 2018 Foundation, it nonetheless “benefited from the cultural atmosphere created, whose ‘value added’ is incalculable”, and among whose legacies one can list the Valletta International Baroque Festival, which held it inaugural edition in 2011, just as preparations for Valletta’s bid as Capital of Culture first began in earnest.

“We will never be the same again. Let’s hope the momentum will be maintained in future,” Zammit Tabona added, with reference to the recently announced Valletta Cultural Agency, which appears to be set up to build on the Foundation’s work beyond 2018.

Alexandra Pace, founder and director of Valletta-based contemporary art space Blitz, also emphasised the importance of maintaining a focused approach towards any legacy that the Valletta 2018 Foundation hopes to enjoy.

“To build a long lasting impact in the art field local players need continuity, strategy and a shared plan for the future. Uncertainty is terribly limiting considering we don’t have a developed art market to bank on, and much of what happened this year could be impossible in 2019 and upcoming years,” Pace said.

“The European Capital of Culture is an event-based initiative, so if Valletta Foundation is meant to stay, and I hope so, I would expect it to become a third party agency for the development of Valletta art scene in partnership with its art professionals,” she added.

However, the Foundation was also rife with controversy throughout its run up to holding the title over the past year — most of which related to the often injudicious and sometimes even uncouth political dimension that encroached on the project.

Perhaps the most recent and damning occurrence to blight the V18 experience — even attracting negative attention beyond our shores — was a social media gaffe by Chairman Jason Micallef, who in March snapped a picture of St Patrick’s Day revellers and posted it on Facebook, with an accompanying caption that appeared to ridicule the final written words of assassinated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Though any ill intention was vociferously denied by Micallef himself, the gaffe — flagged by PEN International as a reason to strip Micallef of his post — highlighted the troubled nature of the Capital of Culture unfolding under the shadow of Caruana Galizia’s assassination — particularly when Micallef and his team insisted on powering on with an upbeat ‘festa’ theme to colour the entire initiative; ostensibly as a way to make Valletta 2018 accessible to all, but in reality creating something of a parallel universe, where culture positioned as a tool of escapism while the realities of the assassination commanded most of our attention.

In fact, as former Valletta 2018 Executive Director Karsten Xuereb writes in a paper published as part of the congress proceedings of the 9th annual The European network on cultural management and policy (ENTAC) Education and Research Session (Budapest, September 2018), even the deeply contested space of the Daphne Caruana Galizia memorial in front of the Valletta Law Courts ended up literally ‘upstaging’ a Valletta 2018 exhibition.

“The opening of [Dal-Baħar Madwarha (‘The Island Is What The Sea Surrounds’)] took place in front of the cistern entry, in front of the Law Courts in Valletta, and hence just steps away from the Great Siege memorial that has, over the past months, brought together people marking the memory of Daphne Caruana Galizia through makeshift means, attracting international attention and arguably adding nuances to tourists’ perspectives of Malta and its culture,” Xuereb writes.

However, Xuereb’s dismissal from his Valletta 2018 post, along with that of former programme coordinator Margerita Pule, in fact also stands as a black mark on the Foundation’s reputation. A seemingly out-of-the-blue move decided upon just months before the official beginning of the Capital of Culture year, the move raised questions both on the ethical implications of the dismissals, as well as the suspect strategic choice behind replacing such a key post at the eleventh hour.

An open letter signed by a generous number of local artists to this effect led to a dismissive response by Micallef himself, with Parliamentary Secretary Deo Debattista stepping in to offer some consultation sessions with the artists in question, little of which appears to have built substantial bridges.

Reacting to the aura of fear — even hostility — that appears to characterise the artist/government body relationship in Malta, Maren Richter, curator of the ‘Dal-Baħar Madwarha’ exhibition, commented that, “Art and culture should not be orchestrated nor overshadowed by politics. Art itself is never free of the political. But it should be given the freedom to speak for itself.”

Richter also observed how, “There were quite a few international TV teams in Malta this year, who would tell me that they got the impression that artists feared to talk about certain issues in public – with the result that those TV teams rather focused on this observation than on the actual art projects. This is a real pity. Ideally, politics should be narrated through the arts not arts through politics. And the bigger a festival, the more this has to be taken care of actively.”

After all was said and done, a number of local artists and cultural stakeholders appear to be ready to treat any misgivings as water under the bridge, provided that real, structural shortcomings are seen to and acknowledged.

Among these is the undeniably baffling reality of the Foundation never having a ‘proper’ artistic director. While Mario Philip Azzopardi — a contentious figure in his own right, with a social media trigger-finger to rival that of Jason Micallef — was officially given that post, he would quickly clarify that his role was simply that of orchestrating the large-scale spectacles under the 2018 remit, such as its opening ceremony on January 20 and the Pageant of the Seas event.

For Toni Attard, head of strategy at arts funding body Culture Venture and former director of strategy at Arts Council Malta, the lack of such a central figure goes some way towards explaining the erratic shifts in approach that characterised the Foundation’s run-up to the Capital of Culture year.

“From the first bid-book to the final delivery of Valletta 2018, one notices quite a different programme,” Attard said, stressing how the initial idea for the Capital of Culture year was “more artist-led”, with various projects originating from the artistic communities themselves rather than being conceived and controlled by a central governmental body. “Granted, some of these survived the cull and made their way into the final programme… however, they ended up being fringe-like events. This is hardly surprising given that Valletta 2018 ended up without any official artistic director on board, save for its large-scale events.”

The lack of attention being given to ‘smaller’ events certainly finds itself echoed among representatives from the theatrical scene. Among them is Sean Buhagiar, Artistic Director of Teatru Malta. While stressing that Valletta 2018 provided an undeniable boost for the Maltese cultural scene — not least because it put culture on the national agenda in an unprecedented way — he agrees that the tendency to boost flashier large-projects at the expense of their smaller counterparts was something of a misstep.

“Besides the fact that I believe there was way too much happening — causing audience exhaustion and an unsustainable calendar of free events — it was quite a shame to see brilliant projects like Magna Zmien, Gewwa Barra, Latitude 36, Solar Cinema and other projects led by passionate artists being almost disregarded when compared to the high-priced, sugar-coated, large-scale projects. From what I’ve experienced personally, it is these smaller-scale projects which will form part of a real intangible heritage. The focus could have been narrowed down, so as to improve such projects. I would put this down mostly to a lack of a clear, cohesive artistic vision,” Buhagiar said.

Similarly, actor and playwright Malcolm Galea said he would have preferred to see “fewer extravagant and expensive one-off projects and more of a focus on smaller projects that have a higher chance of being self-sufficient and ongoing for the next few years, thereby generating a legacy.”

Actor and director Philip Leone-Ganado, whose ‘Shakespeare at the Pub’ productions offered an interesting ‘fringe’ experience of local theatre, unshackled from public funding institutions, was even more impassioned when discussing the shortcomings of Foundation — both in terms of its attitude towards smaller and ‘dissenting’ voices, and the overall direction that it took as an entity.

“I wish they had realised that appointing divisive figures to lead your project will lead to a divisive project. I wish they had engaged with the whole of the community, not just the parts of it that said the words they want to hear. I wish their insight into what makes the Maltese cultural scene tick extended beyond the festa, that appealing to everyone is appealing to no-one, that ‘give the people what they want’ only takes you so far. I wish they’d focused less on spectacle and more on laying a real groundwork artists could build on in the years to come,” Leone-Ganado said.

Adrian Buckle, founder of Unifaun Theatre, was even more direct and abrasive in his assessment of the Valletta 2018 Foundation and its legacy, simply stating that, “V18 will only be remembered for the parties.”

A more sober analysis came from Daniel Azzopardi, Programme Manager at Spazju Kreattiv at St James Cavalier — one of Valletta’s most prominent cultural institutions.

“There’s always room for improvement, and this is no exception,” Azzopardi said, emphasising the need for “more training programmes and investment in professional development initiatives in areas such as technical work, backstage and production management”.  He also regretted an apparent lack of synergy and collaboration with other public cultural organisations in the development of a holistic long-term sustainable strategy that “enhances opportunities for professionalisation, creates alternative ways of funding, develops systematic audience engagement practices and sets benchmarks for artistic excellence”.

However, others took an even more pragmatic approach to the matter, suggesting that we should moderate our expectations as to what to expect from a Capital of Culture, even confronted with its European reality. It is a viewpoint perfectly encapsulated by Mark Camilleri, Executive Chairman of the National Book Council.

“The biggest recipients to the success of Capital of Culture were businesses in Valletta, but people should not be surprised by this because this is what often happens in Capitals of Culture. Governments tend to view Capitals of Culture as an opportunity to increase tourism and business in the city more, rather than bolster cultural and intellectual development,” Camilleri said, adding that, however, that, “It would be empirically wrong to say that the Capital of Culture didn’t bring about any benefits at all to local culture industries”.

“The Capital of Culture gave a legitimate excuse for cultural and educational bodies like the National Book Council to lobby for more public funding and resources. We have used Capital of Culture as a pretext to lobby government to grant the National Book Council a 16th-century Baroque palace in Valletta. We were successful, and we aim to turn the newly-granted palace into a freely-accessible public space, Museum of Literature and a bookshop which serves as a cultural agent. In a similar way, it remains up to the culture and educational institutions to ensure to leave a long-lasting legacy and bring forth cultural and intellectual development,” Camilleri added.

Contacted for comment, Valletta Major Alexiei Dingli reiterated his desire to disassociate himself from the Foundation, and refrained from commenting further.

No Time for Nostalgia
After V18
Gentrification
Boutique Hotels
Valletta 2018 Closing Spectacle
Digital Projections

Cultural Mapping Conference

The annual Valletta 2018 international conference on Cultural Relations in Europe and the Mediterranean returns with its second conference, titled “Cultural Mapping: Debating Spaces and Places” on the 22nd and 23rd October at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta.

The conference is being organised following last April’s launch of the online map www.culturemapmalta.com – which exhibits the data collected during the first phase of the Cultural Mapping project, led by the Valletta 2018 Foundation. Bringing together a number of international academics, researchers, cultural practitioners and artists, the conference will explore various exercises of cultural mapping taking place across the world. With the subject being relatively new to Malta, speakers will be discussing the role of cultural mapping within the fields of cultural policy, artistic practice, heritage and cultural identity, amongst others.

Speakers include experts, academics, researchers and activists within the fields of tangible and intangible heritage, sustainable development, and cultural policy, both across Europe and the Mediterranean. Keynote speeches will be delivered by Prof. Pier Luigi Sacco, a cultural economist who will be presenting examples of cultural mapping taking place in Italy and Sweden, and Dr Aadel Essaadani, the Chairperson of the Arterial Network, a Morocco-based organisation that brings together art and culture practitioners across the African continent.

The conference will also feature a series of parallel sessions, allowing researchers from across the globe to present examples of cultural mapping taking place in various European and non-European contexts. Parallel sessions will explore a broad range of issues, including the use of innovative digital technology within cultural mapping, the role of cultural mapping in participatory community-based work, and cultural mapping as a tool within artistic practice. Highlights include presentations of cultural mapping exercises taking place in Palestine, New York and Hong Kong, as well as in Malta and across Europe and the Mediterranean. The conference will be complemented by a site-specific installation by artist Trevor Borg and a series of short film screenings developed by conference presenters.

The first conference in this series, titled “Dialogue in the Med: exploring identity through networks” was held in September 2014, and brought together academics, researchers and cultural operators from across the Mediterranean to debate issues related to cultural mobility and networking. Proceedings from this conference will be published in due course.

‘Cultural Mapping: Debating Spaces & Places” was the second conference within this series. This conference was held on the 22nd & 23rd October 2015 at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta.

The conference included two plenary sessions, a speed networking session, to further increase networking opportunities, eight parallel sessions, and various other complementary events, including a site-specific installation and two short film screenings.

The full conference programme can be downloaded here: Cultural Mapping Debating Spaces & Places programme

The conference outcomes can be accessed here: Cultural Mapping – Debating Spaces & Places – Outcomes

Subjective Maps is about people designing their own map of the town they live and work in. People come together in a workshop setting to draw maps, tell their stories and meet each other. The project then produces maps that can be used by others to visit and navigate the town.

Subjective Maps will be collected from six different localities in Malta and Gozo, including Valletta, St Paul’s Bay, Ħamrun, Birżebbuġa, Gżira, Victoria (Gozo).

The earliest maps were ‘story’ maps. Cartographers were artists who mingled knowledge with supposition, memory and fears. Their maps described both landscape and the events, which had taken place within it, enabling travelers to plot a route as well as to experience
a story. – Rory MacLean

The project aims to:

1. Promote the successful integration of minority and non-Maltese nationals in Maltese community.
2. Identify the diversity in place-people relations and to map those relationships people have with the place where they live and where they call ‘home’.
3. Capture visual narratives of residents’ about their towns and communities.
4. Valorise visions of the community as share-able capital.
5. Provide a new representation of the town/village/community that is free of ‘cultural’ branding that valorises the touristic and heritage value of a place over the individual residents’ narratives and routes.
6. Provide a platform where community members meet and discuss their public spaces.

Postal Machine Decision Part 1

Logistics defines itself as a procedure in which every exception from the rule and every error are part of the plan. Frictionless transport means sophisticated planning and optimized processes. The work OSTL HINE ECSION (Postal Machine Decision Part 1), by the Swiss collective !Mediengruppe Bitnik seeks out the imperfections in the logistic systems in which nowadays computers calculate nearly all necessary decisions. To do so 21 packages were shipped out from Berlin via the logistics services provider DHL Express. Each package was, however, given two delivery addresses: one in Halle (Saale) and one in Brussels.


The work experiments with a decision-making process that was never intended and references the work The Postman’s Choice by Ben Vautier from the year 1965 in which a postal worker decides where a postcard that has two delivery addresses is finally to be sent. As it was back then, the standard rule in digital shipping operations is that for every shipping unit there must be one sender and one clear recipient. In between these two the logistics system works mechanically by means of barcodes, scanners and programmed directives. Autonomous judgements based on the same source information also remind us of Buridan’s ass and its dilemma, providing insights into a system that usually works invisibly.

boattr.uk @Radical Networks

The boattr.uk project was presented at the Radical Networks conference in Berlin.

Radical Networks is a conference that celebrates the free and open Internet,

with hands-on workshops, speakers, and a gallery exhibiting artworks centered around radio and networking technology. It fosters critical discussion on contemporary issues that include surveillance, the spread of misinformation, ownership of personal data, and the increasing opacity of “The Cloud”.

Radical Networks is also an arts festival that considers networking technology as an artistic medium, featuring works that run the gamut from ethical hacks to creative experiments to live performances.

This event brings together artists, activists, community organizers, journalists, technologists, educators, and the public, to exchange ideas and look under the hood of what makes the Internet work. Radical Networks is in its fourth year and is the first festival and conference of its kind in the United States. This year we are expanding the event to Berlin, Germany from October 19-21, 2018.

Our Goals

  • To understand how the technology can be used as a method of control and how to subvert that.
  • Teach people how to use networking technology for themselves.
  • Encourage creative and social exploration with computer networks.

Our Ideals

  • Promoting free and open networks built with free and open-source hardware and software.
  • Questioning who has access to network connectivity, and whose needs are served (or not).
  • Maintaining control of our own content, hardware, and means of deployment.
  • Community focused, amplifying marginalized voices.

Who is Radical Networks for?

Radical Networks is a community event. We invite a broad range of people to attend—from those who are thinking about setting up their own community networks, to those interested in art that addresses the hyper-connectivity of our society, to those who are just curious about how the web works and how they can protect themselves online. There is something for everyone, at all levels of experience and interest.

Radical Networks is also a social event. We offer evening programming all weekend featuring performances and even a dance party or two.

Do-It-Yourself Technologies for Action and Empowerment

Adnan Hadzi presented the boattr.uk computer book during the Mazi Symposium.

The MAZI project is concluding at the end of 2018. To mark the occasion we are inviting you to join us as we celebrate our achievements, share our stories and the lessons we learned, and perhaps most importantly, to discuss what should happen next. The symposium will present case studies from our pilot studies in Berlin, Zurich, London and northern Greece, along with talks by invited speakers. Building on the context of our own MAZI experiences, we will broaden out the debate with perspectives from outside the project.

SYMPOSIUM: Do-It-Yourself Technologies for Action and Empowerment: Stories, practice and perspectives

The MAZI project is developing a toolkit for building local, community wireless networks using Raspberry Pis.

The MAZI EU project is concluding at the end of 2018. To mark the occasion we are inviting you to join us as we celebrate our achievements, share our stories and the lessons we learned, and perhaps most importantly, to discuss what should happen next. The symposium will present case studies from our pilot studies in Berlin, Zurich, London and northern Greece, along with talks by invited speakers. Building on the context of our own MAZI experiences, we will broaden out the debate with perspectives from outside the project.

Themes: #WiFi-networking #RaspberryPi #DigitalArts #CommunityEngagement #Making-Hacking

The symposium (18th October) will present case studies from our pilot studies in Berlin, Zurich, London and northern Greece, along with talks by invited speakers. Building on the context of our own MAZI experiences, we will broaden out the debate with perspectives from outside the project.

Symposium Speakers include:

Programme (in development – check back for updates)

10.00 – 10.30: Welcome and introduction to the MAZI project: Michael Smyth, Edinburgh Napier University.

10.30 – 10.50: Berlin Neighborhood Academy: MAZI Pilot Study presentation: Elizabeth Calderón Lüning

10.50 – 11.10: London Creeknet: MAZI Pilot Study presentation: James Stevens & Mark Gaved

11.10 – 11.30: Break

11.30 – 12.00: The Reverso Project, DIY networking, occupied housing and surburban Favelas in São Paulo, Brazil: Elizabeth Wright & Loyane Bianchini, Central Saint Martins, London.

12.00 – 12.20: Zurich Kraftwerk Housing Cooperatives: MAZI Pilot Study Presentation: Ileana Apostol & Philipp Klaus

12.20 – 12.50: Invited Speaker: Wee Replicators, widening access to digital making: Denise Allan, Wee Replicators, Edinburgh.

12.50 – 14.00: Lunch Break

14.00 – 14.20: unMonastery village interventions in northern Greece: MAZI Pilot Study Presentation: Katalin Hausel & Lauren Lapidge

14.20 – 14.50: Invited Speaker: Adnan HadziBoattr, Digital Arts, University of Malta

14.50 – 15.20: Invited Speaker: Janis Lena Meissner, Digital Civics at Open Lab, Newcastle University, and co-founder of fempower.tech

15.20 – 15.45: Break

15.45 – 16.15: Invited Speaker: Chris Csíkszentmihályi. European Research Area Chair at Madeira Interactive Technology Institute, and director of the Rootio Project, a sociotechnical platform for community radio.

16.15 – 16.40: Invited Speaker: Jeremy Singer. Glasgow University, FRμIT: The Federated RaspberryPi Micro-Infrastructure Testbed.

16.40 – 17.00: Open Discussion: From Do-It-Yourself to Do-It-Together: Perspectives on the future use of community networking technologies for grassroots social impact

17.00 – 19.00: Drinks reception and book launch


Full details about this one-day symposium and associated workshops are here: www.mazizone.eu/mazi-workshops-and-symposium-2018-edinburgh-uk/

ACCESS: please note that the event takes place in the Dissection Room at Summerhall. There is some restricted access, please contact us (email option below) for more details.


Other events (free to attend) include half-day workshops/hackathons

Full details and booking: www.mazizone.eu/mazi-workshops-and-symposium-2018-edinburgh-uk/

The half-day workshops (16th & 17th October) will provide “hands-on” opportunities to try out the MAZI DIY networking toolkit, based around the Raspberry Pi. The workshops will be divided into two groups:

  • Workshop 1 will be for programmers and technical enthusiastswho are interested in finding out more about it all works, and perhaps getting involved in supporting the on-going development of the open-source project.

  • Workshop 2 is for technical novices with an interest in how the technologies can be used in domains such as; education, art & creativity, and civic & community participation.


The MAZI EU H2020 project partners are: