Forensic Architecture is both the name of the agency established in 2010, and a form of investigative practice into state violence and human rights violations that traverses architectural, journalistic and legal fields, and shifts between critical reflections and tactical interventions.
Counter Investigations presents a selection of recent investigations undertaken by the agency into incidents occurring in different contexts worldwide. In parallel, the exhibition outlines five key concepts that raise related historical, theoretical and technological questions. Continuing to be explored in an accompanying series of public seminars, these investigations and propositions add up to a Short Course in Forensic Architecture.
Grounded in the use of architecture as an analytic device, Forensic Architecture has in recent years developed a host of new evidentiary methods that respond to our changing media landscape – exemplified in the widespread availability of digital recording equipment, satellite imaging and platforms for data sharing – and propose new modes of open-source, citizen-led evidence gathering and activism.
Forensic Architecture has worked closely with communities affected by acts of social and political violence, alongside NGOs, human rights groups, activists, and media organisations. Their investigations have provided decisive evidence in a number of legal cases, and contested accounts given by state authorities, leading to military, parliamentary and UN inquiries.
Counter Investigations marks the beginning of a long term collaboration between the Institute of Contemporary Arts and Forensic Architecture. The exhibition and this ongoing partnership exemplifies the Institute of Contemporary Arts’ intent to foster and explore new modes of civil practice operating across the fields of art, architecture and activism.
Image: Forensic Architecture, ‘77sqm_926min’, 2017. Simulation of the fluid dynamics of smell particles (ammonia) within the front room of the internet cafe where Halit Yozgat was murdered on the 6th April 2006 by a member of the neo-Nazi group known as the National Socialist Underground (NSU). Image courtesy of Dr. Salvador Navarro-Martinez and Forensic Architecture, 2017.
Forensic Architecture exhibition team: Eyal Weizman (Director), Christina Varvia (Researcher in Charge), Ariel Caine, Franc Camps Ferber, Stefan Laxness, Stefanos Levidis, Nicholas Masterton, Samaneh Moafi, Sarah Nankivell, Elena Paca, Robert Preuss, Grace Quah, Theo Resnikoff, Simone Rowat, Nathan Su, Bob Trafford, William Winfield, Charles Heller and Lorenzo Pezzani (Forensic Oceanography)
Graphics: Wayne Daly & Claire Lyon, Matthew Chrislip
Short Course in Forensic Architecture is organized in partnership with MA in Forensic Architecture, Centre for Research Architecture, Goldsmiths, University of London led by Susan Schuppli and Lorenzo Pezzani
Exhibition Supporters: The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts and The Forensic Architecture Exhibition Supporters Circle: Shane Akeroyd, Charles Asprey, Sir Richard Rogers
Forensic Architecture Supporters: European Research Council (ERC); Sigrid Rausing Trust; Potter Foundation; OAK foundation; Goldsmiths, University of London
This presentation explores the structural tensions between narrative and navigability
in interactive documentary by focusing on the role of the on-screen timeline.
The challenges of mapping \ onto space extend at least as far back as the Middle
Ages, when historical genealogies appeared in visual forms including branches of a
tree and rivers. However, the timeline as we know it – a straight horizontal line
whose length precisely measures a given duration – only dates as far back as charts
designed by Thomas Jefferys and Joseph Priestley in the mid-17th century
(Rosenberg & Grafton 2010). Over recent decades, the horizontal timeline has
further evolved into a pervasive technological and conceptual framework for the
making and viewing of moving images. From the sequence window of ‘non-linear’
editing software to the play bar of online videos, the horizontal timeline shapes how
we engage with video. It also encapsulates the paradox of interactive documentary:
always just a swipe away, it is metonymic of the hegemony of linear narrative in
contemporary media, yet it also makes possible non-linear navigation through
moving images.
Using examples including the interactive documentary Filming Revolution (Alisa
Lebow, 2015) and the VR artwork Timescrubbing (Rachel Rossin, 2016), this paper
explores different ways in which timelines have informed the structure of interactive
nonfiction, and how they can also be used by film-makers and artists to disrupt linear
narrative. The paper concludes by exploring how the concept of the timeline applies
to virtual reality, and how the gesture-based interactive toolset of VR may make
possible works that follow a predetermined narrative trajectory but still allow real-time
interaction. It does so with reference to research currently being carried out by the
author and VR studio Vrtov on the interactive documentary Cinema Unframed, which
aims to use gesture as a tool for temporal navigation through moving images.
References
Rosenberg, Daniel, and Anthony Grafton. 2010. Cartographies of Time: A History of
the Timeline. Princeton N.J.: Princeton Architectural Press.
after.video: displaying video as theory and reference system
After video culture rose during the 1960s and 70s with portable devices like the Sony Portapak and other consumer grade video recorders it has subsequently undergone the digital shift. With this evolution the moving image inserted itself into broader, everyday use, but also extended it s patterns of effect and its aesthetical language. Movie and television alike have transformed into what is now understood as media culture. Video has become pervasive, importing the principles of “tele-” and “cine-” into the human and social realm, thereby also propelling “image culture” to new heights and intensities.1 YouTube, emblematic of network-and online-video, marks a second transformational step in this medium’s short evolutionary history. The question remains: what comes after YouTube? How might we understand a time when global bandwidth and multiplication of – often mobile – devices as well as moving image formats “re-assemble” both “the social”2, as well as the medium formerly-known-as video itself? What is one supposed to call these continuously re-forming assemblages? Or: how should one name the ubiquitous moving images in times when they are not identifiable any more as discrete video “clips”? Are we witnessing the rise of Post-Video? Extended video? To what extent has the old video frame been broken?
This paper discusses the use of video as theory in the after.video project6, reflecting the structural and qualitative re-evaluation it aims at discussing design and organisational level. In accordance with the qualitatively new situation video is set in, the paper discusses a multi-dimensional matrix which constitutes the virtual logical grid of the after.video project: a matrix of nine conceptual atoms is rendered into a multi-referential video-book that breaks with the idea of linear text. read from left to right, top to bottom, diagonal and in ‘steps’.
Unlike previous experiments with hypertext and interactive databases, after.video attempts to translate online modes into physical matter (micro computer), thereby reflecting logics of new formats otherwise unnoticed. These nine conceptual atoms are then re-combined differently throughout the video-book – by rendering a dynamic, open structure, allowing for access to the after.video book over an ‘after_video’ WiFi SSID.
Icon Island: The project features a live collage of visuals that draws inspiration from films dealing with the mystic and romantic journey to islands, representing alternative societies or different states of mind and pieced together by iconic scenes from films that have a connection to Malta. The thought-provoking visuals are aimed at engaging audiences to reflect on island customs and the way islands are commonly viewed – as places of paradise but also of fear, while the improvised electronic soundscapes, inspired by the visuals themselves enhance the overall experience.
ICON Island is a collaboration between Virgil Widrich, an Austrian filmmaker and director known for his experimental films and multimedia works, and leading Maltese electronic music producer Sonitus Eco.
Icon Island is a project by Virgil Widrich, an Austrian filmmaker and director known for his experimental films and multimedia works.
The collage of visuals is inspired by films dealing with the mystic and romantic journey to islands representing alternative societies or different states of mind. Questioning local customs and the identity of their visitors, these places can be both a paradise and a threat.
Carefully selected visuals – many of which include a connection to Malta and its cinematic history – will be projected as a ‘live’ mix, accompanied by an improvised electronic music performance by Maltese artist Sonitus Eco. The sounds of the films are re-imagined on the fly, with sound reacting to – or even opposing – the images.
Art+Feminism Date and Time: Friday, 9th February 2018, 7:00pm– 9:00pm Venue: Blitz, Santa Lucia Street, Valletta
Art+Feminism is an international project aimed at improving Wikipedia content on women and the arts and to encourage women’s participation in the online encyclopaedia. Flora Katz – a curator, art critic and organiser of three wiki edit-a-thons in Paris – will present a talk on the 2017 Paris edition and discuss some of the issues at the core of the project, such as how art and Wikipedia can be a driving force to gather a community and act upon feminist issues, and what is at stake in the elaboration of an activist and co-creative project within artistic institutions.
More information can be found here.
Wikipedia Editing Workshop Date and Time: Thursday, 15th February 2018, 3:30pm – 6:30pm Venue: Space A, (St James Cavalier)
During the opening day of the “Art from the Fondazzjoni Kreattività Collection: Documenting 2007-2012” exhibition, Spazju Kreattiv will host a workshop on editing Wikipedia. The workshop will also include an information session on how Wikipedia and wiki technology are being used to document the art scene in Malta. In collaboration with Wikimedia Community Malta and the M3P Foundation, Dr Toni Sant will explain how wikis are being used to catalogue art works and exhibitions, and how Wikipedia can act as a collaborative encyclopaedia of artist biographies and works that will preserve their legacies in the long term.
More information can be found here.
Edit-a-thon: Wiki Loves Art Dates and Times:
Friday 2nd March 2018, 15:30 – 18:30
Saturday 3rd March 2018, 10:00 – 16:00
Venue: Space A (St James Cavalier)
This hands-on wiki edit-a-thon, led by Toni Sant and other collaborators from Wikimedia Community Malta and the M3P Foundation, guides attendees about how to edit wiki pages about the visual arts scene in Malta. We are particularly eager for artists to attend, edit pages about themselves, their work and their exhibitions over the years. We also encourage you to bring along any printed or digital media files that would help document art works, such as copies of exhibition flyers, photographs of events, etc. Please also bring a laptop computer or tablet device.
Archives and Libraries Brought into the 21st Century Through the Use of Technology
Date and Time: Wednesday, 7th March 2018, 7:00pm – 8:30pm Venue: Space A (St James Cavalier)
Alexandra Angeletaki of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology discusses the challenges of integrating VR and mobile technology tools in disseminating archival material, and whether its introduction has led to a change in the experience of the contemporary museum-archive. Using the case of the University Library’s Mubil and ARK4 projects, she explores how 3D technology workshops, gaming and mobile technology were used in the Mubil lab in order to develop open access educational workshops for university students and schools with source material drawn from archives and museum objects; and how the ARK4 project focuses on archaeological context, experimenting with user interactivity, digital technologies and gaming.
Edit-a-thon: Art+Feminism, Art in the Arena of Activism Dates and Times: Friday 9th March 2018, 15:30 – 18:30
Saturday 10th March 2018, 10:00 – 16:00
Venue: Blitz, Santa Lucia Street, Valletta
As part of the Art+Feminism project, Blitz is hosting a wiki edit-a-thon across two days to bring together people who are interested in learning how to edit Wikipedia to create new articles and improve existing content about women and the arts. This hands-on event will be facilitated by Wikimedia Community Malta and the M3P Foundation, in collaboration with Spazju Kreattiv. Please bring a laptop computer or tablet device.
The Snake Show exhibition presents art works by contemporary artists as well as research material, archival, documentary objects and found objects. Artists Ryan Falzon, Karine Rougier, Sharon Kivland, Sarah Maria Scicluna, Pippin Barr, Carl Gent and others will present snake-related work.
The exhibition “The Snake Show”, brought to you by FRAGMENTA MALTA, tells the story of the changing perception of snakes throughout history – from prehistoric examples to contemporary perceptions. Having been a symbol of wisdom, fertility and life, the snake lost its positive meaning with the arrival of St. Paul to Malta, his encounter with a snake, and the advent of Christianity. The symbolic power of the snake symbol, however, has remained undiminished from prehistory to her incorporation into popular Christian devotion and beyond. The objects are brought together in an associative way that allows visitors to discover new and old readings of snake tales. Archive films and photography will accompany the exhibition.
Artists Ryan Falzon, Karine Rougier, Sharon Kivland, Sarah Maria Scicluna, Pippin Barr, Carl Gent and others will present snake-related work.
The exhibition is open to the general public from February 2nd through February 11th. The opening ceremony will be held on February 2nd, Brigid’s day – who was an ancient goddess. Her festival day, “Imbolc” is traditionally a time for weather prognostication:
“The serpent will come from the hole On the brown Day of Bríde, Though there should be three feet of snow On the flat surface of the ground.”
Why was Filfla the next blip on the Fragmenta radar? Was it a logical step forward, in terms of your ‘CV’ so far and if so, why?
For 2015 and the coming years, Fragmenta has decided to work with a common theme: ‘Islands’. An island is an area of land entirely surrounded by water. An island is any object or place lost in an extension of a uniform element. Islands tend to be isolated. Islands can be natural or artificial. We could add that islands can make you dream, yearn for solitude or concentration, stimulate this “special holiday-feeling”, or form an escape.
The island is the elsewhere, the alternative solution. Islands can provoke Island Fever: the realization that you are stuck on whichever island you are living and not going anywhere… islands are real or surreal or unreal; islands are attractive and haunting; islands are projection ground, deceptive and miraculous; Islands are either too full or too empty; islands are wonderful. The little island of Filfla is the first in a series of “messages in a bottle” in order to explore possibilities of artistic islands.
Given that this is a collaboration between Fragmenta and two other artists, what would you say was the common guiding force of the exhibition?
It’s more of a conversation, rather than a collaboration. Fragmenta wanted to do an exhibition with the common theme of ‘Filfla’ and therefore conceived a collective exhibition and invited three artists to present works which take the little island of Filfla as their main subject matter for this event. Fragmenta ‘Filfla Findings’ presents a series of photographs by Ritty Tacsum and a collaborative work by Aksel Høgenhaug and Bettina Hutschek.
Assuming the event will primarily be a visual exhibition, what is the Filfla narrative you want to express and tell? How does it differ from popular perceptions of Filfla we may have?
Filfla is an exciting place because it becomes a small utopian island, visible from many places on the southern coast of Malta. It is even more exciting because it is inaccessible.
With the Fragmenta event we want to show works that imagine people living or having lived on this little rock. The collaborative work by Aksel Hogenhaug and Bettina Hutschek presents the remnants of the ‘Tribe of the Owl Cult’, or the so-called ‘Neil’s Tribe’. This fictitious Tribe is created through pictures, archeological artefacts and descriptions. Prehistoric T’eth, petrified fingers, various artefacts and stones give an almost complete picture of a fascinating ancient tribe which “could” have been living here.
The series of images, which Ritty Tacsum has specifically produced for Fragmenta’s project titled ‘Filfla Findings’, aims at recalling, exploring and revisualising a particular place from her childhood.
Għar Lapsi and Wied Iż-Żurrieq have undergone several changes throughout the years, yet the image she holds of Filfla remains untarnished in her mind: Filfla seen through the eyes of a five-year-old. She nostalgically admits that Filfla, its view and accompanying memories, remain a constant in her photographer’s life.
What do you make of the local art scene? What would you change about it?
The local art scene is growing and changing notably, which is exciting to see. But there is still a lot to do and to explore, and much space left for new and more contemporary ideas. It is still too easy to feel like the big fish in the small pond. The more there will be, in everything: artists, spaces, failures, curators, the better the quality will be eventually.
Competition is an essential factor for growth and positive challenge, and for now, there is not enough “there” to create truly challenging discussions. In general, we find the art scene still fairly rigid, and real dialogue – including art writing and art critique – is missing. Malta Contemporary Art (MCA) was fantastic and has been missed since its closure. It is a shame that it failed, but we think it had come too early for Malta…
But there is hope. For example, the Valletta International Visual Arts Festival (VIVA), where Raphael Vella is doing a great job curating and organising. BLITZ is also a great initiative in Valletta. They just started a fundraising campaign for the construction of an artist’s residency, and we encourage everybody to support this space. We wish there were more artist run or small initiatives like that, and more people daring to do projects outside of the institutional frame.
Institutions are important, but not everything. In a balanced art scene, there should always be a healthy ratio between institutional and non-institutional spaces; the more, the merrier. Work also has to be done on writing about art and the education of art, both in terms of educating the artists, but also the broader public.
What’s next for you?
Fragmenta will continue to do pop-up exhibitions in public space throughout the years 2015 and 2016. Fragmenta is dedicated to showing great stuff and offering experiences. It is also about the people seeing it. Ultimately, Fragmenta is about dialogue. In 2016, we will collaborate on some events with the Valletta 2018 Foundation. We also have several projects in the pipeline, but nothing is defined yet.
Things are what they are—but could they be different? Unter dem Titel face value soll die transmediale 2018 diejenigen Werte und Wertschöpfungsprozesse offenlegen, die zu den extremen politischen, ökonomischen und kulturellen Gräben unserer Gegenwart beigetragen haben. Im Angesicht von wachsenden populistischen Strömungen und immer lauter werdenden reaktionären Stimmen innerhalb und jenseits der heutigen Mediensphäre stellt sich die Frage, wie Künstler_innen, Kulturschaffende und Theoretiker_innen ihre eigenen Wertesysteme reflektieren – facing values – und darüber hinaus auf die gegenwärtige Tendenz reagieren können, Dinge in erster Linie nach dem äußeren Anschein zu beurteilen – taking things at face value. Das Festival findet vom 31. Januar bis 4. Februar 2018 im Haus der Kulturen der Welt statt und bringt wie immer eine Vielzahl von kuratorischen Formaten und Arten des Wissensaustauschs zusammen – von Keynotes über Performances und Workshops bis hin zu Screenings.
Critical design duo Metahaven have repeatedly participated at transmediale and also contributed to Holly Herndon’s new album ‘Platform’. On the occasion of Polymorphism #14, they created two limited edition long sleeve t-shirt designs in cooperation with independent journalist and internet activist Jacob Appelbaum and Holly Herndon – and supported by CTM and transmediale.
The t-shirts will be available for sale at the event on June 11th, all proceeds will be given to the Chelsea Manning Support Network.
The blockchain is widely heralded as the new internet—another dimension in an ever faster, ever more powerful interlocking of ideas, actions, and values. This landmark publication by the curatorial and publishing platform Torque and the art and social change organization Furtherfield brings together a diverse array of artists and researchers engaged with blockchain technology, unpacking, critiquing, and marking its arrival in the cultural landscape. The blockchain’s first and most notorious instantiation is Bitcoin, a highly volatile currency with an equally ambiguous value and cryptic future. Join editors and contributors of the publication for talks and discussions, to explore cryptocurrencies, alternate blockchain applications, and the launch of a free electronic version of the book.
Following the discussion, attendees are invited to buy and barter for the print edition in a live, radically inflationary situation, echoing the current state of cryptocurrencies, to explore a future in which we may increasingly use multiple modes of currency and exchange.
Moderated by Jaya Klara Brekke, Matthias Tarasiewicz
Workshop
Fri, 02.02.2018
16:00 – 18:00
K2
Registration
In this forkshop, the Laboratory for Future Cryptoeconomics will identify and work on future histories of data-driven and consensus-oriented cultures by investigating the face value of blockchain narratives. Despite a history of critical debates undermining the concept, consensus as truth exists and thrives in practice today. This is the evident in the emergence of post-truth media societies that have led to changes in society based on foundations of truth that are sustained only through consensus. Cryptoeconomics offers an alternative approach by reversing the incentivization of truth. In the cryptosphere, conflicts are the driving force of innovation; forking is a method of resolution. Conflicts appear in coding communities on a regular basis, and protocols for resolution have to exist in order to continue development. A “fork” in software engineering describes the situation when developers create their own “branch” and start individual development on it.
Yesterday when I took this image to send to our Garry of Redraw Internet I had just no idea today we would hear bad news.. After 17 years we got just two days to clear out of Deckspace notice to grab work in progress and decant to Bitspace on the first floor.
Greenwich council have been reviewing all their public buildings in the wake of Grenfell Tower disaster and earlier this week visited us at Borough Hall for the first time in a decade.. Our hosts Greenwich Dance have had a series of nasty shocks and SPC are not the only casualty this week, as most sublets of rooms seem likely to be terminated as well. Will find out more this coming week.
The grade2* listed building has been systematically neglected by RBG and it’s in a terrible state, all flat roofs have been leaking for years, doors are off hinges and most of the toilets failed long ago.. but they were shocked to discover we were up there doing what we do (whatever that is?) and threw a massive fit, threatening to shut the whole building if we didn’t clear the deck immediately!
Seems a bit harsh really but we have always operated on the basis we would yield to such a request – really expected a bit more notice though.
This will have a big impact on community wireless infrastructure and all the local connections that use the fast network provided by connection provider Redraw. We have the weekend to reconfigure what we can before the doors will be locked. So if you think you have something special stored or just want to get a final look out from the roof over Deptford and Greenwich visit this afternoon or Sunday morning until 1pm..
Great response from friends and subscribers, here are some images from the weekend grind.
We will continue with use of Bitspace until we hear different, it’s stacked with the materials and equipment dragged down the stairs. The weekly Wednesday workshops will also continue between 2 and 8pm. See you there!
A unique project focusing on the exchange of language, poetry and potatoes. Malta and Leeuwarden share strong agricultural ties,exchanging potato crops and seeds twice a year. From these seeds, Maltese farmers grow potatoes which are then shipped back to Leeuwarden. Poetry in Potato Bags makes use of this relationship by exchanging poetry along with the agricultural produce. Poetry in Potato Bags is a Valletta 2018 – European Capital of Culture collaboration with Potatoes Go Wild, Inizjamed, Appoġġ, and, of course, Leeuwarden 2018.
The seminar will be addressed by a number of individual researchers and public entities carrying out qualitative and quantitative research across a number of sectors. Also addressing the conference will be Szilvia Nagy, who forms part of Local Operators Platform (LOCOP), a research network dedicated to critically assessing cultural policies and supra-regional funding strategies such as the European Capital of Culture programme.
Wiċċna / Our Face project, led by Zvezdan Reljic, Yugoslav/Maltese photographer, is planned to be a book of around 200 photographic portraits of individuals from different backgrounds, generations and ethnicities who currently reside in Malta and accompanied by a short caption taken from the individual’s answer to the often complicated question “Where are you from?” Wiċċna / Our FaceZvezdan Reljić Prints by Zvezdan Reljic
Italian post-rock outfit Mokadelic, renowned for their breathtaking soundtracks, besides their albums proper, played two exclusive nights at the University Campus Theatre (ex MITP) in Valletta last weekend. In a rather unique experience for Malta, the five piece Rome-based band, who have scored soundtracks for Oscar-winning director Gabriele Salvatores amongst others, will play their soundtrack to the hit Italian TV series ‘Gomorra’ in its entirety; in what promises to be a special musical and visual experience.
Ħaġraisland is a collection of reflections by Isaac Azzopardi about the changing aesthetics of Malta. Through the use of construction material, appropriation and rubbing techniques, the show revolves around three main references: Austin Camilleri’s installation Stones from 1999, as a Maltese contemporary art canon, Anselm Kiefer’s ideas about art as alchemy and Malta’s changing urbanity.
Led by artistic director Mikiko Kikuta, European Eyes on Japan / Japan Today is a visual arts project that has toured over thirty European Capitals of Culture since 1999. In anticipation of our European Capital of Culture year, the project extended an invitation to Maltese photographer, Alexandra Pace, from Valletta 2018 and photographer Alice Wielinga from our twin European Capital of Culture, Leeuwarden-Fryslân 2018. Both photographers lived and work in Japan, looking to capture the country’s lifestyle through a European lens. An exhibition featuring the work of both artists will be hosted in Malta at Spazju Kreattiv, after which it will travel to Leeuwarden and Japan.
Latitude 36 – exhibition by Charlie Cauchi, a project stemming from Charlie Cauchi’s upbringing as a Maltese migrant’s daughter in the United Kingdom, brings real-life stories to the forefront to create “a more honest and open debate about migration”. For more information visit www.latitude36.org
Heba Shibani is a Libyan journalist and news producer who has worked in a number of Libyan and international media outlets such as Reuters, Libya’s channel, and Alaseema Television. After eight years in photojournalism and street photography, her approach has evolved to present heritage with a fresh edge, by illustrating the relationship between a place and its residents and focusing on the concept of home. During The Trail Heba will be running photoshoots for Trail visitors, with an option for visitors to keep their photos – a unique opportunity not to miss out on! Heba AlShibaniAllura – The Trail 2018
Malta Calls, a kaleidoscopic outdoor dance performance envelops the crowd in a 360-degree sensory experience. Drama, dance and film join forces in this pumping event, where projections representing ‘Present’ and ‘Future’ twist and turn, play and replay, as their movements capture aspirations, hopes and dreams in a moment of eternal anticipation. Malta Calls will be held on the grounds of St Clare’s College Secondary (ex Sir Adrian Dingli), Pembroke on Friday 20th July from 8pm onwards. ŻfinMaltaValletta 2018 – European Capital of Culture
‘Reflections and Connections’ and ‘Ħaġarna’ inaugurated as part of Art in Public Spaces. Two of the winning projects from the Art in Public Spaces competition which took place in 2015. 6 different projects intended for 6 particular spaces had won this competition. The two projects inaugurated are in Gozo, where ‘Reflections and Connections’ is a public staircase which has been adorned with mosaic in Għajnsielem and ‘Ħaġarna’ is a contemporary sculpture in Xagħra. Minister for Gozo Justyne Caruana was also present for the inauguration of the second project. ħaġarna
Decor Elly is a home-based 3D printing workshop which produces unique figurines for further processing, using decoupage & other finishes. Long before entering the world of 3D printing, Elaine was experimenting with photography and papier-mâché sculptures, as well as textile design including techniques such as weaving and macrame. Then, introduced to 3D design during her studies, she became interested in this process and the scope for creating her own products from start to finish. The range of objects she designed and produced started to grow; from a multi-coloured cow resembling contemporary dialogue with figurative arts (i.e. Damien Hirst), to creative remixes of classical art usually found only in established museums or galleries (e.g. the Venus de Milo, Michelangelo’s David) – all with an unexpected and quirky touch. Beyond Elaine’s intriguing choices of themes, her trademark approach lies in her use of experimental finishes, and how these unusual textures add another level of surprise for her audiences. Decor EllyElly LongLegsMichal Lubay Lubiszewski
We met up with Martha who literally does something out of nothing! Taking #upcycling to a whole new level.
The word MODS stands for “Music on D Spot”, which describes the mission of this collective of Portuguese musicians: to create improvised music with intimate connections to moving images in cinema or video. This edition of MODS COLLECTIVE investigates the work of Malta’s cinema pioneer, Cecil Satariano, an award-winning filmmaker of great artistic value whose work is still largely unrecognised in Malta and Europe. Taking as its starting point two short films by Satariano – “I’m Furious Red” and “Guzeppi” – Portuguese and Maltese musicians bring improvisational forms to table. Much more than a soundtrack, this is a piece of music that works symbiotically with cinema, creating a new layer of meaning alongside Satariano’s work. Created and organised by Capivara Azul – Cultural Association, in co-production with Fondazzjoni Kreattività with the collaboration of Marietherese Voice Studio and with the support of the Valletta 2018 Foundation and the Guimarães Municipality.
The Valletta 2018 Foundation was one of the main partners supporting the Malta Robotics Olympiad, which has now established itself as Malta’s major annual event for design, technology and education. Following two years of successful collaborations, the Valletta Design Cluster partnered with the Design and Technology Learning Centre to present the Design & Technology Expo at a special edition of the Malta Robotics Olympiad (MRO) in 2018. The event brought together educational institutions, technology and innovation-driven enterprises and agencies, as well as private exhibitors, while also hosting diverse national and international events, competitions, challenges and exhibitions. For more information about the event, visit https://www.mromalta.com/
MASTERCLASS by Liliana Cavani at Valletta Campus – University of Malta. During this class Liliana Cavani discussed the distinctive features of her craft of directing film. The event was introduced by Prof Gloria Lauri-Lucente and moderated by Prof Gaetana Marrone Puglia. The session was also be open to questions from the audience. University of Malta
Our European Capital of Culture year begins with a unique celebration that’s worthy of the traditional Maltese Festa. Visit the capital from the 14th to the 21st of January and participate in our island-wide festa!
Valletta 2018 is an exciting year-long celebration – a cultural programme that starts in our capital city and reaches out to towns and villages all over Malta and Gozo. Our Opening Week draws crowds to the heart of Valletta with music and entertainment, street artists and performers spreading word of the Opening around the capital’s streets, exhibitions set in diverse venues around the city, open days that re-discover Valletta’s fascinating historical spaces, community storytelling events centred around the city’s residents and the spaces they use, and much more.
At the centre of our grand festa are the joy, dance, music and reverie that fill Valletta’s four main squares – St George’s Square, St John’s Square, Castille Square, and the area around the Triton Fountain – where the Catalan theatrical group, La Fura dels Baus, blurs the line between audience and performer with outdoor acrobatics, while ŻfinMalta offer contemporary dance performances. Throughout our celebration, digital projections, video art and choral symphony lend the capital a wondrous and magical atmosphere. And all over on the city, travelling bands and performers take the festivities to the streets, inviting residents and visitors all over the Maltese Islands to take part in this spectacular celebration.
On the 20th of January, join us for Erba’ Pjazez, with shows every hour on the hour during the evening. Erba’ Pjazez will be hosted in Triton Square (Il-Qawma tat-Tritoni), St George’s Square (Qalbna), St John’s Square (Elfejn u Tmintax) and Castille Square (Minn Qiegħ l-Imgħoddi għall-Quċċata tal-Ġejjieni).
During the week of the 20th of January, from the 14th of January up until the 21st, come and join us for Opening Week. A variety of activities will be happening in an around Valletta for the entire week leading up to the opening as we prepare to host our European Capital of Culture year. Our Opening Week events are divided in six different themes:
‘Vitor’ was written and directed by Paul Portelli, and produced by Katya Hanna. Behind the camera, as cinematographer, was Michael Carol Bartolo, and the art direction was entrusted to Katrina Xuereb. ‘Vitor’ placed third at the 3rd edition of FICME, the International Student Festival of Short Film, Hammamet, Tunisia. Four short films by the students of the Master of Arts in Film Studies. Two, Vitor and Boy Wonder are by students currently following the course, and the other two are dissertations by the first graduates from the course, Lara Azzopardi (Kuzra) and Bruce Micallef Eynaud (The Inner Voice).
The programme is designed to provide emerging creatives in the community with an opportunity to access and learn from a nourishing pool of talent and a rich network of peers. Keit Bonnici recently graduated with a BA in Design, with 1st Class Honours, from Goldsmiths – University of London. The artist’s background includes studies in Design/(thinking), Art and Engineering. He has also received formation in circus arts and movement. “My aim is to carve out my own creative interdisciplinary practice; and become a freelance designer working with the space between art and design.”
MICAS kicks off its summer celebration with an art talk at MUŻA by Edith Devaney, contemporary curator and head of the summer exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London. This will be followed by the launch of Jumpstart: An Incomplete Timeline and a reception at Castille Square. The MICAS Summer Celebration is happening in collaboration with the Valletta Cultural Agency and it is supported by Heritage Malta and Spazju Kreattiv. MICAS Summer CelebrationMICAS
MUŻA huwa l-isem magħżul għall-mużew ġdid ta ‘l-arti u l-proġett prinċipali ta’ Malta. Il-proġett huwa mużew ta ‘arti tal-komunità nazzjonali, l-ewwel wieħed li qed jiġi żviluppat f’sit storiku fil-Belt tal-Belt Valletta; Sit ta ‘Wirt Dinji tal-UNESCO mibni bħala belt-fortizza. Illum, fl-isfond tal-Belt Kapitali Ewropeja 2018, il-proġett tal-Muża se jkun qed juża prattiċi innovattivi flimkien ma’ tekniċi tradizzjonali biex jiġu indirizzati problemi strutturali maġġuri fuq il-binja storika. Il-prattiċi li qed jintużaw ġew użati l-ewwel darba fl-Italja biex jirristrutturaw binjiet li ġġarrfu bit-terremoti. Din l-esperjenza ġdida se tħalli legat ukoll fil prattiċi tar-restawr tal-bini antik f’pajjiżna u ġew attentati b’mod qalbieni għall-ewwel darba minn Heritage Malta.
Zahra Al-Mahdi hija artista, kittieba, novellista grafika u film maker. Bħalissa tagħmel parti mir-residenza ta’ l-artisti ġewwa l-Belt Valletta u qegħda taħdem fuq proġett kif in-nies jinteraġixxu ma’ spazji madwarhom. L-esebizzjoni tagħha ser tiftaħ fil-21 ta’ Ġunju ġewwa Blitz
On December 15th Open Incet will be the place where to talk about cybersecurity and validity of data at the BLOCKCHAIN FOR SOCIAL GOOD, an event that will bring together policymakers, startups, researchers and other representatives of academia, and anyone else interested in the space of blockchain and its potential.
The event will open with the launch of the €5m European Commission Prize: “Blockchains for social good”. The prize has been designed by the European Commission to promote scalable, efficient and high-impact decentralized solutions to social innovation challenges leveraging the technology used in blockchain.
The presentation of the prize will be followed by the panel ‘Uncovering the potential of blockchain’ with the participation of Andrea Bracciali (Lecturer, University of Stirling), Marcella Atzori (Blockchain Advisor and International Coordinator, TrustedChain) and Massimiliano Sala (Professor and Director of the Laboratory of Cryptography (CryptoLabTN), University of Trento). Leonardo Camiciotti, Executive Director at TOP-IX Consortium will moderate the discussion.
Among others, Alessandro Lombardi, Microsoft’s Digital Transformation Advisor, will also participate.
Francesca Bria (Chief Technology and Digital Innovation Officer, Barcelona City Council), Paola Pisano (Deputy Mayor for Innovation and Smart City, City of Turin), Cristina Tajani (Deputy Mayor, Municipality of Milan) and Fabrizio Sestini, Senior Expert for Social Digital Innovation, DG will present the ‘Benefits of blockchain in cities’, a panel chaired by Marco Zappalorto, Director, Nesta Italia.
Throughout the event, a few successful examples of blockchain applications will be showcased by corporates, startups and universities.
The event will close with a networking reception until 16:00 followed by a pitching session about the social goods security aspects introduced by the blockchain, moderated by TOP-IX Consortium.
The event is organized by City of Turin, University of Turin and Nesta Italia in collaboration with the European Commission, City of Milan, UK Government Science and Innovation Network in Italy, Open Incet and Top-ix Consortium.
White Memory – 1989/2018 Art in Malta and Poland is an exhibition curated by Irene Biolchini and Marinella Paderni. The exhibition revolves around the ties between Malta and Poland and the search for identity in the present – which also represents the promise for the future. White is the colour of pureness, but it is also the colour used to cancel, to erase, thus presenting the leitmotiv of this exhibition.
The exhibition includes three generations of Polish artists whose works reflect a two-way movement between past and future, between cultural heritage and the invention of a new art, an aesthetic self-expression that is a symbol of Poland today. In the same way, three Maltese generations are called to confront each other in the spaces of the exhibition. The three generations are represented by: the Modernist generation, which achieved artistic maturity before the independence; the generation that grew up artistically in the Republic; the youngest generation that started to work while Malta was entering into the European Union.
The theme of identity is perceived as one of the fundamentals of contemporary art and culture. The definition of identity, in fact, urges a definition and a reflection upon the European collective memory and history, especially in relation to the events happened between the end of the 20th Century and the beginning of the 21st Century. It is clear that there is no future and memory without the awareness of what our memory and past are.
The exhibition will be held at Spaces A, C1 – C4, Spot A and B at St James Cavalier, Valletta.
This project is supported by the Malta Arts Council and the Polish Institute in Rome and endorsed by the Valletta 2018 Foundation.
