Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1016519
5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 AUGUST 2018 THIS WEEK ART c o n - sortium of four Euro- p e a n partners, namely – Malta So- ciety of Arts (Malta), Terre dei Savoia Association (Italy), Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen (Nether- lands) and Dusetos Culture Center (Lithuania). It is the first artistic project led by a Maltese art organisation (the MSA), co-funded by the Euro- pean commission within the Creative Europe sector. The project focuses on the crea- tive disclosure of European culture through multi-senso- rial modalities. It is a two-year venture, providing artist-in- residency programmes and exhibitions to young emerging artists from Malta, Italy, Lith- uania and the Netherlands. What kind of criteria did you apply when it came to the selection process of the artists who eventually formed part of 'Perception'? In this particular case, the exhibi- tion was specifi- cally designed as part of the AMuSE audience engagement strat- egy. This was the most challenging factor because I had to create a system which vets the work produced while guiding all participants to contemporary creative methodologies by adhering to the specific guidelines in line with the main concept of the international project. This developed into an in- formative programme com- prising presentations, discus- sions and seminars with all the interested MSA members who had the opportunity to experiment, research and work; both individually and in groups. The exhibition is the result of an evolving process of six months of discussions and studio visits. It was a satisfying new expe- rience for all the members who had the opportunity to create different interactive and in- novative art projects, such as tactile and olfactory paintings, kinetic and mechanical sculp- tures, installations and sound images. What do you make of the visual arts scene in Malta? What would you change about it? Nowadays, there are a lot of new art forms and crea- tive projects going on. The art sector is expanding its network and international spectrum. There are a lot of opportunities out there, espe- cially for young emerging art- ists. The educational sector is also becoming more and more accessible and open- ended to different types of audiences. One remark worth noting, is that in today's contempo- rary context we should be very careful not to conceive contemporary art practices as pertaining to a particular trend, model or approach. The creative and artistic art sector should be open-ended and broad enough to include different approaches. Furthermore, there should be a constructive critical ap- proach, without confining art reviews and analysis to simply descriptions and happy re- ports. It would be very fruit- ful to have an open critical discourse between artists, art critics and the general public. What's next for you? I have a couple of art pro- jects in the pipeline – some related directly to my artistic practice whist others linked to curation and artistic direc- tion. However, there are two particular ventures which will unfold in the coming months. The first is the next AMuSE artist-in-residence hosted in Leeuwarden (European Capi- tal of Culture 2018, along- side Valletta), coordinated by Hanze University of Applied Sciences. This will be another exciting event, given that I will have the opportunity to guide nine young emerging Europe- an artists to execute research and artistic experimentation. It will be a stimulating three- week period, finding its cul- mination with an exhibition of their work in the heart of the Dutch city. The other project is a non-toxic etching prac- tice-led research in Rome un- dertaken under the guidance of an Italian master etcher. Perception will be open un- til August 30 at Palazzo de La Salle, 219, Republic Street, Valletta. Opening times are Monday and Friday from 08:00 to 19:00, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 08:00 to 12:00 and 15:00 to 18:00 and Saturday from 09:00 to 13:30. For more information, log on to artsmalta.org "The creative and artistic art sector should be open-ended and broad enough to include different approaches" Curator Roderick Camilleri