Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1050749
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 NOVEMBER 2018 CULTURE ENVIRONMENT SPIDERS come in fabulous variety but for most people they all fall in two groups: Ew! or Aargh! Such a pity, considering their many fascinating talents. Well over a hundred species have so far been identified in Malta (many more awaiting study). One of our biggest is the banded argiope, first record- ed at Għadira nature reserve in 2003, after which it began to turn up in various places. This either means the animal was brought into the country and then spread rapidly, or it had been simply overlooked/misidentified as the similar lobed argiope. The female's body can grow to 25mm, with even longer legs. Banded argiopes (M. brimba rrigata) spin large sturdy orb webs, usually in gaps in leafy shrubs, and then hang in the middle to wait for hapless insects to barge into the sticky strands, and a stickier end! Favourite prey ap- pear to be wasps, which is maybe why they are also known as wasp spiders. Females are now busy laying their last batches of eggs into neat silk pouches, after which the winter weather usually destroys the webs and, sadly, the mothers too. Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 535: Support local farmers! Find out more at www.foemalta.org/goodfood Text and Photo Victor Falzon 537 - SUPPORT LOCAL FARMERS 634. BANDED ARGIOPE VERBI: mill-bieb 'il ġewwa is an interdisciplinary performance art event by Barumbara Collec- tive that will take place on 7, 8, 9 December 2018 at Valletta Con- temporary, the cutting-edge contemporary gallery recently opened on East Street, Valletta. Verbi, which was originally conceived in Brussels in 2017 following a series of perfor- mances during Rue de Flandre's annual street market, is based on a narrative from the collec- tion of short stories "mill-bieb 'il ġewwa/take a look inside (me)'' by award-winning Maltese author Loranne Vella, who is known for the best-selling tril- ogy 'Il-Fiddien' co-written with Simon Bartolo. Verbi is designed as a prom- enade performative event re- sulting from the collaboration of eight Maltese and other Eu- ropean artists from different ar- tistic spheres – literature, drama, dance, installation art, photogra- phy, film, light design, music and sound design – whose work will converge in Valletta Contempo- rary's art space. The eight artists forming part of Barumbara Col- lective are Loranne Vella, writer, performer, artistic director and coordinator for Verbi; performer Sephora Gauci; Kamini Daems, video artist, photographer and musician; sound designer Dan- jeli Schembri; performer Franc- esca Saraullo; Aurore Moril- lon, video artist, photographer and performer; photographer Zvezdan Reljić and light design- er Eleanor Bryce. As a point of departure, each of the collaborating artists re- ferred to existing material from their artistic repertoire, be it literature, sound, film, dance, photography, light or theatre, which in one way or another is linked to the themes of the stories. This led to the creation of new material. Conceptually, Verbi starts from the verb and moves on to examine the em- bodiment and expression of this verb by the human body in rela- tion to the space around it and to others, via the interaction of the different art forms. But is this art or theatre? Ar- tistic Director Loranne Vella's answer to the question is that the different art forms will be merged: "In terms of narrative/ content, audiences will feel like they're stepping through some- one's front door to have a peak into their personal/secret life – hence, they can never know be- forehand what to expect. Verbi will be a journey into the char- acters' inner life." In December Barumbara Col- lective will be organising work- shops with students from the Digital Arts Programme and the Theatre Studies Programme at the University of Malta to share the creative and collabo- rative processes leading toward the creation of new content to be included in the final perfor- mance. Verbi is produced by Culture Venture, and supported by Mal- ta Arts Fund - Project Support Grant by Arts Council Malta. Entrance tickets at €15 will be available at the door or from https://shop.trackagescheme. com/event/mill-bieb-il-gewwa. For more info visit instagram. com/barumbaracollective and facebook.com/barumbara. International performance art event at Valletta Contemporary Blurring boundaries between art and performance, Verbi: mill-bieb 'il ġewwa is an interdisciplinary show devised by eight multi-national artists