Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1188980
CULTURE THEATRE maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 DECEMBER 2019 8 AN incredible 21,000 audience members flocked to this year's edition of the ŻiguŻajg Interna- tional Arts Festival for Children and Young People, ahead of its closing on Sunday, 24 Novem- ber. Concluding its 9th year, this year's festival continued to ce- ment its reputation as the fore- most festival of its kind in the re- gion, and to build on its enduring popularity with audiences of all ages. The 10-day programme brought together over 130 creatives from 11 countries, including Malta. The repertoire consisted of 21 projects with five commissions and collaborations with six of Malta's leading Public Cultural Organisations (PCOs). Altogeth- er, this led up to a grand total of 112 performances, seven screen- ings, and 19 workshops spread over 12 different venues, with nine creative forms offering pa- trons a wonderfully-diverse range of performances to choose from. Of the 21,000 people that at- tended the festival, 8,500 were students from 45 schools across the Maltese islands. This rein- forced the festival's remit to in- troduce children to the wondrous world of arts from young ages, while simultaneously tackling a number of issues that are both topical and relevant to children and young people. Furthermore, enhancing the reputation it has steadily built on an international level, ŻiguŻajg 2019 presented two delegate pro- grammes and hosted 30 visiting international delegates, while strengthening its association with established networks such as AS- SITEJ, the International Associa- tion of Theatre for Children and Young People; IETM an interna- tional network for contemporary performing arts; and EFFE, the European Festivals Association. Expressing complete satisfac- tion at the outcome, outgoing ŻiguŻajg Festival Director Daniel Azzopardi says that: "this edition of ŻiguŻajg has yet again exceed- ed expectations with respect to the quality and diversity of the programme, outreach and com- munity engagement initiatives, the numerous creatives involved, the hard-working technical and logistic crews, administrative staff and numerous venue assis- tants; and of course high partici- pation by schools and the general public. I now hand the ŻiguŻajg Festival baton over to my suc- cessor, as preparations for next year's edition get under way." ŻiguŻajg is produced by Fon- dazzjoni Kreattività. For more information about the festival and the ongoing ŻiguŻajg season events visit www.ziguzajg.org The 2019 ZiguZajg International Arts Festival comes to a successful conclusion Ruth Borg and Tom de Ronde performing Ssslip, a ZiguZajg Commission Joe performing in JamBoy, by The Shrinking Violets Photos: ZiguZajg and Elisa von Brockdorff