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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 APRIL 2020 5 THIS WEEK ARTS ARTS Council Malta on Wednesday announced the winners for the third edition of Il-Premju għall-Arti, the na- tional arts awards which celebrate the achievements of the cultural and crea- tive sectors. The award acknowledges excellence in artistic work premiered during the preceding year. Owing to the spread of COV- ID-19, the awards ceremony was live- streamed for the first time on Arts Council Malta's Facebook page. The live-streamed event was hosted by Ray Calleja, Artistic Director of Premju għall-Arti. The winners were selected by a jury of sectoral experts and Arts Council Mal- ta representatives from the nomina- tions submitted through an open call. The Awards covers projects, produc- tions or activities in the cultural and creative sectors which have been pre- miered or presented between 1 Sep- tember 2018 and 30 September 2019. The winners will receive a prestigious award, a sculpture in glass and ceramic, by Maltese artist Kane Cali. This sculpture is a new edition and its design has evolved from the previous two editions. Best work for young audiences Trikki Trakki – Youth Theatre Festi- val – Teatru Malta Best project in the community Nimxu Mixja – Kristina Borg, Raf- faella Zammit, Gabriel Caruana Foun- dation and Kulleġġ Santa Tereża Skola Primarja Birkirkara Best artistic programme or season Valletta Design Cluster 2018/2019 – Valletta Cultural Agency Production of the year Music in Malta: From Prehistory to Vinyl Exhibition - Fondazzjoni Patri- monju Malti Best international achievement Mizzi Studio Best creative enterprise Moveo Dance Company Young artist of the year Andre' Agius Artist of the year Julian Mallia (Julinu) Award for innovation GawGaw A Panto in the Dark – Te- atru Malta Audience's choice 2.0 Watts in the Dark – Andre' Agius During the award ceremony, three non-competitive honours were an- nounced: Lifetime achievement award Charles 'Ic-City' Gatt Honour for cultural promoters Bank of Valletta Honour for artistic legacy L-Għaqda Każini tal-Baned Malta Arts Awards: The Winners List The full list of winners are: Do you think this experience could pave the way for future WhatsTheirNames performances of this kind, even after the restrictions put into place due to covid-19 are lifted? Either as a way to present certain performances whole- sale, or an 'adjunct' to traditional live performances? In short: to you see a wider potential for this sort of thing? I can definitely see more of this sort of work for as long as the situation lasts, but it's really too early to say what hap- pens after that. Right now these are solutions theatre is having to come up with to deal with a crisis. They're in- teresting and exciting but ultimately I don't know which bits of them will still feel vital or relevant when this is over (if there is such a thing as 'when this is over'). It's definitely possible, and the use of technology in theatre is a massive area that Malta hasn't really explored so far. But at this moment I'm still just looking forward to the time when we can get back to sharing a space together - that's where the magic of theatre is. If we can draw from this something that adds value to that experience, that can only be a positive, but I have no way of answering that question yet. What do you hope Maltese and Mal- ta-based artists and creatives can learn from this danger and anxiety-ridden period? I think there's some scope for it to be an enforced period of innovation – we have to come up with new ideas because everything else we know has been put on pause for us. And there's something to be gained from a stretch of time where ideas can be developed without the immediate necessity to produce. But honestly I just hope everyone gets through it. There's real anxiety around and simply keeping our artistic spirits alive and ready for the day the lights come back on is just as valuable as pro- ductivity right now. Much Ado About Nothing will be streamed live on April 15 at 19:30, through a link made avail- able on the event's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ events/519330148778954/ "We're very much going to be exploring the show on the fly, with our audience, which feels very much in line with how WhatsTheirNames has always worked"