Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1259447
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 JUNE 2020 4 THIS WEEK ART TEODOR RELJIC speaks to Giulia Micallef and Chalise Bugeja, coordinators for Ctrl Z: the very first edition of a collective visual arts exhibition featuring dissertation work by students of the Digital Arts Department at the University of Malta, while also allowing them to scope to showcase their personal artistic projects as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to relegate a large chunk of artistic practice onto the online sphere Embracing a new reality Could you briefly tell us what Ctrl Z is all about? Ctrl Z is an online exhibition organ- ised by the final-year students within the Digital Arts course at the Universi- ty of Malta, where it will be showcasing 35 works that are the practical part of our dissertations. Ctrl Z is an opportu- nity for each artist to show their skills through their respective projects, after a year's worth of trials and errors, re- search and dedication. How would you say the assembled artists, and the exhibition itself, reflect the ethos and content of the Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts? What are some of the prevailing intellectual and aesthetic trends that shine through, and how did the students respond to them? The course of studies is a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) degree with Digital Arts as the main area of specialisation. This is truly shown within the exhibi- tion considering every project displays a wide spectrum of thematic approach- es through areas as diverse as duality in relationships, gender identity, dance, sound/image synthesis, portraiture, ar- tificial intelligence, software design and homelessness. The overarching theme throughout this exhibition is that of questioning and delving into that which is deeply and innately human. Throughout this final semester of our scholastic year however, every student had to embrace a new reality; that of shifting our lec- tures as well as our own exhibition on- line. This also meant that our areas of specialisation needed to be adjusted and moved online. Having to organise this exhibition in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and all of its attendant restrictions must have presented its fair share of challenges: how did you go about it? Ctrl Z is the first exhibition of its na- ture for the Digital Arts Department and the University of Malta. Initially it did present quite a few hurdles giv- en that the exhibition had to change its dynamics completely. In this regard, it was a challenge trying to organise an exhibition entirely through video calls. Luckily we had already assigned roles to every student earlier on in March, so it was a lot easier to coordinate when the pandemic hit. The COVID-19 scenario also meant that we couldn't showcase our works as we had originally envisaged; everything had to move online and many struggled with the fact that their works had to be compromised. We had to quickly learn to adjust to the extraordinary circum- stances and to stay optimistic, and now we cannot be prouder of what we have managed to accomplish. What do you make of the Maltese visual arts scene? What would you change about it? Personally we both agree that the Maltese visual arts scene is flourish- ing, and rightfully so. For many years "The overarching theme throughout this exhibition is that of questioning and delving into that which is deeply and innately human" Giulia Micallef Chalise Bugeja