Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1465136
6 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 20 APRIL 2022 NEWS INFRASTRUCTURE Malta and the The Mikiel Anton Vassalli Col- lege – Malta School of Art set up a new outdoor art gallery along the principal walking and cycling track and bus lay-by of the Marsa Junc- tion. The open-air gallery, the second of its kind in Malta, features thirty large frames that will be showcas- ing artwork prints of the School's students and tutors. Through this collaboration, Infrastructure Mal- ta is continuing to enhance the experience of commuters who use the roads, footpaths, bus lay-bys, cycle lanes and park and ride areas of the country's busiest junction. The first collection in this gal- lery, which will remain on display for a few months, includes art- works by 27 artists, comprising current students and artist-teach- ers of the School, as well as works by its former students, from its ar- chives. This combination of work from students and tutors is an ode to the tradition of exhibitions or- ganised by the School of Art in the past when teachers, such as the celebrated Maltese artists Emvin Cremona and Carmelo Mangion, would display their works along- side their students. The selected artworks explore the key elements of art name- ly line, colour, shape, form and texture. Some of the works study these elements in a formal man- ner through experimentations with composition, contrasting and complementary colours, use of patterns, layering effect, perspec- tive and optical illusion amongst others. Others use such elements to express an existential, philo- sophical or conceptual standpoint - a personal world view or a so- cio-political argument. The themes explored include en- vironmental sustainability, beau- ty, displacement, fragmentation, transformation and the dimension of memory among others. The media and technical approach adopted for the works exhibited varies from drawing to painting, mixed-media and collage work, photography, digital art and ma- nipulation to printmaking tech- niques such as etching, lino-print- ing, wood-cut and mono-printing. The participating learners of the first exhibition are Alexander Buhagiar Said, Tattiana Mazzelli, Anthea Aquilina, Ayasha Abela, Vincent Cassar, Tristan Grixti, Sasha Szlobogyan, Matthias Borg, Aida Baely, Joseph Pace, Sandro Grech, Alberto Favaro and Steph- anie Micallef. The School's tu- tors who contributed to this pro- ject are Jeremy Amaira, Thomas Scerri, Joyce Camilleri, Roder- ick Camilleri, Daniela Guevska, Sephora Borg, Isaac Warrington, Stephen Vella, Kamy Aquilina, Leanne Lewis, Edera Bellizzi and Noel Azzopardi. The Malta School of Art was founded almost a hundred years ago, establishing itself as a major influence in the progress and artis- tic research of visual arts in Malta. Today the school offers a wide va- riety of courses, both formal and informal, designed to reach a wide cross section of learners. Infrastructure Malta completed the €70 million Marsa Junction Project in April 2021 and em- bellished it with extensive land- scaped areas, including 18,195 trees, shrubs and other plants, as well as four monumental art- works. The agency will continue funding two art exhibitions by the School of Art's students and art- ist-teachers at the Junction's new outdoor gallery every year. Victor Galea, Head of the Mikiel Anton Vassalli College Network welcomed Infrastructure Malta's interest in supporting the creative output of the Malta School of Art. "It is a central aim of the school to encourage learners to reach their full potential in visual arts also by providing opportunities to exhibit their work and participate in projects that go beyond the pa- rameters of the school. The Mik- iel Anton Vassalli College is very keen to see this collaboration de- velop further with the continued involvement of the Malta School of Art learners," Galea said. Ing. Fredrick Azzopardi, Infra- structure Malta's chief executive officer, thanked the Malta School of Art for sharing the artworks of its students and tutors in the new outdoor art gallery. "Pedestrians, bus passengers and cyclists will definitely enjoy the diversified selection of works that the School is presenting at such an easily-accessible location in Mar- sa, this year's Capital of Culture. Infrastructure Malta is committed to continue working with local and international artists to create more artworks for its public in- frastructure, while supporting the country's creative development." Infrastructure Malta and the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology's Institute for the Creative Arts set up the Mar- sa-Hamrun Bypass outdoor gal- lery, the first of its kind in Malta, in December 2020. New outdoor art gallery at the Marsa Junction