Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1496177
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 ARPIL 2023 6 ALMANAC My essentials RACHELLE DEGUARA 26, Multidisciplinary Artist After practising activism and art for the last ten years, I decided to read a performing arts degree focusing on dramaturgy, light design and movement making. Currently, I am practising as a freelance multidisciplinary artist. In January, I opened Mellowmoon Studio in Zurrieq, a space to get together with the community and other small sustainable businesses selling jewellery and vintage clothing. 1 4 5 1. Book 2. Film 3. Internet/TV 4. Music 5. Place THE Dhru Purohit Podcast of Spotify. He interviews people from the wellness, medicine and mindset fields and up until now, I learned from the podcast how to eat intuitively, exercise without causing stress on my body, meditate, care for myself according to my menstru- al cycle, have more energy, and ask the right questions when I'm at the doctor's of- fice. Other content I fre- quent is Bis-Serjeta's blog, Maya Dimitrijevic's TikTok, Jon Malia's podcast, Sandra's Gauci ABS news and Mark Camilleri's blog. Recently I discovered Matthew Vella's blog, and I subscribed. THE newly released album 'Va- ganza' by Micheal Azzopardi. The kind of album you'll enjoy listening to from the beginning to the end. I especially enjoyed Il-Ballu, which evoked the same feelings as Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemi- cal Romance. 'Urbanali' by No- ah Fabri is also a favourite, but I'm biased because I'm featured on it on two songs and enjoyed the process so much. MY favourite place is the El Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which started as a theatre in 1919. It had a brief stint as a cinema before architect Fer- nando Manzone transformed it into the stunning bookstore it is today in 2000. I visited it in 2018, and I'm still enchant- ed by just visiting the memory of me browsing the books and looking at the architecture—a transcendental experience. 'THE Compass of Pleasure' by neuroscientist David Lin- den. It maps out the brain's relationship with pleasure and addiction. It made me under- stand what happens in the brain when addictions and in- tractable habits present them- selves and that addicts are not weak, defective human beings lacking willpower. They are people with chemically defi- cient brains. I picked it up to further my knowledge of how neurobiology can help theatre makers/choreographers en- gage better with an audience when exploring the subject of pleasure vis-à-vis pain. 'LA classe operaia va in parad- iso' (1971) by Elio Petri. It made me question my father's relationship with trade unions when he used to work at the Malta Dockyard. I watched it when I was around 17, and it was a point of realisation that you couldn't have environmen- tal rights without fundamental human rights first. I remember my priorities changed after I watched that film. 3 2