Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/433160
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2014 28 Letters Send your letters to: The Editor, MaltaToday, MediaToday Ltd. Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 | Fax: (356) 21 385075 E-mail: newsroom@mediatoday.com.mt. Letters to the Editor should be concise. No pen names are accepted. While congratulating Toni Sant on his new appointment as artistic director at St James Cavalier Cen- tre for Creativity, I feel that, for the sake of correctness, I should com- ment on a couple of his statements. Seeing that Mr Sant has been away from the island for some time, it is quite possible that he is not totally au courant with the history of St James Cavalier and may there- fore have the wrong impression how the centre functioned. It is not true that St James Cava- lier carried out its programme on a 'first-come, first-served' basis or that it was simply a renting house. It is true that there were applica- tion forms online. This was part of a policy to encourage transparency and immediacy to the application process. But it is also true that, working intimately with the three previous boards prior to the present one, and the hard-working staff at St James, (which, once again, I feel duty bound to thank for the enormous support given) we constructed a very clear policy with a strong bias towards the contemporary scene. To attain this goal involved regu- lar one on ones with both Maltese and foreign artists as well as the launch of a number of new artists and new collaborations. The end resulting policy was not dissimilar to the policy of other institutions such as the Kennedy Centre in Washington, and one which recognised the need of an in-house programming and commissioning together with its function as a national institution that acted as a platform for the creativity of private initiatives and therefore found spaces for that to be explored. One does not want to blow one's own trumpet but for the sake of ac- curacy it must be pointed out that over the 14-year period that I was both general manager and de facto artistic director, the centre has been the intellectual and spiritual home of a number of new initiatives which have since been taken up by other institutions. Incidentally the combining of the jobs of general manager and artistic director is also not unusual in this sector. Take, for example, the UK's National Theatre. Having said that, it was on my suggestion that a specific role of artistic director be created, particularly in the run up of V18 Finally I must congratulate Mr Sant for his recently announced series of encounters running under the heading Ide@, which must be applauded. There again surely this series of seminars finds its antecedent in the series of 'Valletta Creative Forums' organised by St James, but which focused on a wider spectrum then just St James and which bore a lot of ideas which have since been imple- mented on a national level. But none of this should come as a surprise. As the French say "Plus ca change..." Chris Gatt Mqabba The call made by the Presi- dent of Malta to update the Constitution should not fall on deaf ears. The polit- ical class and civil society should seriously consider taking up the suggestion. Forty years since inde- pendence and thirty since our country became a re- public have paved the way for the country to consider its next constitutional landmark: the creation of the second republic. This should be marked by a change in the Con- stitution to reflect today's realities. Among the constitu- tional provisions that need adjournment are the neu- trality and non alignment clauses that still speak of reality in terms of the two super powers even if only one still survives and Malta is now part of the European Union. The new constitution must reflect European val- ues and embrace the grow- ing liberal and secular influences in our society. Accordingly the increased separation of state and church powers, the values of tolerance, diversity, account- ability, transparency, open government, party financing must all be entrenched and enshrined in the highest law of the land. The scenes witnessed on Monday whereby the two major parties engaged in a media circus to collect donations, were pathetic and very un-European. It was shameful to see ministers and parliamen- tary secretaries dish out swaths of cash as donations for their party. To start with nobody knows who donated that money and secondly it jarred completely with the hard measures dished out in the budget three weeks earlier. Party financing must be regulated in a transparent manner and enshrined in the Constitution. If Parliament is truly to be reflective of the people, electoral reform must be tackled as a matter of urgency and not haphazardly on the eve of a general elec- tion. The choice facing the electorate must be truly free, unshackled by the fear of non-representation because of unrealistic electoral thresholds. This improvement in the system can only materialize if the number of parliamentary seats obtained by each political party is a proportional reflection of the number of votes obtained in the first count. To ensure governability, a minimum national threshold can also be introduced. The composition of the Broadcasting Authority also needs constitutional updat- ing. Political parties must not be allowed to nominate their representatives on the BA. This practise has led the authority to be more concerned with protecting the inter- ests of the parties rather than the over- whelming interests of the viewer. Ideally the BA should be composed of independent minded persons who are also capable of ensuring that each media, even if party-owned is impartial. Without gravitating towards an American-style presidential system, even the powers of the President and the method of his elec- tion could be re-evaluated. The President could be giv- en wider powers to select the members of national institutions thus ensuring they remain above partisan politics. An updated constitution should also give recogni- tion to new social realities in our society including the widening definition of the family. Such a definition would be necessary in or- der to enact legislation that affords legal protection for spouses in non-conven- tional families. The changes, which would usher in a new era in this country's short in- dependent history, should be the remit of a national commission representing the three political parties and representatives of civil society. At the height of the festive season it may be presumptuous to talk of such radical changes to the highest form of legal con- tract that binds government and national institutions with the people they represent. But as time passes it becomes more of a necessity to re-think our national institu- tions to make them truly reflective of the society we are living in and responsive to the aspirations of a new Malta that has now entered a family of European nation states. A second republic could reignite the peo- ple's waning belief in national institutions. The Second Republic Editorial • December 19 2004 Policies at St James Cavalier Centre Further to my letter 'Ingratitude towards Church's mission' an- other argument is the notion that the intelligent design of creation by a superior Being is a fictitious theory. This persistent obstinate stance is being recently rekindled. All scientists, Catholic or not, are converging to a line of thought that there is a Personal God, an intelligent architect as author of the universe. There is a plethora of ancient philosophers, astrono- mers, chemists, geologists, physi- cists etc, who think so. A more exhaustive list would include great statesmen, artists, poets, inventors and a torrent of scholars of every age and era. As if that is not enough, is it possible that all the common facts of ethics, history, science, herme- neutics, apologetics and philoso- phy, which point most compel- lingly towards a powerful case for God and Chrstianity, result in illogical reasoning and force of argument off the rails? Somone recently quoted a theologian of the 14th century. But aren't the likes of G. Marconi, A. Einstein, Isaac Newton, A. Sandage, C.L. Schleich and a host of others more convincing and credible? Maybe a quote from the Ger- man chemist Justus von Liebig is enough. "The greatness and infi- nite wisdom of the Creator would be acknowledged only by those who strive really hard to take their ideas from the great book we call nature". John Azzopardi Zabbar Solid arguments maltatoday, SUNDAY, 7 DECEMBER 2014 News 17 Ringing in the changes THE very first artistic director for the St James Cavalier Centre for Cre- ativity is probably just a gold tooth away from passing as a swashbuck- ling pirate. With a swarthy complex- ion and a beard to match, Toni Sant saunters to our interview wearing a roguish smile that is neither sleazy nor a defence mechanism. Instead, it belies a sly wit and an eagerness to meet his interviewer half way, while never exactly letting me off the hook. I won't say that he's the easiest per- son I've interviewed, but that's only because he takes each and every one of my questions seriously, picking their implications apart to get to the root of the thing. "So, how do you feel about being appointed artistic director of this place?" "Wait a minute, we need to decide what we mean when we say 'place'… do you mean this beautiful 17th cen- tury building," he says, gesturing to- wards the Renaissance-era walls as we sit outside Inspirations Café, "Or do you mean the place as a centre for creativity?" I resist the urge to roll my eyes. But then, I am dealing with an academic, and what is semantics to us is a mat- ter of life and death to him. Dr Toni Sant was most recently Director of Research at the University of Hull in Scarborough, UK, and his research interests include digital curation and new media – though he's also had ex- perience in theatre and the perform- ing arts. Throughout our interview, he remains somewhat apologetic about his linguistic sensitivity – an occupational hazard for many an academic – but it's also clear that he never indulges in it for its own sake. "Speaking of St James as a centre for creativity," he says, getting back to my first question, "we need to build on all the work that has been done in the past decade by the cen- tre's previous general manager, who also served as artistic director at the time. But we also need to consider, and think about, our programme of events as it pertains to the build- ing itself, and how it can be applied across other venues. So I didn't ask you to specify this just for the sake of semantics," he says, that smile still very much in place. It's both logical and fair of him to point out the difference between general manager and artistic direc- tor, in the case of St James Cavalier itself. Former general manager Chris Gatt effectively also served as 'ar- tistic director' of the place, and it is of course hoped that isolating this role will contribute to a smoother running of the place. Though again, that 'place' doesn't have to be geo- graphically limited to the fortified enclosure of the Cavalier itself – since the Fondazzjoni Ċentru għall- Kreattività, the legal entity at the core of St James, can extend its remit beyond the venue itself. "There will also be a change in the way things are run on a day to day basis, especially in terms of the way events are organised. As it stands, anyone can just go on our website, fill out a form and apply to have their event at the venue, and the applica- tion is then dealt with on a seemingly first-come, first-served basis..." Sant believes that this system "needs addressing" because he'd like to cultivate a more long-term ap- proach towards the centre's activ- ity – rather than just "renting out" spaces to individual artists. "As of January, we will be issuing a call for proposals pertaining to very specific programmes. Not only does this ease the administrative burden of having to process a large number of applications over a short period of time, it also enables us to plan for programmes of events that are far more cohesive." But apart from challenging artists to put forward projects that may lie outside their immediate comfort zone, and fit within an overarch- ing plan for St James Cavalier, Sant also claims that there is a "strategic" motivation behind this development too. "We want to serve as a catalyst for creativity. That is at the foremost of our aims. We want to diversify. Now, by 'diversify' I don't just mean lending space to people who have been marginalised from society – although this new approach applies to them too. Because the fact is that there are a number of creative people who have never set foot in St James Cavalier – neither as artists nor as visitors. We want to make sure that they feel this could be a home for them to go to. That makes for a re- think of what the criteria should be for these proposals. If we're rethink- ing the criteria then we have to find ways to incentivise people who are creating work that has been under- represented, or audiences who still haven't found the kind of work that appeals to them." Sant brings up the phenomenon of Maltese-language hip-hop as an ex- ample. "To my knowledge, there have never been any concerts and work- shops focusing on Maltese hip-hop organised at St James Cavalier. And yet, this is one of the most vibrant and exciting creative forms to have emerged from Malta over the past few years, and it's most certainly an integral part of our culture." On this note – the note of 'reinven- tion' – Sant also brings up St James Cavalier's upcoming re-branding exercise – one that he assures will not simply be about "coming up with a new logo" but that will strive to communicate what the centre for creativity is all about. This also coin- cides with 'Sensiela IDE@', a series of discussions during which the public will be allowed to put forward their suggestions on how St James Cava- lier can further improve. As someone who's attuned to con- temporary digital realities, Sant also has a clear commitment to creating a 'legacy' for St James Cavalier. The idea of archiving is firmly rooted in his modus operandi – evidence of this being the M3P project, through which he collaborates with local musicians to archive their music for posterity in the form of a Wikipedia- style page. But cultivating a legacy requires constant tender loving care, and it's susceptible to assault from all quar- ters – including the political sphere. Ever the academic, Sant once again endeavours to clarify what 'legacy' means in this context – there's a subtle but telling difference between the Maltese 'wirt', which in popular parlance tends to cleave closer to the English 'inheritance' than it is to 'leg- acy' – while also flagging up a more endemic concern. "Politics can have a disruptive ef- fect. I mean, I can perfectly under- stand that a minister will appoint somebody he or she trusts in certain key positions after a change in gov- ernment. But ideally, there shouldn't be a breach in continuity when it comes to long term plans and ideas – and the cultural sphere in particular can suffer a lot as a result of this." treljic@mediatoday.com.mt Beloved broadcaster and multi-media archiving specialist Toni Sant has just been given the post of Artistic Director at the St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity. The affable DJ- cum-academic tells TEODOR RELJIC that he's keen to herald a new era for the embattled but promising cultural space Toni Sant PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD "There are a number of creative people who have never set foot in St James Cavalier – as artists or as visitors. We want to make sure that they feel this could be a home for them"