Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/829524
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 28 MAY 2017 39 This Week What drew you to the RIMA project, and how would you say its dynamics relate to similar work you may have done in the past? Antonella Sgobbo: I have dedicated my professional life to culture and real commu- nity needs with the aim of creating innova- tive applications and informal education methods through the exploration of art, as an important catalyst for social change in dif- ferent contests of co-ethnic communities, or multicultural groups of displaced and mar- ginalised people. I started my career focus- ing on health, education and the promotion of socio-economic empowerment in rural communities and in the compounds, in Sub- Saharan Africa. And even there I used to approach the community through activities like theatre, storytelling, arts and crafts workshops... basi- cally, anything that would help facilitate ac- cess to education and contributing to the af- firmation of cultural rights, the preservation of heritage, and towards personal sustainable development and empowerment. Back in Europe, I worked for four years in the juvenile and adults' detention centres of Bologna. I was part of a team of artists and performers and writers who offered high quality performing and visual arts training and a space in which youth offenders could act, create and express themselves freely and equally, imagine new realities and challenge existing social and cultural barriers. Breaking the cycle of cultural isolation, the written and unwritten rules of the prison and its own ethical structures was a challenge, because we have had to rethink their certain- ties and renew their approaches in order to make the rules of the craft – rigour, disci- pline, solidarity and responsibility – function in prison as they do elsewhere. Apart from the very peculiar space, any other creative workshop – RIMA included – has been ex- tremely powerful because people gained al- ways something out of it, and this is clearly visible in the end. Malcolm Galea: I had been to a couple of RIMA events before and was greatly in- terested in their work. In the past I've been involved in a number of community projects that helped people develop their stories. A few years ago we had worked with a group of Somali refugees through JRS to compile their stories into a play that toured primary schools. Currently I'm also working on a project called Get Your Act Together, where Malta-based writers are being mentored to write plays that will tour regional theatres. Apart from the creative aspect, I was also interested in the prospect of meeting and working with new people. What was the experience of applying the lessons of creative writing to a workshop that is focused on migration like? Sgobbo: I believe migration is one of the most potent subjects of literature. Behind the superficial facts of all the destinations of the journey and the accompanying discover- ies that dazzle us with their newness, there's an even more significant splendour in the large sacrifices and the feelings of nostalgia for a return. In the storytelling workshop we trained participants to use their personal story as an inspirational tool to create new stories, to preserve their personal cultural background as a sort of self-discovery and process of empowerment, and it will give food for thought for new stories. In my opinion, this is extremely important because the person can resist an oppressive, narrow conception of learning and prescrip- tive schooling and using imagination to posit alternative realities. What were some of the memorable experiences and insights to emerge from the RIMA Creative writing workshops? Galea: We heard stories from people from Libya, Syria, EU countries and even South America. There was a wide variety of emotions at play; mostly to do with home- sickness, nostalgia, concern about not be- ing accepted, and anxiety about the future. Veteran travellers who are away from home tend to see the world in a particular way so even though those attending came from a variety of countries and cultures, there was an easy kinship among them. Personally, I appreciated the opportunity to share in this experience and make some new and highly imaginative friends. The RIMA Creative Writing and Storytelling Workshop, having taken place during the last weeks of April, encouraged an eclectic group of migrants to speak about their stories – giving them free reign to structure their narratives as factually or as fictionally as they would like. TEODOR RELJIC speaks to tutors Antonella Sgobbo and Malcolm Galea about why they found this creative writing exercise to be empowering and useful Finding your voice, away from home A note from a participant The Syrian writer Emad Alahmad, one of the participants of the RIMA Creative Writing and Storytelling Workshop, speaks about the experience "I first learned about the workshops through friends. It piqued my interest because in my native Syria, I'm a writer of short stories. But because I'm also interested in acting, the idea of constructing the our stories through individual 'scenes' also appealed to me, so I came on board. "It was also another opportunity to meet new people, as I'd only just landed in Malta recently, and I was curious to see what the cultural scene in Malta was like. And of course, I had plenty of stories of my own to tell... starting with my own journey as a refugee... "Once the workshops started, I found the atmosphere to be warm, collaborative and encouraging, and the combination of theoretical insight and a focus on the emotional engagement made it very conducive to creative expression. "But most of all, the workshops make the participants feel accepted, and motivated to tell their story. This makes us feel valued, and also leads us to reconsider any first impressions we may have had of the Maltese community." The RIMA Creative Writing and Storytelling Workshops formed part of the still-ongoing RIMA Project, supported by the Valletta 2018 Foundation. The final aim of the workshops is to create a short film based on one of the stories that emerged from the workshops, and which will be produced in collaboration with filmmakers Kenneth Scicluna and Dagmawi Ymer. The production will be open to participants willing to form part of the crew, as part of a competition which will be open from the beginning of June to the third week of July. To stay updated on this and other developments within RIMA, log on to www.rimaproject.org or follow 'RIMA – Narrating this/continuity' on Facebook. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JVIRGINIA MONTEFORTE The RIMA Creative Writing and Storytelling Workshop encouraged migrants from various countries who live in Malta to process their experiences both factually and creatively Antonella Sgobbo (far right) Malcolm Galea Emad Alahmad (centre) at the RIMA Creative Writing and Storytelling Workshop