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Newspaper post maltatoday today today SUNDAY • 20 MAY 2018 • ISSUE 967 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY THE Q&A INSIDE our new MaltaToday 2 section MATTHEW VELLA THE intervention of UNE- SCO's World Heritage Centre experts stopped a proposal by hoteliers to gut a part of the historic St Elmo fort in Val- letta, to create an artificial la- guna in the parade grounds. The plan was presented by the company Sohum Wellness, and architect Ray Demicoli, but was immediately turned down by UNESCO experts who have now ordered a herit- age impact assessment for the World Heritage fortification which in 1565 played a strate- gic role in the Great Siege. Sohum Wellness had placed the sole, uncontested bid for the restoration and operation of lower St Elmo, a tender is- sued by the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation on 3 November 2015. The com- pany itself was established on 17 November, 2015. The company is owned by Indian millionaire Sanjeev Mansotra's Planet Core group of companies, which already enjoys a relationship with the Maltese government in a joint venture company called Core Malta Education, to pro- vide "innovative solutions" in school and higher educa- tion. PAGE 3 Swedes to prevent Crane from printing krona in Malta UNESCO experts stop hoteliers' bid to turn St Elmo into laguna 4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 MAY 2018 THIS WEEK PHOTOGRAPHY How did the project first come about, and what led to the col- laboration that made it possi- ble? I found out, through friends, about the Deep Shelter Project, which aims to bring art into the Sir Anthony Mamo Oncol- ogy Centre. I was immediately attracted to this idea for very per- sonal reasons. My own mum is a retired oncology nurse, a breast cancer survivor and currently still under treatment for bone metas- tases. That is only one (though obvi- ously the one closest to my heart) example of how cancer has af- fected my life. I approached the wonderful Pamela Baldacchino, who runs the project, to see if she was perhaps interested in a dona- tion of one of my works. After a few meetings, and visits to get to know the setting at the Centre, it quickly escalated into the ART 4 WARD 2 project it is now. My own mum, and the staff of Ward 2 inspired me to make this ef- fort. I mean, when was the last time you heard someone say they 'need' art? Given that the photographs at the core of this project will in- evitably be serving a specific purpose, what kind of feel and approach did you take to them? Did you want to capture a spe- cific mood or feeling? None of the works were made with this project in mind. Most were done in a period of my life when I was spending time alone. I found the experience of being by myself, by the sea, taking my time to, painstakingly, create these long exposure seascapes to have a calming effect on me. It was mainly that ephemeral, almost timeless, feeling of being there in the moment that I wanted to express. Each one of these photograph- ic captures has a deep personal meaning to me. A meaning, as I found out when I started to show the captures, was understood, though often interpreted differ- ently by others. As happens so often in art, the expression of the most personal turns out to be understood and interpreted through our common humanity. Do you think there is enough awareness among the general public of the 'healing' or 're- storative' benefits of art and if not, what do you think can be done to improve this situation? For starters, not all art has these qualities, and neither should it. Art can be an expression of the exact opposite, of pain, anger, anxiety, and many other things, or even of nothing at all. How- ever I do think that as human be- ings we do have an inherent need to relieve our and oth- ers' suffering, and art is one of the means we, historically, have used for this. African American blues mu- sic comes to mind as a perfect example. Exposure to art is probably the best way to achieve a better When art becomes a necessity As the project goes on a winning crowdfunding streak, TEODOR RELJIC speaks to photographer Rik Van Colen about ART 4 WARD 2, a collaboration with the Deep Shelter Project and Valletta 2018, aiming to install art in the Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre Alone After Sunset (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Hope) by Rik Van Colen Rik Van Colen | SUNDAY • 20 MAY 2018 maltatoday 3 THIS WEEK Q&A (C) KRIS MICALLEF maltatoday Q&A IRA LOSCO THIS WEEK Rik Van Colen's photography FILM Isle of Dogs ARTS El Tango at the Manoel 2 The all new pull-out section INSIDE • LISTINGS • TV • LAW • CLASSIFIEDS (C) KRIS MICALLEF YOUR FIRST READ AND CLICK OF THE DAY WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT THE ESSENCE OF TEA DISCOVER MORE AT NESTEA.COM NO ARTIFICIAL COLOURS & FLAVOURS NATURAL, REFRESHING & TASTY A NEW & IMPROVED FORMULA MATTHEW VELLA A plan to shift the printing of the Swedish currency banknote in Crane Currency's new Malta plant has hit the rocks it would seem, after the Swedish Central Bank declared it will prevent the country's currency printing from moving to the island. Crane Currency, the American printing giant which opened a Malta facility in 2016, recently announced it will close down a printing company in Tumba which has historically manufac- tured Sweden's banknotes since 1755 – the only such printer in Sweden. The plant was acquired by Crane from the Swedish Riks- bank (central bank) in 2002 for €15 million. While Crane will leave design and support functions in Tum- ba, the paper mill will be shut- tered. Crane Currency presi- dent Annemarie Watson told its 170 employees that fierce com- petition and the existing infra- structure at the Tumba plant had forced the move. Crane Currency employs over 1,300 employees in six locations in the United States, Swe- den and Malta. 5 €1.95 Ira Losco on who inspires her, who would play her in a movie, and her dinner- party guest list FOOTBALL Chelsea clinch eighth FA Trophy victory LISTINGS • What to do on Sunday 'Man from Vitals Global' Shaukat Ali has business relationship with Indian millionaire planning St Elmo spa hotel • UNESCO says no to proposal to gut fort for laguna inside parade ground Sohum Wellness was the only bid for a request for proposals issued by the GHRC to operate Lower St Elmo