This was 2023 … bring on 2024

1 Jan

>>> 2023 was the year of the exhibition Rituals of Passage (see earlier post). After the Summer it was also on show at Sint Lucas Antwerpen. Proud to have pulled this off in a co-creative way with all those involved.

2023 was also my 3rd year as a Dean of Sint Lucas Antwerpen – School of Arts. It is a privilege to see young people grow towards passionate and engaged artists and designers. It is also a privilege to be able to work with such a great team. Looking forward continue this inspiring journey !

2023 was the year we moved to our new home.

2023 was also the year with hartwarming moments in de company of family and friends.

>>> 2024 …

May 2024 bring more peace into the world. Life is short, be nice and gentle with each other and cherish the little things, … at least that will be my resolution for the new year 😉

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Be there …

20 Jun

Three years ago I said yes to  heading this amazing School of Arts. So proud to all working and studying there. Come and see the shows when you are around. Not to be missed!

Sint Lucas Antwerpen rocks.

Check our facebook page or website for exhibition venues and screenings.

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Rituals of Passage in Times of Malta – last two weeks to see it

21 Apr

Times of Malta published a nice review of the exhibition in Easter Sunday’s edition. Joseph Agius highlights the co-creative process and its effect:

This co-curated project entailed long discussions and workshops, fusing all the initial ideas of the artists together. The aim is to create a holistic experience for the viewer that goes beyond the notion of a collective, where several artists are presenting their work in isolation. The result here is a cohesive exhibition that showcases the interconnectedness of the artists’ works and provides a deeper understanding of their shared themes and concepts. This approach allows for an immersive and engaging experience for the audience.

Grateful for this recognition as it was a lengthy, exciting journey in which all participants learned from each other, resulting in a rich experience that was brought together with a lot of care. Thank you for this to all involved.

You can read the full article here and still visit the exhibition at Valletta Contemporary. Finissage is on the 6th of May. 

And an interview by Valletta Contemporary about the exhibition can be found here 

Rituals of Passage is supported by the Flemish Community, Sint Lucas Antwerpen – School of Arts, and Valletta Contemporary. 

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An Exhibition is on its way …

8 Feb

Rituals of Passage is the result of a co-creative project between Ryan Falzon, Aaron Bezzina, Alexandra Fraser, Yasmine Akondo, Mladen Hadžić, and Stefan Kolgen. Rituals are part of everyday life. During times of distress, they give comfort. The title is based on the fact that rituals can bring you from one stage to another physically and mentally. Post-covid rituals can help us find balance in a disrupted society where attention to mental health and well-being has become important. Rituals can help make us name and discuss these issues. The artists created the works with the exhibition space in mind, presenting them in such a way that they interact with each other and that they challenge the viewer, offering context for the audience to create their own story. During the opening weekend some works will be accompanied by a performance and a discussion session about the meaning of rituals will be organized, followed by a meet and greet with the artists.

The exhibition takes place from 3 March till 6 May at Valletta Contemporary. Curated by Stefan Kolgen and Ann Laenen and supported by the Flemish Community, Sint Lucas Antwerpen and Valletta Contemporary

 

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Right to Culture – a Resource Package by Arts Council Malta

12 Apr

Last month ACM launched ‘Right to Culture’. I had the pleasure to be involved in the process for the focus groups and the interviews, just before and during the first lockdown in 2020.

It was an eyeopening experience for me.  The sessions and the interviews proved how important this commitment of the arts council and the national policy is. Even for cultural institutions outside Malta this resource package offers interesting tools and insights.

You can read more here and access the English version of the document here

 

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not to be missed in June and September !

16 Jun

My first academic year as head of Sint Lucas Antwerp – School of Arts is almost over. The least one can say is that it was an unconventional year. I was appointed in full lockdown. We left Malta without being able to say goodbye in a proper way. The year started in a semi-ok way, but after a month we were again in a lockdown with restricted possibilities to lecture and coach students.

But here we are, proud and happy to present the exhibitions of our bachelor, master en premaster students. Times have been challenging for them, but the results are there based on passion, drive and skills supported and coached by a super dedicated staff. I’m honoured to be their dean.

When you are around do not miss the shows 

Oh … and colleagues and friends in Malta. We are planning to come over in September to have the goodbye party 😉

 

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it was a pleasure to lecture this

16 Dec

and not just a pleasure, also an honour to give a lecture on feminist perspectives in art as part of a very interesting series of lectures Epistemologies in Gender Studies put together by JosAnn Cutajar within the department of gender studies at UM. It was a challenge to tell the story because it is rich, divers and still very relevant. One would possibly know where to start, but then what to select, which articles, publications and themes to address … The seventies were crucial, but the developments through time were so too.

Although a lot has already changed, still it is a challenge for female visual artists to get the visibility they deserve. As a dean of an art school I can confirm that there are a lot of talented young female artists leaving the campus each year. Let’s give them the space they deserve.

As a curator and a head of a higher arts institution I want to take that challenge. We have to be the change. For me the challenge is wider than the feminist perspective, it is the inclusive perspective and as such reflecting society in a better way. Within education we can widen the view and break the canon. Make it richer, make it more recognisable, make it more divers. During one of the plenary sessions of the ELIA biennial in November Coco Fusco made a passionate mark at that level, she is right. We can be the change.

The lecture concluded with exactly that. What can we add to this all from our perspective? This led to an interesting reflection with good practices and also with questions and challenges.

Let’s keep the dialogue going for a richer and more divers canon. The slides, that are just a mere snapshot of what feminist art is, can be found here: Feminist Art

 

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A nice thing to do is … to walk and discover Art by young talented artists

27 Nov

COVID restricts us to go to Museums, but it does not restrict us to walk. To be Antwerp 2020  developed a parcours through the theatre quarter in Antwerp showing  a highlight of young talented artists that graduated this year from the Royal Academy of Arts and Sint Lucas School of Arts in Antwerp.  

So if you are in Belgium between today and the 11th of December, walk the walk and enjoy Art!

You can find the locations here. 

 

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Publication Meeting of Minds on Placemaking, Co-creation and Storytelling now available

11 Jul

Placemaking is about people, about living together, about a sense of belonging and carving spaces together, about co- creation and sharing stories. And it is crucial for society, especially now as it enters a new dimension in times of a global pandemic that affects us all. What will placemaking look like after COVID-19? What did we learn and what can we take with us to the future? How will we socialise, move from one place to another, (inter)act with and in public spaces after the pandemic?

These questions guided a series of four online sessions which were held between the 7th and 30th of April (2020), connecting placemaking with the future of cities, tourism, the arts, urban design and digital storytelling. Experts and other interested persons were brought together across borders to discuss possible ways forward by learning from good practices. The response was overwhelming, both from the speakers that were contacted to take part, and from the diverse participants eager to share and exchange ideas.

The discussions were rich, intense and generated much food for thought. This publication is the result of an inclusive thinking process with all participants, offering a reflective and critical lens on placemaking. It works as a toolkit, gathering the presentations and giving insight in the main topics and strong examples that emerged from the discussions. It also lists key points to consider whilst working with communities and involving people in a co-creation process. This series ends with a non-exhaustive reading list as there are many interesting papers, reports and links to learn from.

Thank you to all the speakers and participants, because without them there would have been no publication. A special thank you goes to Nika for helping Stefan and myself with proofreading.

We hope you will enjoy wandering through this publication and get inspired. You can access the publication here.

And you can have an impression of the meetings thanks to this nice feature by Maltarti.

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Meeting of Minds on Placemaking, co-creation and storytelling

1 Apr

We are excited to share that between 7 and 21 April, Experienced Design (being Stefan Kolgen and myself ;-)) will facilitate 4 online meeting of minds on placemaking related to urban design, tourism, arts and digital storytelling.  Each session takes about 1hr 30min and includes two presentations followed by discussion and reflection.

With the current crisis at hand, it seemed important to us to see what placemaking means now and how it will evolve once the crisis is over. So get inspired by the guests speakers and join the discussion.  Your insights are crucial 😉

The platform that will be used is Zoom. Participation is free and everybody can join, but  there is a maximum of 100 participants so you need to register  here  and let us know why you want to join in. We will provide you with the link to the meeting and will explain how to participate once you are selected. The link will be e-mailed the day of the session.

Note that the sessions will be documented, so by the end of the series a small digital publication will be available with the main outcomes of these Meetings of Minds.

Thank you already to the 8 experts that were willing to take part in this series. Here is some extra information on the sessions:

  • Session 1: 7 April 19:00-20:30 – Placemaking and the future of cities:

In this session we will focus on liveability and sustainability of cities through the lenses of digital placemaking and destination marketing.

Guests: Dr. Jo Morrison – Director of Digital Innovation and Research at Calvium Ltd (UK), Frank Cuypers – Senior Strategist at Destination Think! Professional Services Inc. (Canada/USA/Europe)

  • Session 2: 9 April 19:00-20:30 – Placemaking, co-creation and the Arts: 

In this session we make a connection between placemaking and the arts.

Guests: Kristina Borg – Visual artist and Art Educator (Malta), Nusquam Productions – Mariangela Ciccarello & Philip Cartelli (Europe/USA) and Stefan Perceval (Head of theatre company Het Gevolg).

  • Session 3: 16 April 19:00-20:30 – Placemaking and Urban Design:

In this session we will connect placemaking and critical urban design.

Guests: Joanna Frank (President & CEO Center for Active Design – New York) , Jacques Borg Barthet – Director of Practice at AP- Architect and Urban Designer (Malta)

  • Session 4: 21 April 19:00 – 20:30 – Placemaking and Digital Storytelling 
This session looks at placemaking within (digital) storytelling.
Guests: Dr. Shreepali Patel – Director of Storylab & filmmaker (UK), Stefan Kolgen – Transmedia expert (Belgium/Malta)
Keep also an eye on our facebook page , as we will be posting more background on the guest speakers and the cases they will present in the series of events.
See you online!

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