Tag Archives: arts

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. 

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

 

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 😉

 

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

 

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. 

 

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!

So glad to see this …

28 Apr

Screenshot 2019-04-28 at 09.21.13In 2017 I had the pleasure to work with the great team of the Erasmus Hogeschool (EhB)  – Department of Design and Technology  – in Brussels on a new curriculum called Digital Design & Development. Design Thinking is at its core. The course trains young people to become critical digital experience designers and is completely based on project-based learning, combining play, creativity, technology, human-centred design, societal challenges and art.  It is so nice to see now that this is actually happening and that the gender balance is getting in the right direction, because technology is not just a male thing 😉

Reflection on The Island Indoors

28 Nov

11wIn the last days of the exhibition I would like to leave a short reflection as a curator on collaboration and on the influence of a room on the final result. When Stefan and I started to develop the idea we had that particular space in mind as well as a selection of the current showcased works of art and hoped they would work together and create an interesting atmosphere together.  The storyline we had in our head was vague, but pointing in a certain direction: a showcase of high level Maltese art in a Flemish ‘palazzo’-like setting in a year where Valletta would be one of the Cultural Capitals of Europe.  We were able to convince the director of the space as well as the artists of our idea. What followed was a co-creation process between artists and curators. The title of the exhibition, the final storyline and the adaptation of the works to that context all happend in collaboration.

Very exciting and mesmerising was the moment when it all came together in the beautiful baroque room of  Hof De Bist. All works of art and the room seemed to give each other extra strength and lifted each other up. The total design fell into place and created something new. We wanted to create an experience, and I believe we succeeded but this was only possible thanks to the nice way we all worked together artists, curators and the team of the cultural centre in Ekeren.

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The Island Indoors is a collaboration with 252 CC Cultuurcentrum Ekeren, supported by Arts Council Malta through the Cultural Export Fund and the Local Art Fund Ekeren/Antwerp, endorsed by Valletta 2018 Cultural Capital of Europe.

Participating artists and works: Aaron Bezzina – Position of Opposition, Matthew Attard – Maijalata, Caesar Attard – In Memory of our Luminaries,  Marc Thiron &Stefan Kolgen – Red Diffused and Ryan Falzon – a selection of Quick Fix – A Morality Tale.

Exhibition still on till 30/11 – 14:00 – 17:00 – 252 cc – Hof De Bist – Veltwijcklaan 252 – Ekeren

Reflections on being a higher arts education educator today

17 Nov

51lqjn0vjVL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_This week the book The Leader Reader – Narratives of Experience arrived in Malta. It brings together more then 100 essays/reflections of educators around the world. What reads through all narratives if each writer’s passion for teaching. We were asked for a very personal view on our Leadership moment in lecturing/teaching … From that came my reflection on my experience as a lecturer in arts education. The challenges, but also the strengths the arts have in relation to other disciplines in education and in society.

You can find my essay here.

Curious to read other experiences? You can order the book here.

 

Thank you John for introducing me to the editors.

 

Exchange in Time as part The Island Indoors – notes and outcomes

2 Sep

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A 2-day intensive discussion on art and art education on 27-28 August 2018, hosted by the School of Art in Valletta. Exchange between Flanders and Malta as part of the exhibition project ‘The Island Indoors” (supported by Arts Council Malta through the Cultural Export Fund and 252cc, and endorsed by Valletta 2018). Bringing together 2 art teachers and their (ex)-students.

The notes and outcomes can be found here. Some of the topics will be further developed at the Meet and Greet session on the 10th of November in Ekeren … and hopefully also later on in Malta 😉