ART ADDITIVES is a series of talks, workshops, encounters and satellite events developed around the Spazju Kreattiv contemporary visual arts programme. The initiative links directly to Fondazzjoni Kreattivita’s aim of acting ‘as a catalyst for all forms of expression, by providing space and extending experience to reach all people and involve them in interactive participation.
Art Additives will add to the Spazju Kreattiv experience of contemporary art by generating discussion and debate, welcoming new audiences into the space, and encouraging conversation between artists and those interested in the arts.
All events are free of charge and open to a variety of audiences – from artists to students, children and families, and those with an interest in visual art. Events will be held at Spazju Kreattiv as well as at our partners’ venues around Malta and Gozo. The events will feature a variety of speakers including, curators, practitioners, artists and educators.
Upcoming Art Additives events are listed below. More will be added throughout the year.
De-bait: A Straight Line Through the Carcass of History
Thursday 21st June, 7:00pm
Pixkerija, Pinto Wharf, Valletta
A collaboration between the Valletta 2018 visual arts exhibition Dal-Baħar Madwarha, curated by Maren Richter, and the Valletta International Visual Arts Festival (VIVA) – forming part of Art Additives – a series of talks, workshops, encounters and satellite events developed around the Spazju Kreattiv contemporary visual arts programme.
Spaces are determined by their forms — their architecture and infrastructures, or lack thereof — as well as by the ideas, purposes and intentions that these forms serve. What are the challenges encountered by artists and curators working in public spaces or abandoned buildings? How does art itself challenge the notion of ‘inhabitance’? Who does the debate belong to once artists open Pandora’s Box?
An experimental performative open floor discussion invites everybody to share their concerns, suggestions observations and memories of the past, the future and the present in the Pixkerija, the former fish market in Valletta.
Guest active participants: Rupert Cefai (Chairman, Fondazzjoni Kreattività), Daniel Azzopardi (Programme Manager, Spazju Kreattiv), Kristina Borg (artist), Tania El Khoury (artist), Aidan Celeste (artist).
Emerald Green (Found ă mentalism II) – Artist Talk
Wednesday 6th June, 6:30pm
Space C2, Spazju Kreattiv
Carolin Koss will discuss her 3-channel video EMERALD GREEN, which is about a dystopian world where nature has been rendered extinct, breathable air has become scarce and the sun has vanished as a result of the exploitation of natural resources and human error. The focus is on 3 people who try to survive and escape into their sub-consciousness in order to rebuild the contaminated world they live in. Furthermore, she will present a selection of her previous and upcoming works, which often invent dream realities or stylized imagery linking to real environmental, societal and contemplative contexts.
Meet the Artist
Saturday 24 March 2018, 10am – 3pm
Space C, Spazju Kreattiv
Mario Abela will be at Spazju Kreattiv to discuss his series of work, Dislocated Geographies. The event will start with a tour at 10:00 led by the artist himself. The artist will be leading the ANOTHER REALITY workshop for MCAST students at 11:00; members of the public are welcome to observe the workshop.
Call Closing Social Event: Azure Watch: Office for Public Memory
Saturday 7 April, 5pm – 8pm
The Mill, Birkirkara (Gabriel Caruana Foundation)
The Azure Watch team will host a closing gathering for the Azure Watch: Office for Public Memory exhibition. Artists whose work is on display, any artists who have responded to the Call for Concepts, interested parties from the San Lawrenz council and Heritage Malta, and anyone else who would like to learn more about the project is invited to the event.
The Azure Watch team will facilitate casual discussions about the ideas behind the exhibition, the works themselves, and respond to recent suggestions by the government to create a memorial of some kind to the Azure Window at Dwejra.
Imagine Water, Catch the Drop: Workshops
Saturday 14 April, 10am & 12pm
Studio A, Spazju Kreattiv
To form part of the nation-wide “Catch the Drop” campaign (a National Environmental Water Conservation campaign and Educational Campaign) through engaging a collaboration between one local artist and one international artist, and 150 students from 4 different schools in Malta and in Gozo, ranging from Grade 6 to Form 3, on a meaningful creative and experimental art project through a series of painting workshops and lectured field trips, that will raise awareness on the importance of water to the Maltese Islands. To fit with the concept of Water, the art project will be produced on the discipline of painting with watercolours.
An Old-New Genre: Visual Music
Wednesday 18 April, 6:30pm
School of Art, Valletta
Zsolt Gyenes, curator of VAC – Visual Acoustics, will be delivering a presentation on the theme of visual acoustics. The presentation will be followed by an exhibition tour led by the Curator himself. Refreshments will be provided at the event.
Developing the Art(ist) & Book Launch: WIN, Matthew Schembri
Friday 20 April 2018, 6pm
Studio B, Spazju Kreattiv
Matthew Schembri will be in conversation with Irene Biolchini, curator of his current solo show WIN. The event aims to discuss the opportunities available for the professional development of artists in Malta – with particular focus on the process which led to the artist’s current exhibition.
Is it “Modern” or “Contemporary”? What does “Modern Art” mean in China? – Curator’s Tour & Talk
Friday 27 April 2018, 7pm
The public is invited to a guided tour by curator Dr Liang Shuhan of The “Tao of Nature” by Yang Zhiling in Space A, St James Cavalier and The Shape of Volition by Zhang Tingqun at China Cultural Centre Gallery, Valletta. The event will then culminate in a talk titled ‘Is it “Modern” or “Contemporary”? What does “Modern Art” mean in China?’, which will analyse how ‘modern art’ has been interpreted and contextualized in China from the late 19th century up to now – delivered by curator Dr Liang Shuhan and moderated by Dr Toni Sant. Attendance by reservation on a first-come first served basis (tel: 21225055 or e-mail: [email protected]) by Friday 20th April 2018.
Fluid Space – Open Tour
Saturday 28 April, 5pm
The Mill, Birkirkara (Gabriel Caruana Foundation)
An open tour and discussion with members of the communities addressed through the work in Fluid Space. Members of the community will be given a tour of the exhibition by curator Nikki Petroni, who will then facilitate further discussion.
Fluid Space – Artist Talk
Saturday 5 May, 4pm
The Mill, Birkirkara (Gabriel Caruana Foundation)
A talk with artists Nikki Petroni, Raffaella Zammit, Duska Malesevic, and Aidan Celeste – focusing on space, place and the bringing of four spaces together in one place through the artists’ application of the artwork.
(Met)afourisms – Book Launch & Discussion
Thursday 24 May, 7:30pm
Cinema, Spazju Kreattiv
Launch of an art monograph containing all the relevant documentation, collaborator write-ups, as well as other written contributions by local and international academics, relating to the exhibition (met)afourisms. During the launch there shall also be a panel discussion with some of the artists and collaborators involved in the project. The discussion shall be led by Giulia Privitelli. The project is supported by Arts Council Malta – Malta Arts Fund Project Support Grant.
