638 Kilo Tanz ist Kunst

Maura Moralesin Ella - photo Gorka Bravo

It's been over a week since I attended 638 Kilo Tanz in Essen. It was just one incredible experience, 5 days of pure artistic bliss. I have always found dance as a good source of inspiration  in my work and my involvement in Argentine Tango made things worse (or better). This is nothing new. Human movement has always been a constant source of artistic inspiration and dance in particular has always attracted visual artists. Take Degas for example, I love his ballerinas, and what about Toulouse Lautrec's cancan dancers? Just brilliant! A source of inspiration that is still alive and can easily be found in works of contemporary artist like Rosemary Butcher. 

Boglarka Börcsök in Discounts - photo Gorka Bravo

So, being in Essen, in close proximity to a number of highly creative people whose main artistic language is human movement was just overwhelming. And it was not only about movement but also about personalities. During rehearsals, during breakfast or breaks you can easily see the other side of these artists and I could not but realise how similar our work is, we just chose a different language. There was a general feeling that the festival was proposed by artists and belonged to the artists, and its true. The way the organisers take care of their public, the way they nurture the relationship between themselves, the public and the performing artists was just inspiring. This is the 5th year that this festival is being held and the organisers have managed to build a magnificent following. All nights were sold out.

Jule Flierl in Happiness is a War M Gun
photo Gorka Bravo

To add to all that, I formed part of a fantastic jury, with jury members having different backgrounds but all with some involvement in dance. Festival organisers, critics, theatre owners all contributed to interesting, deep and mind opening discussions, sometimes very hot, which made the whole experience more electrifying. 

In the end, the 638 Kilo Tanz Public Award 2011 went to Maura Morales' ELLA and the 638 Kilo Tanz Jury Award went to Boglarka Börcsök and her production DISCOUNTS. Jule Flierl deserved a special mention by the Jury and was awarded a two-week residency at the Dresden Theatre Project.

I Cannot but thank Jelena and Sabina for their hospitality and for involving me in their creation and to all the people I met and made friends with during my stay in Essen. Thank You All!



event organisers - http://www.tanzgebiet.de/
photos  - http://gbravophoto.com/

Back.....and forth

Finally back! Well, I've been here a couple of days now but I always need some time to settle back in my routine. The last couple of weeks were just incredible. I have been to London and then to Essen in Germany, then to London again and back to Malta. 

I always enjoy London and this time in particular. I was there to finalise details regarding my forthcoming solo exhibition which I will be holding in London next year. More details on this exhibition will be posted here in the future. 

In Essen, I attended the 638 Kilo Tanz Festival and was part of the jury. It was an inspiring and unforgettable experience where I have met some incredible people and seen some mind blowing stuff. In the coming days I will try to write more about this, about the whole event and the performers I met. Anyway, now its time to continue catching up with life.   

L'Agape - one year On

Cannot believe that it's already a year. On Monday L'Agape celebrated its first year open for business.  Owners Chris and Pierre have hosted a party to celebrate the occasion. Good food, good wine and very well attended, my kind of night out.

These two paintings are currently being displayed at L'Agape, part of a collection of works provided by Gallery Pi.

Notte Bianca

So Notte Bianca is here again. Tonight, Valletta will be host to a spectacular nocturnal celebration of people, culture and arts. I will be in Valletta tonight too, most of the time at Gallery Pi, if you want a glass of wine please pop over and come and say hello. Will go for a visit to Vee Gee Bee too, there is a large canvas on which people are invited to paint on. I already started off the painting and am very keen to see where it will end. 

Another activity I wish to visit is the Milonga organised by the Argentine Tango local community. It will be held at stage 33 near Strait Street from 7pm onwards. DJ for the night is David Bonnici. Also, today kicks off Malta Design Week with a number of  installations/exhibitions all over Valletta. For more info about Malta Design Week visit HERE. There are numerous other things i would like to see but the list is too long to mention, for more info about Notte Bianca please visit http://www.maltaculture.com

Gallery Pi @ Notte Bianca

Gallery Pi will be open throughout this year’s Notte Bianca. Join us for a chat and a glass of wine, and see some new art work which we have just received.

Getting there is easy. After crossing St. George’s Square (President’s palace) take a left turn downwards into Archbishop Street. Keep going until you cross Old Bakery Street and a little further down is Gallery Pi on the left.

Notte Bianca At Vee Gee Bee Art Valletta

On Monday I had the honour to start off a very interesting initiative. Organised by the people over at Vee Gee Bee, artists  (or whoever wishes to become one for the night) are invited to paint on one large painting, The painting has been assembled at Vee Gee Bee Art in Bellavista Street San Gwann and will be there for the week. Made up of 18 different canvases grouped together to make up one large piece, the painting will be moved to Valletta on Saturday 1st October and the public is invited in the creation of this mega painting between 7pm and midnight.

A separate canvas has been made for children under the age of 12. All are free to join in. Final Piece will be auctioned and all proceeds will be donated to charity.

Spirtupront

David Paquette and Rupert Cefai - photo Jennifer Scicluna

So Spirtupront is over, 3 enjoyable and unforgettable nights with friend and musician David Paquette.  It was one intensive learning experience.

I have known David for the last couple of years and we had been discussing this event for quite a number of months now. It was his idea really and I immediately latched on to it. While I'm painting I always have music on, but having a brilliant musician playing live in front of you is a completely different experience. Having people walking around you while working adds on to the magic of it all. 

During the first session, on Thursday, it was very easy to follow the music, play with moods and be inspired by what is happening. But as time went by, from mid 2nd day onwards, the paintings started to get a life of their own and then they took over. The music became a reminder of the things I already started. Thinking about it I realised that this always happens with my paintings. At a certain stage in their development they get a life of their own and I can only follow their own path. Its like with children, you can encourage them to take a certain direction, but ultimately they will decide what to become. 

David Paquette and Rupert Cefai - photo of Jennifer Scicluna

I have started 4 paintings during these days, 3 of which are quite at an advanced stage. I shall be finishing them off in these couple of days and take them back to the Phoenicia and exhibit them there. 

Malta Independent on Sunday 18.09.2011

The Sunday Times - 18.09.2011

Malta Independent 17.09.2011

Malta Independent Interview by Marie Benoit

Full Interview found at http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=132181

Times of Malta 16.09.2011

Times of Malta 16.09.2011

Malta Med. Milongas: Sept-Oct 2011

For all those Tango lovers out there. If you are looking for a spot of culture, Med-food and a tango embrace, ISLA DEL TANGO is organising the event for you. From 29 September to 2 October 2011 the Maltese Tango Community has come together to present to you a beautiful tango weekend.

There are four Milongas in four nights, quite a marathon for Maltese standards.

Thursday 29th of September - IL-FORN, Birgu

Friday 30th of September - Pebbles Bar Radisson, Għajn Tuffieħa Beach

Saturday 1st of October Notte Bianca, Valletta

On Sunday 2nd of October Private Milonga

For more information contact ISLA DEL TANGO on info@isladeltango.com or visit http://isladeltango.com/2011/09/16/maltamediterraneanmilongas/

Art & Wine @ South Street

This is one of those art events that I try not to miss. Cannot believe that this is the third season that the guys over at the Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta are organising this event. For those of you who do not know what the event is all about, can have a look HERE. Quoting from their Facebook events page 

Art & Wine @ South street sessions are back! It might be the best thing you’ve been waiting for to happen at South street this end of summer. If that is spot on, Season III now continues with its intended focus on the five senses. 

Fresh from TKECNIR, recently showing at Auberge d’Italie, it will be Glen Calleja and his chosen topic GOST to animate the session in good company of Albert Gatt. Curious about what’s up? You cannot be so sure about what happens at Art& Wine @ South street sessions unless you’re there… 

Curious to see what's it all about!.

Malta Design Week

When it come to culture and art in general, one of the biggest drawbacks of living on this rock is the lack of local organisations that can put and organise large scale events of an international level. Yes, we do have the occasional concert and the Malta Arts Festival but we still lack behind to mainland Europe.  It could be the lack of funds and resources, it could be the lack of creativity or god knows what but there is still much more that can be done to promote contemporary art in Malta.

One step in the right direction, is the Malta Design Week, a 7-day event that will take place in the first week of October. The event is spread across a number of venues, and the list of activities range from exhibitions, talks, workshops to launches. It aims to to bring together local and foreign designers, architects, artists, artisans, journalists, critics, academics and entrepreneurs. The list of events is impressive (have a look HERE) but more so are the aims of the event, quoting from their site

1. Act as a vital contribution in developing a healthy relationship between local manufacturing businesses and designers, putting them in closer contact with the realities of the international market.

2. Initiate a vessel of communication between art organisations and tourism-related entities promoting cultural tourism, with images of a creative Malta at its roots.

3. Develop a healthy Euro-Med exchange of ideas at Universities, schools and formative entities with other countries in the Mediterranean region, in order to determine and develop study methods and teaching resources about the role of design in contemporary culture.

What the team behind MDM has managed to bring together shows that these kind of events can be done locally and there is room for them. I truly hope that this event turns out to be a huge success; to the MDM team, GOODLUCK!

For more info please visit http://www.maltadesignweek.com/

David Paquette

David Paquette will be performing live at the Palm Court Lounge, Hotel Phoenicia, Floriana, on Thursday 22nd, Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th September 2011, from 8pm to 10:30pm. The performance, titled Spirtupront is part of a collaborative event with Rupert Cefai, for more information please visit

http://rupertcefaiblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/spirtupront-translating-jazz-into.

more info on David can be found here http://www.waihekejazz.co.nz/david.html

spirtupront - translating jazz into colour

Art is a lonely place. As an artist you spend most of your time on your own tucked up in your own studio, working on your own and meeting few people. I'm not complaining but this is the nature of my work.

So whenever an opportunity comes along, I'm always keen to work on some collaborative project with other artists. In this respect this happens to be quite a busy period. At the moment I am working on a couple of big collaborative projects that should be on next year and also preparing for an interesting project with jazz musician/singer David Paquette.

Thursday 22nd, Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th September2011, from 8pm to 10:30pm David and myself will be performing live at the Phoenicia Hotel, Floriana Malta;  David on his piano and I will be interpreting David's jazz using paint and canvas. 3 consecutive nights of impromptu music and painting. The paintings produced during the sessions will remain on display at the Phoenicia Hotel for the following week. Hope to see you there.

this event is free

to keep updated on this event please visit the facebook event page https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=209051809155985

Artitude Gallery - artistic/ cultural social evenings

Artitude Gallery in Tigne Street, Sliema is now open for artistic/ cultural social evenings every Monday and Thursdays, at 8pm onwards. These events are being sponsored by Delicata wines and entrance is free. These events are aimed at promoting art and culture by raising interest in what contemporary Maltese artists have in store for us and by creating a network of artists from every artistic field.

Kicking off the list of events is the 'Contemporary art (installation and conceptual) discussions' with top contemporary artists like Ruth Bianco making their appearance. Ruth Bianco, who holds a PhD in Fine Art (University College for the Creative Arts/University of Kent at Canterbury, UK), is a visiting lecturer at Universities both locally and in the UK. Her work involves time based and other combined media, installation, video and sound, photography, drawing and research. She shows her work internationally and also teaches private groups in preparation for specialist art studies overseas. (www.ruthbianco.com)

The public is invited to attend this evening on Monday 26th November to meet and talk with our contemporary artists and discover what they have to offer. For more information, please call Artitude on 21316708 or 99844653.