Adnan presented the paper on restorative justice and AI during the MEA conference in Toronto.
MEDIA ETHICS. Human Ecology in a Connected World was the 20th Annual Convention of the Media Ecology Association (MEA), a four-day international conference hosted by the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto.
THE CONFERENCE drew attention to the ways that contemporary communication practices and emerging technologies are marked by ethical issues and decisive political, societal and cultural questions.
WITH THIS AGENDA, conference participants shared research that engages with the nature of contemporary media, communication, and technological struggle, and the potential that communication, media, and digital technologies hold for enacting positive social change.
University of Malta joins ELIA on the artistic research patform.
The Artistic Research Platform is a virtual and, occasionally, a physical forum for institutional, programme and project leaders; heads of departments; researchers; PhD students and supervisors of ELIA member institutions who are professionally involved in and want to contribute to, the development of artistic research.
You can join the VIRTUAL PLATFORM to receive specific updates on the topic of artistic research by registering below. Registration to the platform is free, however, it is restricted to professionals affiliated with ELIA member institutions.
The first Artistic Research Platform Meeting, which took place from 13-14 June 2019 in Vienna, dealt with the question of how higher arts education institutions can provide a substantial and sustainable framework for artistic research. Particularly, the discussion focused on what artistic research projects and artistic research doctoral programmes need in terms of:
Infrastructure and Spaces;
Critical Mass, Community and Feedback process;
Multidisciplinarity vs Discipline Specifics;
Dissemination, Open Access, Open Research Data;
Handling Stereotypes and Institutional Challenges;
Globally, our environment is no longer in a state about which we can be optimistic. Anthropocene compels us to fundamentally reconsider the modern conception of nature as a mere object. Augustin Berque, a French advocate of mesology (Uexkül‘s Umweltlehre, Watsuji’s fūogaku, i.e. the study of milieu) suggested the strange question “does nature think?” as the theme of this international conference. The aim of the conference is to re–examine the modern view of nature, whereby human beings are seen as holding atranscendental position. We will invite 25 to 30 researchers from different fields (anthropology, geography, philosophy, Buddhism, human environmental studies, primatology, agricultural science, oceanography, law, history of Western art, etc. ), as well as practitioners who directly face and work within nature, to discuss together, in an intercultural and interdisciplinary approach, a series of questions centering on the problem of what may or may not distinguish human thinking from the diverse types of self–awareness and communication, discovered by ethology and biosemiotics, to exist among other living beings.
Our MFA students put on the exhibition ONE in SIX at Spazju Kreattiv. ONE in SIX is the manifestation of a two-year Master of Fine Art program in Digital Arts, undertaken by six students at the University of Malta. As a graduate show, the body of work is the culmination of practice directed research in areas as diverse as memory, the archive, dystopian realities and ethnography.
The MFA Digital Arts programme is a practice-oriented, postgraduate award in digital art practice and theory. It is an umbrella programme that seeks to develop a learning environment in which historical traditions and new practices confront and influence each other within a contextual, cultural and theoretical framework. This year each MFA student makes use of a variety of technologies combined with multiple materials and processes such as photography, 3D printing, videography, sculpture and mixed media installations in order to communicate the meaning of their artwork.
The exhibition ONE in SIX reflects life in a world increasingly controlled by digital environments. Every day, each of us generates an almost inconceivable amount of interactions in those digital environments. Every action in those environments leaves digital traces. Artistic positions of the ONE in SIX exhibition critically question the ambivalence of such life in a digital world. Such thematic diversity is followed by a transformation in our ways of understanding the art works, moving away from the traditional approach of visual and digital arts, paying more attention to the pretexts, paratexts and contexts that constitute it as such. Therefore, one attains renewed access to increasingly urgent environmental and ontological questions
Adnan presented the boattr.uk project at the DCAC conference.
The aim of the DCAC 2019 is to bring together technology, art and culture in the Digital Era, as well as to provide a forum on current research and applications incorporating technology, art and culture, to deepen cooperation,exchange experiences and good practices.
Researchers, artists and scholars are encouraged to participate in the discussion about the interaction between interdisciplinary creativity, technology, arts and culture. Authors are invited to present original papers for oral or poster presentation in the fields of New Media Arts and Digital Culture.
Together with the Stella Art Foundation, the Pushkin Museum will present a special project of the “Pushkin Museum XXI” initiative in Venice: There is a Beginning in the End, a modern art exhibition in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Venetian artist Jacopo Robusti, called Tintoretto. This event will be held at the same time as the 58th Venice Biennale.
The San Fantin church, where Tintoretto’s paintings used to be displayed, will host works by contemporary artists Dmitry Krymov, Irina Nakhova and Gary Hill. These pieces will be in dialogue with a painting by Emilio Vedova, a modernist Italian artist and one of Tintoretto’s followers, and the historical context of the venue. An intervention project by the !Mediengruppe Bitnik team from Switzerland will complement the exhibition and stress the atmosphere of participation and affiliation with a secret Venetian brotherhood.
In contrast to a traditional exhibition, this project is arranged as a kind of contemporary liturgy where each act is a new artwork filling the entire space of the church. In addition to media objects, the exhibition will feature a painting by Emilio Vedova, an Italian abstractionist and main follower of Tintoretto in the 20th century, which is echoed by the works of contemporary artists.
Dmitry Krymov, a scenery designer, turns the San Trovaso Church into a performative installation inspired by the Last Supper. As an interpretation of this biblical story, he constructs in the altar of the San Fantin Church an alternative reality based on trompe-l’oeil, an optical illusion, thereby causing the viewers to doubt the correctness of their perception.
A media installation by Irina Nakhova consists of three parts, each being a reference to the works of the great master. All of them reinterpret biblical stories from the perspective of contemporary history. For this artist, an important theme of Tintoretto’s works is the vigorous movement of masses of people with their crucial emotional intensity. A swirling material born on earth searches for a way out in the transcendent outer space, which is hardly comprehensible but can be felt through Irina Nakhova’s dramatic media object.
Gary Hill, a classic of American media art, decomposes Tintoretto’s paintings into patterns and elements and uses those as a basis on which to create a new sounding and shimmering essence. The primary starting point for Hill is the realm of human consciousness rather than architectural space. The combination of visual images and intense electronic tones makes it possible to achieve a deep synesthetic experience.
Tondo, one of Emilio Vedova’s later works presented at the exhibition, is in the shape of a circle. It reflects the concept of an endless loop of time. For Vedova, the mission of an artist was to record and re-translate the eternal themes of disturbing worldwide collisions: wars, injustice, oppression. Like Tintoretto, he handles huge spaces and forces of nature rather than single images. He employs the circular shape to go beyond the depictive environment through the connection between space and time.
The Pushkin Museum exhibition will be the first event to welcome a wide audience to the San Fantin Church after a decade of restoration work. Its construction was finished in the 16th century, while the first local public worship buildings date back to the 10th century.
Another participant of the exhibition is the !Mediengruppe Bitnik team, which will hold a secret intervention project for the viewers to join Tintoretto’s Secret Brotherhood. The atmosphere of secrecy, affiliation and co-creation will connect their project with the Venetian brotherhoods.
Tintoretto, Russian theatrical artists, and the social realism of Geliy Korzhev will all be on show from May 11 to Nov. 24.
Visitors of this year’s Venice Biennale, which kicks on May 11, are in for a real surprise. The world’s most anticipated art show is hosting not one but three iconic Russian museums, each showcasing works from the last 100 years, complete with a subtle reference to the Renaissance in Venice.
According to the Director of St.Petersburg’s Hermitage, Mikhail Piotrovsky, the museum will curate the Russian Pavilion at the Giardini della Biennale. For the first time ever, the task of curating a pavilion will not fall on an individual or group, but an institution.
Russia’s entry will be a collective exhibit featuring Aleksander Sokurov, who scooped the Venice Film Festival’s coveted Golden Lion award with his film Faust, and scenic painter Aleksander Shishkin-Hokusai. Sculptures featuring in the latter’s installation are currently being made in workshops in St.Petersburg’s Tovstonogov Theater, which Piotrovsky says is partnering up with the Venice Biennale.
Moscow’s Pushkin Museum and Tretyakov Gallery are also preparing their own shows at different locations in Venice. The Pushkin is teaming up with the Stella Art Foundation for the exhibition called “At the end dwells the beginning…” at the Church of San Fantin, presented as a dialogue between Old Masters and contemporary artists. Among those being featured include Tintoretto and Emilio Vedova, theater director Dmitry Krymov, and conceptualist Irina Nakhova (who represented Russia at the 2015 biennale), American video artist Garry Hill, and the Swiss collective !Mediengruppe Bitnik.
As requested by the Venice-based Ca’ Foscari University, the Tretyakov will curate a monographic exhibit by Geliy Korzhev titled “Korzhev. Back to Venice.” The representative of socialist realism, who authored the famous “Raising the Banner,” is a favorite of Tretyakov Director Zelfira Tregulova. She featured his work at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome, not to mention organizing his first retrospective at the Tretyakov in 2016.
The word “Back” in the title of the exhibit relates to the artist’s participation in the 1962 biennale, when he represented Russia, among others. Today this exhibition space will feature some 50 works.
Both Moscow museums have also submitted their exhibits to the biennale’s parallel program, which will provide additional opportunities to promote their exhibitions. However, the Pushkin Museum told Russia Beyond that both applications have been declined.
The winning team is composed of Dr Hesperia Iliadou Suppiej (lead curator), Vince Briffa (artist), Klitsa Antoniou (artist), Trevor Borg (artist) and Perit Matthew Joseph Casha (architect/designer). The production management team is composed of Mr Stephen Ciantar and Mr George Lazoglou.
The aim of the Malta Pavilion is to offer a platform through which Maltese contemporary artistic practices understood within the broadest sense of the term can be exposed, contextualised and presented to an international audience.
Dr Hesperia Iliadou-Suppiej (lead curator)
Setting Malta, Maleth, at the centre of its theme the project focuses on the role of the island as cultural centre of the Mediterranean Sea, both in history and in current times. The project seeks to present an exhibit which invites the audience to reflect on their own lifetime journey of self- discovery, their own search for a personal Haven/ Port.
Drawing on the tri-fold of history/archaeology, myth/tradition and vision/expectation, the exhibit aims to create within the space of the Malta National Pavilion a topos/locus of artistic conversation for the whole of the Mediterrenean Sea. Absolutely entuned with this year’s theme of the Venice Art Biennale as described by its artistic director, Ralph Rugoff the project ‘will aim to welcome its public to an expansive experience of the deep involvement… engaging visitors in a series of encounters…’, leading to self- discovery.
Creating a space within space, Evoking Heterotopias invites the audience to participate in an intuitive dialogue with the artworks which are organically placed within the built shell of the Venetian Arsenale. As vessels/islands within a sea, artworks come together, in creating a unique experience for the visitor, who is asked to traverse the exhibition space in a voyage of self discovery that takes place in a suggestive fictitious space of controlled light and sound.
CAVE OF DARKNESS – PORT OF NO RETURN A site-specific installation by Trevor Borg Trevor Borg’s work titled Cave of Darkness– Port of No Return proposes a re-imagined multilayered narrative of ancient creatures and long lost civilizations, exploring entrapment concealed within a Haven. Drawing from animal remains and artifacts excavated in a cave in Malta the work seeks to make (up) histories and to fabricate realities and semblances.
In a site-specific installation meticulously researched by the artist, excavated remains of never-seen-before creatures and peculiar artefacts retrieved from now lost ancient Mediterranean cultures re-emerge to expose new layers of meaning.
The artist invites the visitor into a mystical journey of surprise and self-inquiry navigating through the pre-historic layers of Malta in the footsteps of its earliest inhabitants and their final end. The work is an exploration of entrapment concealed within a safe haven.
OUTLAND A multi-screen projection by Vince Briffa OUTLAND focuses on the indecisiveness of man as he longs to return to his original life, caught between the safety of an island and the peril of sea crossing.
Inspired by TheOdyssey, it uses the myth of Calypso and Ulysses to reinterpret, in contemporary imagery and sound, the duality of the character of Calypso, as lover and oppressor, as she offers a haven for Ulysses during the seven years of his harbouring in her cave.
Through multiple films, the installation explores the numbness and the lure of safety, the obsession of keeping someone hostage and the longing for freedom.
ATLANTROPA: A HETEROTOPIA OF EVOCATION A multi- media installation by Klitsa Antoniou Atlantropa was a gigantic engineering and colonisation idea devised by the German architect Herman Sorgel in the 1920s. His project proposed to partially drain the Mediterranean forming a European supercontinent.
Today, more than ever, the Atlantropa scheme (of forming land bridges in the Mediterranean) seems relevant as it is suddenly fortified by contemporary intensity to remind us of the limits on freedom (migrants and refugees) and the destiny of the inhabitants of this area (surviving amid military, political, economic, social complexities/contrasts, migrations and fluid topographies of rejected, forgotten, unseen and silent memories).
This project in the context of the Malta Pavilion will aim to conceptually and artistically join the two islands of the Mediterranean, Malta and Cyprus, by offering glimpses on the utopian drives and the dystopian fallouts that characterise the Mediterranean area.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
Lead Curator
Dr Hesperia Iliadou de Subplajo-Suppiej Hesperia is an elected professor in the History of Art &Architecture and a Museum Studies specialist, member of ICOM-Italia, the International Council of Museums. Educated at the NTU Athens, the University of London (Bartlett) and the Research Centre of Museum & Galleries of the University of Leicester, she is currently researching socially engaged strategies in curating and the creation of a new museum in Venice dedicated to artisan practices and the arts.
Since 2014 she has been acting commissioner for the Venice Biennale and involved in different aspects of the research and organisational process of exhibiting in Venice. She has curated different exhibitions of both contemporary art and historical themed museum exhibits, lastly being curator of the inaugural exhibition of the European Capital of Culture 2017.
She lives in Venice, where she currently teaches Museology, Exhibition Techniques and Socially Engaged Art at the MA in Curatorial Practice at the European Institute of Design. Her academic publications and research focuses in contemporary practices in representing and exhibiting the cultural history and arts of the Mediterranean Sea.
Artists
Dr Trevor Borg Trevor is a practising artist, curator and lecturer within the Department of Digital Arts at the University of Malta. He holds a PhD in Fine Art practice from the University of Leeds and his work spans a diverse range of media from drawing to painting, sculpture, photography, film, and installations.
He has worked in the creative industries, namely within the design sector and with Heritage Malta, the national agency for museums.
His work has been shown in numerous museums and galleries internationally and he regularly delivers talks and papers related to art practice and research.
He has exhibited his work at the MKM Museum Küppersmühle Duisburg, Künstlerhaus Vienna, Museum voor Moderne Kunst Oostende, European Parliament, NRW-Forum Dusseldorf and Stadsschouwburg De Harmonie Leeuwarden, among many others.
Professor Vince Briffa Vince is Associate Professor and Head of Department of Digital Arts at the University of Malta. A multi-disciplinary artist educated at Leeds University and UCLan in the UK.
He is a Fellow of the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, New York and curated exhibitions at the NRW-Forum, Düsseldorf; the Münchner Künstlerhaus, Munich; Les Rencontres Arles, France; Leeuwarden, the Netherlands amongst others. Briffa has published numerous papers and books related to art practice.
As an artist, he has exhibited in major museums and art galleries worldwide, including the Venice Biennale (1999); the United Nations Building, Geneva; the Museum of Modern Art, Liechtenstein; the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Santa Fe, Argentina; Palais Liechtenstein, Austria; the Museum of Fine Arts, Romania and the Museum of Modern Art, Tel Aviv amongst many others.
He was also commissioned projects by the Cork 2005, Pafos 2017 and Leeuwarden-Friesland 2018 European Capitals of Culture. His work forms part of numerous private and public collections.
Dr Klitsa Antoniou Klitsa is a Professor of Fine Arts at Cyprus University of Technology. A multidisciplinary artist educated at Wimbledon School of Art, St Martin’s School of Art and Design London (B.F.A.), Pratt Institute (M.F.A.), New York University, USA (D.A. Program) and Cyprus University of Technology (PhD).
As an artist, she has exhibited in major museums and art galleries worldwide. She has been an artist in residence in many countries and participated in numerous workshops and seminars. Her work has been exhibited in Herzliya Museum, Israel, Circulo de Bellas Artes, Madrid, Palais du Rhin/Drac Alsace, Strasbourg, Arte Contemporanea Pinerolo, Torino, Sandstrom Andersson Gallery, Sweden, Exhibit Gallery, London, Antrepo, Istanbul, Espace Commines, Paris, Pulchri Studio, Hague, Macedonian Museum, Thessaloniki, Wonderland Lotte Square, Quanzhou, China, Bozar Expo, Belgium, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sarajevo, Skanes konstforening, Malmo, Sweden, Petach Tikva Museum, Israel, Museum of Nanjing University of the Art, China and The Museum of the Arts of the 20th and 21st Century, St Petersburg, Russia. She has won numerous awards.
Architect/ Designer
Perit Matthew Joseph Casha Matthew is an Architect and Civil Engineer specialising in architectural and spatial design. Having graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and Architecture in Malta, Matthew pursued his studies with a Masters Degree in Construction Project Management in Aberdeen, Scotland. Before founding his own studio, Matthew worked on a number of major national projects, which involved integration of spatial planning with high end detailed design.
Through the mission of ‘Inspiring change through creative action’, Matthew has successfully worked on a number of architectural and spatial projects promoting good design through industrial, commercial and residential projects.
Besides practising architecture, Matthew is also experienced in project leadership, as well as in the organisation of local design exhibitions and festivals, such as Malta Design Week 2012 and 2014. Having a keen eye and passion for design, Matthew has also successfully participated in various local and international design competitions.
Production Management Team
George Lazoglou George has studied Electronic Engineering and Energy Management systems. Parallel to this, he attended Photography and Theatre Lighting Courses and workshops in Edinburgh, London and Thessaloniki. He has a MA in Multimedia Design, from the Cyprus University of Technology, in the research area of “Virtual Reality and Theatre” (2012). In addition, he completed a year in the Doctorate program in professional Studies at Middlesex University in the subject of Multimedia Applications in Contemporary Theater.
He is a production manager and a light designer working in the Theatre area specializing in Light and Multi-media Design. He was project Manager for a number of International Visual Arts Exhibitions both in Cyprus and abroad.
Under his direction, as a Production Manager of Paphos2017 European Capital of Culture, some of the biggest and most important performances and artistic events ever happening in Cyprus were planned and implemented.
Stephen Ciantar Stephen is the Managing Director of an import and distribution company specialising in power, control and lighting automation systems, with direct emphasis on lighting design automation. His company has undertaken numerous lighting projects in all sectors of the market, namely upscale residential lighting, commercial and industrial systems.
Previously Stephen has worked with German and American owned companies in the electronics manufacturing sector and was responsible for Sales Export and Business Development for various regions, globally. He has on numerous occasions organised the respective company’s participation in international exhibitions across many countries.
Stephen has over 20 years of managerial experience in international trade, export and business development and has also managed numerous projects bringing together product specialists from various countries thereby promoting cross border collaborations.
Circuits, the annual conference for electronic music production and performance enthusiasts is back! Now in its fourth edition, Circuits is being again organised at Spazju Kreattiv and will span two days on the 3rd and 4th of May 2019.
At Circuits this year, besides the usual non-stop discussions, performances, and installations, there will be several new additions. One of these additions will be the presence of a public music equipment stand sporting various state of the synthesizers, drum machines and other equipment which the public can try out.
Besides these, the public can attend to a lecture followed by a performance on how to build guitars or distortion units from recycled equipment, they can attend a masterclass on mastering hosted by a world-class producer and engineer, experience alternative electronic music performances which include live sketching, a modern chamber ensemble and also a performance where electro-acoustic and synthesizer pioneers meet today’s electronic dance music.
Circuits, the conference for local electronic music production enthusiasts, returns this year on the 3rd and 4th of May at Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta. This conference is now in its fourth edition. For the first time, this year, there will be a music equipment demonstration area hosted by Black Box Pro.
In 2015, Electronic Music Malta (EMM) was born out of the need for such artists to be recognized and for them to come together exposing themselves to educational initiatives and opportunities, sharing with the public their skills and knowledge preferably in the Maltese mother tongue, networking with other organizations and other artists, to document the works and achievements of similar artists in the past years, to maintain in good condition the innovative instruments developed in the past 40 years some of which where actually used in the local music scene and to champion innovation in electronic music and art in general. Ever since its formation, EMM partnered with Fondazzjoni Kreattivita and the National Radio Station so to promote the above objectives, setting out to organize periodical activities of various nature (as documented in this annual report), launching their bi-weekly voice on national radio (Radio Malta 2), and being officially recognized as a Voluntary Organisation (with the above objectives being part of the statute). MetroElectronic Music Malta
What will be Happening on the First Day?
The equipment demonstration area will open as from 16:00 hours whilst there will be a workshop hosted by Patricia Cvetkovic at 17:00 hours.
The first day will come to a conclusion at 20:00 hours with a Performance-Lecture by alternative instrument creator Yuri Landman, a past artists-in-residence of the Spazju Kreattiv Artists’ Residency. During this activity, Yuri will be performing using a variety of his instruments whilst delving into technical aspects used in the creation process.
The interact area (with live dj’s, an information desk and video kiosks) will open as from 14:00 hours and the equipment demonstration area will open as from 13:00 hours.
The conference will come to an end at 20:00 hours with a concert from the groups POW Ensemble and Poèmes Électroniques.
Documentary Screening – Gary Numan Android in La La Land – Promoting Mental Health Awareness, will be EMM’s first collaboration with the Richmond Foundation (Malta). As the documentary covers a particular aspect of Gary Numan’s career who, in his early fifties, faced numerous mental health challenges, we thought it was fit to bring forward a subject which may still be considered a taboo amongst many. Electronic Music MaltaGary Numan – Android in La La Land Richmond Malta
Object, Objetc, Objecc
This exhibition brings together the work of three international artists: Liza Eurich (CA), Katri Kempas (FIN) and Letta Shtohryn (UKR/MT). Having met during a month-long residency at SIM in Reykjavik Iceland, they continue to hold informal conversational exchanges, a mechanism that acts as the starting point for this project. Operating from a platform of call and response, the production of work for this exhibition seeks to explore methods of translation: from simulated to real, from personal to referential, from present to absent and vice versa. Further, it provides a methodology for working collaboratively across the geographical expanse, opening up a space of intimate dialogue. Starting from a shared interest in objectness, the thematic for these exchanges will engage with processes that endeavour to dematerialize the material, or conversely materialize the immaterial. An Art Additives Talk will also be held in relation to this exhibition. Spazju KreattivObject, Objetc, Objecc
The internet is dead, long live the internets! In 2025, the internet will consist of either gated communities or decentralised independent instances. For those who want to be connected while choosing their own dependencies, there is no other option than to draw up new networks and experiment with both historical and innovative protocols.
Networks with an Attitude is a six-day worksession organised by Constant. During this intensive week we stretch the imagination of what a network is, and what it can be.
This Warp* documents Networks with an attitude, a worksession (de)centralized around ’The internet is dead’ & ’Long live the internets’. Last April, 40 participants explored highly proprietary (…)
Stories, presentations and reports of what happened during part two of the worksession: ’Long live the Internets’ and a booklaunch. Booklaunch ’Technological Sovereignty’ translation to Dutch + (…)
Listen to a Networks With an Attitude contribution on Webgang, a radio show on F/loss culture and technology on radio centraal 106.7 Network Jam in Toitoidrome + S14 Go to one of the two (…)
Stories and reports on what has been happening in the first part of the worksession entitled ’The internet is dead’ and two presentations De-google/de-gafam your organisation/digital life Agnez (…)
7-13 April 2019 @ Antwerp/BE “Networks do not tell all stories equally. Networks, like all entities with stories, tell most readily those stories in whose reflection they see themselves.” (…)
