Application deadline: 14th September 2021

Ranking Order

Applicant: Nikki Demajo Albanese

Reference number: AES14-21-830

Project Title: Ngħidu Kelma ma’ Di u Do

Amount awarded: €7,957

The project aims to challenge the script writing and acting skills of two young creatives whose objective is to create relatable and captivating online Maltese resources aimed at promoting the Maltese language in pre-primary settings. This undertaking will fill the current gap within the educational market, as to date, there is no drama material in Maltese for the 3-4 age group. The use of drama and the arts within an educational setting is vital for the development of children’s communication, confidence, coordination and concentration skills, along with the added bonus of integrating the Maltese language.

Applicant: Mirjana Batinić

Reference number: AES12-21-824

Project Title: The impact of Montessori method on the quality of art education at the primary school age

Amount awarded: €7,998

Through this project, the Montessori method will be used to enhance the quality of art education. The research will be based on work with primary students in Montessori school in Birkirkara (Casa Maria Montessori). Students will have a chance to learn various art techniques with the use of different media: linear pencil drawing, watercolour (wet on wet, wet on dry, watercolour washes), acrylic painting (freestyle, pendulum painting, marble), collage, monotype printing (freestyle, pattern-based), mixed-media printing, cardboard cut print, sculpting in clay, and more. The project aims to encourage active learning by developing the ability to build both teamwork and independent work, autonomous learning, self-assessment skills, and time planning. It also plans to improve student motivation, which will in turn translate into an improved academic performance. Finally, there will be a presentation and an exhibition of the students’ artwork.

Applicant: Kristina Borg

Reference number: AES03-21-698

Project Title: You Are What You Buy – Dak li tiżra’ taħsad / Reap what you sow

Amount awarded: €8,000

This project provokes and reacts to current issues on consumption and consumerism, offering alternative artistic and socio-economic experiences. After two successful editions, YAWYB plans to evolve into a third edition that focuses on alternative local food community economies, in collaboration with the students from St. Albert the Great College, Valletta. Inspired by the Arte Útil concept, this third edition draws on artistic and design thinking to imagine, create and implement tactics that catalyse social change. Within this context, the proposal aims to build ‘other worlds’ with what is at hand, as suggested by Community Economies – the understanding of ‘the economy’ as comprising diverse economic activities, aiming for more ethical economic practices that acknowledge and act on the ongoing interdependence of all life forms, human and non-human, thus creating a resilient and healthy Circular Economy.

Applicant: Sawtooth Audio Academy

Reference number: AES11-21-815

Project Title: A.D.S.R – An Introduction to Sound

Amount awarded: €7,956

The project consists of a free public event aimed at educating its guests about the local audio/music scene. It will serve as a platform for artists and upcoming enthusiasts to engage and have a better insight into the required skills to develop a professional standard. The activities include live music, track deconstructions, seminars, and interactive booths.

Applicant: Patsy Chetcuti

Reference number: AES04-21-706

Project Title: Got Talent!

Amount awarded: €7,076

After a successful Kreattiv project in collaboration with Moveo Dance Company and The Induction Hub Naxxar, this will be a similar project in collaboration with St Ignatius College, Ħandaq and St. Margaret College, Cospicua. The artistic team will tackle 4 artistic mediums – art (painting and props), creative writing (creative script writing), dance, and media. The project will be offered to various classes in both schools, whereby the ‘judges’ (all the students) will devise short dances together with the dance artist to approve, reject and give the golden buzzer to each of the acts. Students who wish to perform will work together with the teacher of the school as well as with an artist to refine the preferred act, and will be given time to practice. All students will devise back stories for all the performers through creative writing sessions. All students will also create buzzers and other props. Finally, the process will be documented and filmed by an assigned media group from each class.

Applicant: 6 th Symphony Productions

Reference number: AES13-21-829

Project Title: Serħan il-Moħħ

Amount awarded: €8,000

This project focuses on Sound Healing. Artists from various cultural and musical backgrounds will help each other to evolve and develop through collaborations on artistic projects directed towards self-improvement and personal growth, through meditations and affirmations in the Maltese language and accompanied by sound healing instruments. Covid-19 has shed a light on much-needed resources in the Maltese language to aid the self-exploration and journey of the self. A series of 8 affirmations and 4 guided meditations will be written in Maltese along with a piece of additional backing music for each session. The project will showcase a diversity of talents and musical genres, thus covering a variety of styles such as, but not limited to, ambient and hip-hop. The team will be made up of people from different backgrounds, having experienced various sectors such as Education, Vulnerable Youth, Migrants, Local Maltese Citizens, Local Artistic Community, Therapy, along with Spirituality and Wellbeing.

Application deadline: 6th April 2021

Ranking Order

Reference Number:  AES23-21-262

Applicant: Christine Zerafa

Project Title: The Performance Class Series

Allocated funds (EUR): €8,000

The Performance Class Series is a new music education platform for classical instrumental and vocal students at Grade 8, Diploma, Bachelor’s and Master’s level in Malta. It is a pedagogical tool used in conservatoires overseas, where instrumental and vocal students are brought together in a class format, they perform in turn together with a staff pianist, and the students give feedback to each other, thus developing a critical, constructive and collegial approach to performance. Particularly as we are living in the pandemic era, Maltese upcoming musicians have missed on ample opportunities, such as not being able to go abroad for short term master classes, missing opportunities from visiting professors, and very importantly, not being able to perform live regularly. Thus, while The Performance Class Series fills an important pedagogical lacuna in Maltese music education, it also makes up for some of the missed opportunities that the pandemic situation has imposed.

Reference Number:  AES08-21-197

Applicant: Għaqda Mużikali San Ġorg Martri

Project Title: Sinerġija

Allocated funds (EUR): €8,000

Sinerġija is a joint initiative between two philharmonic societies (Għaqda Mużikali San Ġorg Martri and Banda Sant’ Andrija Luqa). This intiative was born out of a need identified over the past years as Għaqda Mużikali San Ġorg has invested heavily in transforming its premises into a venue for performances and drama groups. One of the major problems encountered by these groups is the lack of necessary skills to manufacture the props for their performances. Furthermore the Luqa band’s youth section lacks a number of key skills required for the manufacture and restoration of the feast decorations. Together the two organisations have identified three areas, namely: papier-mâché restoration, clay-modeling and prop preparation as areas where both organisations need to invest in skill acquisition. The proposed project is a train the trainer initiative, where experts in these three fields are hired to train a selected number of youths within these two organisations. The trainees will act as future trainers of youths within the two organisations.

Reference Number:  AES15-21-228

Applicant: Kurt Calleja

Project Title: School Playscapes – Innovative Learning Approaches Through Play

Allocated funds (EUR): €7,997

Gzira is currently one of the most heavily polluted urban areas in Malta, both in terms of air quality and sound levels. New high-rise developments in Gzira are increasingly taking over potential open and green spaces which would have otherwise served as recreational sites for the psychological, social and biological wellbeing of society. With the support of Horizon 2020 VARCITIES project, School Playscapes project will co-create permanent artworks with the Gzira Primary School as playscapes that will consider both form and function as primary contributors to the artistic and educational aspect of this project. The artistic play structures will help students teach themselves and others through project-based and creative learning, while enhancing green spaces within this area, both for the children and nearby community to increase their physical health and psychological wellbeing. For the educational aspect of this project, greening interventions are considered essential in providing students with the suitable learning environment to help them think more clearly and creatively. The team aims to build student-centred project-based material with the teachers for the students using these green spaces. The design of the structure will take into consideration stakeholders with different needs, such as neurodiverse and physically impaired children.

Reference Number:  AES20-21-246

Applicant: Seed Dance Studios

Project Title: Malta Connects

Allocated funds (EUR): €7,703

The dance education project ‘Malta Connects’ is designed as a three-channel connectivity. Firstly connecting Maltese teachers to international teacher training and pedagogy opportunities through participation in existing platforms by the American Ballet Theatre. Secondly it offers artistic choreographic collaborations and workshops with Maltese practitioners to develop dancers who are also critical thinkers and finally connecting Malta based dance students with international teachers through online sessions and workshops.

Reference Number:  AES21-21-249

Applicant: Sawtooth Audio Academy

Project Title: Beats of Knowledge

Allocated funds (EUR): €7,974

This Project is a collaboration between Sawtooth Audio Academy (SAA) and Electronic Music Malta (EMM) to reach out to individuals, helping them develop their skills in Audio production and also building an online community through a series of educational videos from both SAA’s lecturers and other local artists. The project also includes the editing and subtitling of unreleased footage, provided through EMM’s past workshops, Seminars, and Events. This material will be uploaded through a social media campaign and websites. The project also includes investing in additional features to www.sawtoothaudioacademy.com. These include an online community platform, where users can create their accounts and interact with the content, and share ideas. Another additional feature is where people can find the scheduled online workshops and pre-recorded tutoring sessions.

Reference Number:  AES24-21-263

Applicant: Neal Camilleri

Project Title: Awakening Inner Creativity Through Vocal Expression

Allocated funds (EUR): €8,000

This project aims to engage with schools in informal education of the arts through interactive beatboxing workshops and a showcase of their skills and talent, encouraging youths to take part in and develop the local cultural scene, while also giving them scope to unlock their inner creative potential and learning different ways to express themselves. As part of a recovery strategy for the COVID-19 global pandemic, these workshops offer youths the opportunity for growth, by increasing their confidence and learning how to use their vocal range in a more conscious manner. The workshops will culminate into a showcase of the youths’ new acquired skills as a way to empower them to advocate for a broader inclusion of creativity in the arts scene in Malta.

Reference Number:  AES25-21-264

Applicant: Thea Cunningham

Project Title: Summer Intensive Dance Workshops

Allocated funds (EUR): €5,721

Summer intensive dance workshops for young dancers above 12 years old, combining different dance style classes with choreographic laboratory. The main aim of the project is to enhance the creative skills of young dancers by providing knowledge on technical aspects of contemporary dance, hip hop, and ballet while focusing on alternating and combining different dance styles. The project will also provide choreographic tools to young dancers and allow them to explore their creative potential through a multimodal approach  while engaging students on multiple levels by using a multisensory approach as a learning framework.

Reference Number:  AES18-21-238

Applicant: Studio 18

Project Title: Studio 18 Sustainability Project

Allocated funds (EUR): €6,605

The Studio 18 Sustainability Project is an initiative resulting from the initial needs identified in an internal review and action plan that commenced in 2020 and spans to 2022. The review focuses on infrastructure, quality assurance and professional development, in turn aiming to provide a holistic and relevant learning experience and sound andragogy for young people in the local community of practice. In view of the pandemic’s impact on the current arts education processes and the aftermath, the review was re-aligned with the current and foreseeable needs, alongside the long-term plan. The project consists of a number of activities including professional development of the core members of the organisation.