The Artistic Research and Development Scheme is one of Arts Council Malta’s tools to enable individuals, groups and organisations to research, plan, develop, and deliver on the Council’s strategic goals and ongoing strategy. By supporting their own research and development they should identify their target creative professionals and communities and:
• Nurture their creative potential and support their development, by encouraging co-creation, collaboration and experimentation.
• Invest in artistic excellence, by encouraging levels of creative risk, experimentation, and the active engagement of communities. They should do this by supporting quality projects, as well as identifying talent and encouraging its development.
• Document and carry out research into Malta’s past and present artistic and cultural communities, as well as consider and explore Malta’s artistic legacy.
The scheme forms part of Arts Council Malta’s funding schemes which aim to invest in exploratory projects that allow creative professionals and communities to experiment, test their work, engage with their peers, be duly represented in policy and strategy matters, nurture collaboration, and develop their ideas further. Applications submitted may form part of the initial phase of a wider project/body of work or can be self-contained.
This scheme will comprise of two main areas of focus. Applicants may choose to focus on one or both of these areas within their projects:
1. Artistic practice
- Research into artistic concepts, techniques, and subjects;
- Exploratory research adopting innovative or untested approaches in the conception, creation and development of artistic work;
- Research into Malta’s artistic communities, with a view to document Malta’s artistic legacy in an open, inclusive and sustainable manner.
2. Community and audience engagement
- Exploring participatory approaches to audience engagement in order to deepen engagement with existing or new audiences;
- Experimenting with innovative methods of experiential engagement with audiences;
- Research into ways to improve access to the arts and promote inclusive participation and greater diversity within the arts.
Who can apply?
Creative professionals/individual artists; Groups, collectives and consortia; Registered cooperatives; Voluntary organisations enrolled with the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations.
The deadline to apply is Tuesday 21st May 2024 at noon. Late application cannot be accepted.
Guidelines
Click here to download guidelines and download application template.
Click here to download Access Support guidelines.
Applicants are required to register a new profile as from January 2021.
Apply here.
Results
Application Deadline: 21st May 2024
Beneficiary: ARC Research & Consultancy Ltd.
Reference number: ARD35-24-4260
Project Title: Bridging the gap: connecting key stakeholders in Culture and Well-Being
Amount awarded: €14,302
This research project explores the connection between culture and well-being. In order to truly reap the benefits of this connection, there needs to be a solid cross-sectoral collaborative effort based on mutual understanding and trust. Through structured discussions, the beneficiaries seek to uncover challenges and develop innovative solutions, ensuring a tangible legacy by linking solutions to potential partners and resources. This qualitative research process is structured around three primary areas of investigation: the arts in hospital settings, the arts as contributors to the promotion of mental health and to the promotion of health in general and disease prevention. The project unfolds in four phases: identifying key stakeholders, engaging them, holding focus groups, and analysing results. This participatory approach will map current efforts, involve new creative practitioners, and establish communication channels. The project’s ultimate goal is to equip stakeholders with actionable strategies for effective collaboration, fostering dialogue and practical partnerships for lasting impact.
Beneficiary: Chewing Productions
Reference number: ARD07-24-4208
Project Title: SAFE HAVEN | An R&D Project Expanding Interdisciplinary Artistic Practice
Amount awarded: €15,000
Chewing Productions unites eight early-career artists from different disciplines to begin developing a site-specific performance project - SAFE HAVEN. This endeavour will challenge and refine their abilities as they collaboratively explore concepts of 'dystopia' and 'safe haven' (e.g., parties, natural environments, etc.). The diverse creative team includes a director, actors, dancers, a filmmaker, a writer, and a music composer, all supported by a seasoned theatre-maker as a mentor. Over five months in 2025, the project involves a series of creative workshops, community engagements, technological experiments, and periods of solo creation. This phased approach will allow the team to generate and explore artistic material while honing their individual skills and collective vision. This project is driven by a commitment to artistic development, innovation, community engagement, and audience development. It aspires to develop a unique theatrical experience for audiences while also fostering an environment of artistic growth and interdisciplinarity.
Beneficiary: Andrew Borg Wirth
Reference number: ARD44-24-4274
Project Title: Cities of Subversion (working title)
Amount awarded: €14,400
“Cities of Subversion” (working title) is the second programme being proposed by this platform, following the widely successful project ‘Decadence, Now.’ It hopes to work closely with local and international institutions, artists, curators and researchers in order to capture the zeitgeist of the year 1960, and display it alongside the zeitgeist of our own time. Just as with ‘Decadence, Now’, this project aims to contemporize the historical.
Beneficiary: Masquerade Malta
Reference number: ARD13-24-4236
Project Title: YOU, ME & the rest of the world
Amount awarded: €14,877
This project will focus on workshopping a completely new and original musical, by established artist and creative, Hollie Cassar, in preparation for a West End concert of the show in March 2025, and a full-scale production of the show in 2025/2026. The piece reflects the diverse society we now live in, with characters of all gender expressions and sexual identities, and aims to break the stigma of what is socially acceptable in today’s world. The project will be a unique opportunity for local artists to collaborate, push creative boundaries, and explore systemic social conditioning, while developing a culturally relevant and unique piece of theatre by a Maltese creative, that will strengthen relationships between Maltese creatives and international experts in the global creative industry.
Beneficiary: Raphael Vella
Reference number: ARD40-24-4268
Project Title: Post-Anthropocentric Futures: N ew designs for Integral ways of living
Amount awarded: €14,714
The research project aims to explore how the arts can formulate new, radical ideas to suggest alternative frameworks based upon non-anthropocentric constituents. It proposes integral approaches to being together that connect different perspectives: the perspectives of experts in different fields, the perspectives of members of the public, nonhuman 'perspectives' and the perspectives of creative persons coming from different backgrounds, particularly the visual arts, architecture, sound design and composition. Raphael Vella (visual artist), Michael Quinton (sound designer and musician) and Chris Briffa (architect), with the support of project manager Marcon Borg Caruana, plan to research natural systems using methodologies from the social sciences to find ways of integrating them into collaborative artistic designs that are achieved in a non-hierarchical and interdisciplinary creative process. Stargate Studios will provide support in digital production and visual effects at different stages of the research process.
Beneficiary: Kristina Zammit Endrich
Reference number: ARD24-24-4249
Project Title: The Maltese Multi-Hyphenate
Amount awarded: €7,752
A research project concerned with exploring various artistic disciplines and techniques that intersect to communicate a cohesive artistic voice. It will explore the process of creating as a means of conveying inspiration and forming a personal artistic iconography. Utilising the mediums of illustration, painting, and textile art, research practitioner Kristina Zammit Endrich will create artworks originating from the self-same point of inspiration, one rooted in explorations of cultural identity and national heritage. These art forms will converge to convey a single artist’s creative vision. A diverse, multiphase research project that will form the groundwork for a wider collaborative study, with large- and small-scale object fabrication.
Beneficiary: Andrew Pace
Reference number: ARD36-24-4264
Project Title: Knyahinya 1866
Amount awarded: €12,000
"Knyahinya 1866" is a research project that explores the multifaceted narrative of the Knyahinya meteorite. Through a blend of technology, artistic collaboration, and in-depth archival and historical research, this artistic research will result in a CGI documentary and an augmented reality site-walk that will delve into the meteorite's impact on science, culture, and art. Archivist Andrew Pace and artist Letta Shtohryn will lead a small artistic team poetically investigate the discrepancies between space objects and the complexities of European national borders, as well as future space exploration and our Earth-centric definitions used to search for life on other planets.
Beneficiary: Fleur Sciortino
Reference number: ARD38-24-4266
Project Title: Frances and Ġorġ: Summer Camp Quest – A roleplaying game for elderly childhood kids
Amount awarded: €12,879
"Frances and Ġorġ: Summer Camp Quest" is a tabletop RPG designed specifically for early childhood children. This project is a collaborative effort between Fleur and Chelsea Sciortino of The Wanderer’s Tome and Moira Scicluna Zahra, the creator of Frances and Ġorġ.
Beneficiary: Fondazzjoni Soċjo-Kulturali Ambjentali
Reference number: ARD20-24-4245
Project Title: SIMBIOSI: Studying Sicilian Influences on Maltese artistic Background and Interpreting Stylistic Impact
Amount awarded: €11,070
‘SIMBIOSI’ identifies Siculo-Maltese heritage assets in the St. Augustine Priory collection and, through cooperation with Sicilian-based researchers, re-valorises these works by researching provenance and authorship/attribution which have been lost. In the second stage, this knowledge will be interpreted and published to benefit the community and promote inclusive participation and greater diversity within the arts. ‘SIMBIOSI’ will deliver this interpretation through several tools, including digital applications, to respond to access to all and further interpretation and onsite academic and non-academic panel discussions and tours.
Beneficiary: André Agius
Reference number: ARD16-24-4240
Project Title: MADE IN MALTA: A Case Study on the Research and Development of an Organisation Prioritizing the Touring of Performance-based Productions in Malta, Especially in Rural Areas, and Internationally
Amount awarded: €8,006
This case study aims to Research, Explore and Document the process behind the creation of an organisation, whose primary purpose is to support and encourage the touring and exporting of High-quality Maltese Performance-based Works, both in Malta (especially in Rural Settings), and internationally. This case study seeks to build and incorporate previous initiatives such as The Malta Showcase (2016) and the Spazji Teatrali: A Catalogue of Theatres in Malta and Gozo (2018) building on the foundation of both models. This research project will aim to look at the conditions, structure, outcomes and feasibility to be able to identify potential challenges and develop a structure to facilitate the effective touring of Excellent Maltese Performing-Arts-based shows, to enhance accessibility to culture and continue fostering national and international cultural exchange.
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