Today the European Parliament Information Office visited the MCAST Institute of Art and Design at Mosta to meet a group of students working on five artistic projects interpreting the issues surrounding irregular immigration.
The students presented their work in progress on artworks covering different artistic disciplines and artistic techniques all with the same design, that of communicating personal thoughts and emotions on irregular immigration.
Ezekiel Vassallo presented his concept of a bust of an immigrant presenting visible and invisible written inscriptions taken from testimonies of an immigrant he met at Dar is-Sliem. Reading the phrases requires an extra effort. ”You have to get closer to a person to understand better,” he explained.
Javier Joseph Formosa spoke of his project consisting of a photographic exhibit of a family on its arrival to Malta from Libya, loaded with symbolism and accompanied by his own literary interpretation.
Maria Borg used a print art discipline to focus on the media’s role in moulding the public’s perception of the issue of irregular immigration, and spoke of the concept of “information travelling” which may deviate the public from the original and actual story as information continues to travel through mediatic means.
Maria Isabella presented the making of a landscape of Marsaxlokk which acts as an outline of her exhibit with a painting of a boatful of irregular immigrants approaching the coast as the centre-point. ”I think we are all in the same boat, both the Maltese and the Immigrants need help to face this situation,” she said.
Dr Peter Agius, Head of the European Parliament Information Office in Malta welcomed the dedication of the students and the Institute of Art and Design and pointed out the significance of the contribution of the students to interpret the complex issue of irregular immigration while adding the emotional and personal dimension in a visual and structured fashion.
Dr Agius invited the students to present their works at a public discussion with MEPs themed “Irregular Immigration. Left Alone?” to be held on 29 October at 19:00 at the Fortifications Centre in Valletta.
The public discussion will include the participation of three MEPs sitting in the European Parliament’s LIBE Committee who are coming to Malta on a fact-finding mission to the European Asylum Support Office. The three MEPs are Josef Weizenholder (ALDE), Jan Mulder (S&D) and Roberta Metsola (EPP).
MCAST Principal Mr Stephen Cachia, Director of the Institute of Art and Design Mr Stephen Vella, as well as MCAST Lecturer and Project Coordinator Ms Ruth Ancilleri were present for this visit. https://www.facebook.com/events/433159346804080/?ref=5 [1]
Photographs by Ray Attard