The Artistic Multi Sensorial Experiences (AMuSE) project brings together different artists from Malta, Italy, the Netherlands and Lithuania to explore art inspired by the senses. AMuSE was chosen by the European Commission together with another 65 European projects to form part of the Creative Europe Programme and will be granted 60 per cent of its funding. This is the first time that a Maltese institution will be fulfilling the role of leader in a European project which forms part of Creative Europe.
Speaking during a press conference to announce the names of the 16 artists who will be taking part in the project, the president of the Malta Society of Arts (MSA) Arch. Adrian Mamo commented that: "The aim of the Malta Society of Arts, which has been established for the last 160 years, was, and still is, to encourage art - both in artists, especially in emerging artists, as well as with the public - because we truly believe that society in general needs art to grow our knowledge of the world we live in."
AMuSE Project leader and manager of MSA Joe Scerri stated that: "It's of great satisfaction for the MSA that our project was selected when we take into consideration that 430 projects were submitted and only 66 were chosen." He explained that the project started on 1 October 2017 and will terminate in Malta in September 2019.
Together with the MSA in the role of "leader", the project partners are the Terre dei Savoia Association (Italy), Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen (the Netherlands) and Dusetos Culture Centre (Lithuania). The Valletta 2018 Foundation (Malta), Easy School of Languages (Malta) and Antazave Child Care Home (Lithuania) are associate partners.
AMuSE will provide an excellent opportunity for artists to express their European cultural identity through the use of new readings in multisensorial art. The project's artistic director Roderick Camilleri remarked that: "This realm is relatively new to Malta and the project will enable individual artists to learn and share ideas, cultures and concepts with each other. The project will also explore new artistic relationships with parts of northern Europe."
Head of Creative Europe Desk Lisa Gwen Baldacchino lauded MSA for taking the decision to embark on such an ambitious project: "A lot of organisations are disheartened when they realise the scope and work required by a European project. However, MSA took on the challenge and set a precedent, hopefully, other organisations will follow suit."
Meanwhile, Arts Council chairman Albert Marshall highlighted the importance of such projects "where Maltese artists interact with foreign ones and pollinate their ideas and concepts. This also reinforces the internationalisation aspect of Maltese artists, which ACM encourages so strongly".
From next month, seven of the 16 selected emerging artists will be working and studying together under the artistic direction of Roderick Camilleri to create their projects. The first mobility, or artist-in-residence, will take place in Muses Savigliano (northern Italy) in one of the centres of Le Terre dei Savoia, that specialise in scent and fragrance and utilise laboratories for their research - hence the artists will focus on the olfactory sense.
The second mobility will take place in the Leeuwarden branch of the Groningen University (the Netherlands) in September, while the third mobility will be hosted by the Dusetos Cultural Centre, Lithuania, in March 2019. The project will end in September 2019, when Malta will host an exhibition of works and projects created by the 16 artists in the four different countries. The four Maltese selected artists are Matthew Attard, Aaron Bezzina, Keith Bonnici and Stefan Spiteri.
For more information about AMuSE and the Malta Society of Arts visit: http://artsmalta.org and http://artsmalta.org/amuse-project