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B. Holub, P. Rajakovics:
"Times of Dilemma";
Personal exhibition; organised by: Valletta 18, European Capital of Culture, curator: M. Richter; catalogue: "The Island is What the Sea Surrounds / Dal-Bahar Madwarha"; Valletta, Malta, 2018-03-25 - 2018-07-01.

Times of Dilemma

Valletta 2018/ European Capital of Culture
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Projektdaten

"Times of Dilemma" is part of "The Island is What the Sea Surrounds"
(curated by Maren Richter):

https://valletta2018.org/cultural-programme/dal-bahar-madwarha/

"The Island is What the Sea Surrounds": opening on March 24, 2018
Exam Centre, Valletta

"Times of Dilemma" performances at St.Roche Chapel/ Valletta and at Manoel Island:
March 25, 2018
May 27, 2018
July 1, 2018

An additional megaphone is available for use at the exhibition at the Exam Centre.

For an impression of the performances please see:
https://youtu.be/ECYCjdwTDPU
https://youtu.be/ZXbtsf2f8uo

Team

Team and collaborators: Sarah Mallia, Sandra Zaffarese (Valletta 2018 team); Patrick Salutt (transparadiso), Bollinger + Grohmann (civil engineers/ Vienna/ A), Gundolf Rajakovics (technical support megaphones); Luke Fenech (support installation, Malta).

Thanks to: Christopher Micallef (NIDUM), Studio di Ingegneria Semenzin e Sernagiotto

For an impression of the performances please see:
https://youtu.be/ECYCjdwTDPU
https://youtu.be/ZXbtsf2f8uo



The dream of utopias seems to be over - in spite of the today recurring desire for "change". This general call for "change" which aims at counteracting the growing inequality in our global system addresses a wide range of contradictory interests. But we do not want to defer utopias to some distant time or planet. Instead, we want to address them now and here by furthering the engagement of people to create visions and take action in their specific situations.

"Times of Dilemma" makes use of the tradition of Għana for creating contemporary Għana dialogues addressing current conflicts. In July 2017 we organized two workshop sessions for which we launched an open call for participation, and invited authors, Għana-singers (Għanneijja), activists and experts from diverse backgrounds to discuss the contradictory interests between economical prosperity and regaining communal values, rediscovering qualities, (hidden) potentials and poetics for living together. Thus we returned the voice to the Maltese for taking action.

The contributions were based on the following questions: What I miss, what I am afraid of losing, what I find problematic, what I treasure, what I am proud of, what I want to change.
They served as basis for texts by Maltese authors Jean Paul Borg, Jo Burden, Immanuel Mifsud, which were then transformed into contemporary Għana dialogues by the young Għanneij-Rapper Rachelle Deguara.

Performance - an Għana-dialogue between Valletta and Manoel Island
For the performances by the Għanneijja transparadiso conceived two large megaphone-sculptures, offering a dialogical sound transfer of 320 meters between St.Roche´s Chapel and the privatized Manoel Island, which will be transformed into an exclusive new urban development for the rich. The locations relate to the times of lepra, when a priest held his prayers from St.Roche´s Chapel to the quarantine hospital on Manoel Island - now addressing a plague of today, namely the uncontrolled urban development in Malta.

These contemporary Għana dialogues reposition the (today under recognized) tradition of folk singing in "high culture", and explore Għana as artistic method for addressing conflicts in an open process, which highlights the potential of poetics as subtle means for activism. This is a big challenge for the authors as well as for the Għanneijja, since Ghana today still performed is usually "spirtu pront", which means spontaneous improvisation. To perform a scripted text challenges the Għanneijja to commit to a new format - and it equally required the confidence of the renowned Maltese authors to offer their texts for being transformed into a Għana dialog.

In this way "Times of Dilemma" does not only address burning questions of the Maltese society, but also transgresses the borders of "high culture" and "folk culture" in a unique format.

direct urbanism, direkter Urbanismus, künstlerische Strategien, Stadtplanung, unplanbar, Gesellschaft, artistic practice, urban development, unplannable, society, unplanning

https://valletta2018.org/cultural-programme/dal-bahar-madwarha/