MUSIC
SummerDaze Malta
The week-long festival comes to an end today with a second main event dedicated to Italian music.
Italian rappers J-Ax and Baby K are headlining the event together with some of the earliest Eurodance exponents of the 1990s: Ice MC, a British rapper whose professional career started in Italy and whose hits include Think About the Way and It's a Rainy Day, and Corona, best known for the chart-topper The Rhythm of the Night.
Also performing tonight are popular Italian deejays Albertino, Fargetta, Molella and Prezioso, and the Italian electronic music group Meduza, known for recent international hits such as Piece of Your Heart, Bad Memories, Lose Control and Tell It To My Heart.
Tonight's event is being held in collaboration with Radio Deejay and m2o.
Doors at the Ta' Qali picnic area open at 4pm, with the last suggested entry at 6.30pm. Entry will afterwards be limited, depending on the venue's capacity.
A special public transport service will be running during the event.
For more information, visit summerdazemalta.com and the SummerDaze Facebook page. Tickets for all events are available here.
Italian rapper J-Ax is one of today's headliners. Photo: Shutterstock.comFILM
Hit the Road
Spazju Kreattiv is today showing the 2021 Iranian film Hit the Road, which follows a family on a road trip across a rugged landscape.
As their destination draws ever closer, the chaotic claustrophobia in the car grows as does the love and affection they have for each other.
The drama, written and directed by Panah Panahi, is certified 12A. It is showing today at 7.30pm and again on August 20, 21, 25, 27 and 28. For more information and tickets, click here.
A scene from Hit the Road. Photo: SFS/Capital PicturesAnime Festival
The Eden Cinemas in St Julian’s is currently hosting its first-ever Anime Festival, showing feature-length films of some of the most popular anime series of all time, including Dragon Ball Z, Demon Slayer and My Hero Academia.
All films are dubbed in English or are screened in Japanese with English subtitles.
As from today, Dragon Ball Super: SuperHero is being shown. For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page and the Eden Cinemas website.
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. Photo: Bird Studio/Shueisha/Sony PicturesOTHER EVENTS
Lunchtime tours at Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum
A series of guided lunchtime tours at Palazzo Falson in Mdina have been extended until the end of August.
The tour highlights objects linked to the Order of St John, but one may also admire the rest of the museum's significant collection that is specifically displayed to capture and reflect the life and taste of Captain Olof Gollcher.
Bookings at a suggested donation of €10 can be made by e-mail on bookings@palazzofalson.com or by calling on 2145 4512. One may also arrive at the museum 10 minutes prior to the tour, which starts at noon.
Gustav Café is open to guests for refreshments on the rooftop terrace of the museum.
Night hike around Gudja
The NGO SKALI Gudja is organising a walk under the moonlight this evening at 8pm.
The seven-kilometre trek will take participants along alleyways and rural paths around Gudja and localities in the vicinity.
The route will start from the Palazz ta' Bettina and will pass through the areas known as Tal-Ħofra and Ta' Kaċċatura which will lead to Casa Ippolito or Id-Dar ta' Pultu, an abandoned house that is over 350 years old. Participants will then pass through Ħas-Saptan and reach the Loretu chapel in the limits of Gudja. They will then proceed to the starting point.
Attendance is for free. Participants are invited to meet at 7.45pm next to the Palazz ta' Bettina and to bring a torch. For more information, visit the SKALI Gudja Facebook page.
EXHIBITIONS
Ceramic Art Collective
A collective exhibition of ceramic artworks is on at the Cittadella Cultural Centre Hall 2 in Victoria.
Taking part are Mario Sammut, Charles Sammut, Hermine Anne Sammut, Phyllis Camilleri, Daniel Scerri, Joan Haber, Christian Formosa, Paul Scerri, Katrin Formosa, Victor Agius, Chris Saliba, Mariz Cassar, Nadia Haber and Sylvana Magro.
The exhibition comes to a close on August 26. For more information, visit the Gozo Ceramics Festival Facebook page.
Artworks forming part of the Ceramic Art Collective exhibition. Photo: FacebookA Healing Journey: Redefining Environmental Challenges
An art exhibition aiming to promote minorities and the environment is open in Victoria.
A Healing Journey: Redefining Environmental Challenges forms part of a project which visual and conceptual artist Mary Rose Saliba is conducting with a group of senior citizens in Gozo named SMART.
The study is envisioned towards the self-discovery of dormant talents, as well as enriching the emotional well-being of minorities and marginalised people to help them integrate and gain their voice in society.
The SMART team’s exhibition features mixed media artworks that include samples of earth, soil, rocks, stone, dried leaves and tree trunks which the group have collected during walks in the countryside as part of the project.
The exhibition is open until August 28 at the Banca Giuratale, Independence Square, Victoria. One may visit from Monday to Friday between 7am and 2.30pm and on weekends and public holidays from 9am to noon.
Polymorphs
Claire Farrugia is presenting her first solo exhibition at The Palm Court Lounge at The Phoenicia, Floriana.
Consisting of works on paper, panel and canvas, Polymorphs shows the artist's concern with the fact that the online portrayal of imagery that the public consumes is often far from the truth; most of the time, it is actually a made-up form of reality.
The exhibition focuses on ‘human polymorphism’, with the subjects presented in a natural stance and with a filter using a mobile app.
Curated by Charlene Vella, the exhibition also includes a section featuring the artist’s self-portraits.
Polymorphs is open throughout the month of August. Entrance is free. For more information, visit the exhibition’s Facebook page.
One of Claire Farrugia's artworks on display at The Phoenicia.Prehistoric pottery making
An exhibition presenting the results of a scientific investigation of materials and techniques used in pottery making during Maltese prehistory is open at the National Museum of Archaeology. The exhibition runs until the end of August. Opening hours: Monday to Sunday from 9am to 4.30pm.
Bellum in Mundum
After a seven-year hiatus, artist Tonio Mallia is presenting a new series of works that reimagine a world shaken beyond its tipping point, where the tensions between the human and natural world are no longer at play, nor are they creative or life-giving; they have devolved into a tyrannical order in which mankind becomes subject to its own freedoms.
The exhibition, curated by Giulia Privitelli, runs at MUŻA – Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta until September 11. For more information, visit muza.mt.
One may also read the Times of Malta interview with the artist.
The Summer Showcase
Bureau Iniala, in collaboration with Marie Gallery 5, is presenting a curated selection of works by a number of local artists.
These are Paul Serri, Trevor Borg, Vince Briffa, Ryan Falzon, Victor Agius, Isabelle Borg, Stefan Spiteri, Sheldon Saliba and Joseph Farrugia.
The showcase aims to be a way for artists and collectors to enjoy works that do not necessarily fit within one collective narrative.
One may visit the exhibition at Bureau Iniala, 37, Treasury Sreet, Valletta, from Monday to Friday between 10am and 4.30pm until September 22. For more information and updates, visit the Facebook page of Marie Gallery 5.
Recycled Peacock Chair by Ryan Falzon, one of the artists exhibiting at Bureau Iniala. Photo: Facebook/Marie Gallery 5Amelia Saint George works at The Phoenicia
Artist Amelia Saint George is exhibiting a number of her sculptures at The Phoenicia, Floriana.
The sculptures are in clay, bronze and mixed media, and portray animals, which Saint George is particularly well-known for, as well as some humorous sculptures that are more closely associated with her portrait sculptures.
Saint George, who has made Valletta her home, is an established, award-winning contemporary sculptor who has exhibited locally and internationally. She is also the author of several books on diverse subjects and holds sculpting lessons in her Valletta studio.
One may visit the exhibition at the Phoenicia’s Deep Nature Spa in August and at the hotel’s reception in September.
One of Amelia Saint George's sculptures at The Phoenicia.Willie Apap – Colour and Light
A retrospective exhibition of works by Willie Apap (1918-1970), considered one of Malta’s leading exponents of 20th-century art, is currently on at Il-Ħaġar – Heart of Gozo Museum in Victoria.
The 70 works on display feature portraits, landscapes and still-lifes, dancers, human figures, sacred and ethnic works in oils and inks, and are accompanied by a lavish 100-page GEMS # 20 catalogue.
The exhibition, curated by Maria Cassar, runs until October 10. Opening hours are from Monday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm. Entrance is free.
The exhibition is supported by the Malta Tourism Authority and the Gozo Ministry’s Cultural Directorate. For more information, visit the museum’s Facebook page.
whatson@timesofmalta.com