Dwejra Tower in Gozo is hosting an exhibition exploring the visual legacy of one of the Maltese islands’ most famous landmarks – the Azure Window, as part of an arts project entitled Azure Watch.

The cultural organisation Spazju Kreattiv together with visual artist Giuseppe Fanizza are inviting members of the public, artists and activists to engage with this project by sharing their photos, memories and experiences of visiting the Azure Window.  At the tower,  there will be a range of audio recordings, films, photographs and exhibits.

The Azure Window limestone arch was one of Gozo’s most famous landmarks which collapsed dramatically into the sea after a heavy storm early this year.

The objective of Azure Watch is to build and preserve an archive of photographs and images of this site and the surrounding landscape that would remain available for consultation and possible future implementation by the Gozitan community. Besides the impact on the environment and on the tourism economy of Gozo, the collapse of the window has equally important consequences on the iconography and the topographic memory of Gozo landscape.

The imagery of the Azure Window available on the internet, as transmitted by the tourists who visited the island, shows a standardised iconography that could become the only future memory of the Gozo landmark. In order to avoid such homologation and loss of identity, the organisers believe  that a prompt and common action needs to be taken.

The construction of the Azure Watch Archive will be coordinated by Spazju Kreattiv and Fanizza.

Anyone who wishes to submit media or make contact with Azure Watch can send an e-mail on azurewatch.media@gmail.com.

This project is part of the joint Artist-in-Residence Programme in Gozo by Spazju Kreattiv and the Valletta 2018 Foundation.

The exhibition at the Dwejra Tower is open on weekdays from 9am to 3pm and  on weekends from 10.30am to 3pm. The exhibition runs until October 29.  Entrance is free but donations are welcome, with all proceeds going towards the upkeep of the 17th-century tower.

The Azure Window collapsed during a storm earlier this year.The Azure Window collapsed during a storm earlier this year.

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