New artworks at the Marsa Hamrun Bypass outdoor art gallery
Il-Holma t’Alla (God’s dream), a series of photos by photography student Nathan Camilleri, is on display at the outdoor gallery of the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass, as part of an ongoing collaboration between the MCAST Institute for the Creative Arts and Infrastructure Malta.
Camilleri’s photographic series is inspired by Anton Buttigieg’s poem by the same name. A former President of Malta, Buttigieg (1912-1983) is also one of the most notable figures of Maltese 20th century literature. Il-Holma t’Alla invites the reader to appreciate and respect our planet as a divine work of art. Through his photos, Camilleri takes viewers on a sensory journey of the narrative of this poem.
The young photographer explains that “this project brought together and documented the human element, nature and art in the same way that they are often intertwined in life. The photos expose our local environment as a tool to build a dialogue between literature, artistic interpretation, and the viewer. The congenital artistic creation reflects itself in our local landscape, which is an integral part of a collective effort to protect our earth, which is here represented by the image of a young girl.”
Infrastructure Malta and the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology’s (MCAST) Institute for the Creative Arts set up the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass outdoor gallery, the first of its kind in Malta, in December 2020. Set in a long lay-by along the vertical gardens of this road’s southbound carriageway, this outdoor gallery is giving the Institute’s students an alternative exhibition space that makes their artistic work easily accessible to thousands of road users who travel through this arterial south-central route every day.
Carmen Aquilina, Pierre Mifsud and Darren Tanti, the three lecturers who planned and directed the setting up of this art gallery, used this collaboration to study public and community art as a pedagogical tool, encouraging the public to learn to observe and appreciate artistic creations. The lecturers compiled a pedagogy tool kit to guide educators, educational administrators and other individuals engaged in similar public art projects. A copy of this tool kit can be obtained by contacting the Institute on 2398 7753.