The Platform
The Platform houses the Serendipitous Encounters Programme. As part of the overarching theme for the programme, Ambitious seeks to negotiate between the intersection of Art and Science as a medium to prompt collaborations between Ancient Craft and Contemporary Digital Craft in advancing both past and present processes.
The Serendipitous Encounters Programme is sponsored by the Arts Council Malta.
Methodology:
Primarily, as a main objective for the artistic programme, ' The Platform ' will envisage the pairing of the Arts & Culture field with that of the Science & Technology field. The programme of activities seeks to promote the Art and Science pairing as a methodology in reviving a dying craft.
As a second objective, the framework of the programme will adopt a bottom-up approach by tapping into the rich existing, cultural identity of the respective villages. Following an in-depth analysis into the villages of H’Attard, Hal Balzan and Birkirkara, the identification of the ceramic and embroidery crafts offer a rich intersection with the pairing of digital tooling.
The proposal informs the inception of a platform aimed at exploring and sharing this rich intersection. Through a method of playful, Serendipitous Encounters , the intersection of Art and Culture with Science and Technology, provides an ideal setting for cross-fertilisation. ' The Platform ' will offer a space for collaboration between Artisan and Scientists, in a method of discovery, as a tool for the transfer of knowledge between the participants. In particular, the intersection between the digital and the analogue processes offer an opportunity for professional development. In addition, the programme of activities offers an educational workshop with a capacity building objective for the communities of Hal Balzan, Birkirkara and H’Attard .
Digital Textiles
Workshop Series 1 - SEDW1
The first workshop series encompasses a collaboration between a local textile artisan and a technologist in a discovery to develop a new process. Equipped with an experimental design intent, two creatives, with distinct design logics, will set forth on a venture to create a contemporary fashion product paying homage to local cultural craft. The collaboration between two design houses involves Jean-Claude Farrugia, a doctor turned fashion designer, and Matthew Catania, an architect and technologist, to merge their bespoke design processes into a unique fusion of processes. Jean-Claude shall put forward his custom embroidery technique whilst Matthew shall engage the use of additive manufacturing (Fusion 3D Printing) towards an innovative method in the fabrication of a new craft. Together the marriage of experimental processes between the artisan and the technologist offers an enriching research testbase.
Digital Ceramics
Workshop Series 2 - SEDW2
The second workshop series consists of a joint collaborative effort between Francesca Balzan, a local ceramic artist, and Matthew Catania, a local technologist. The Digital Ceramics Workshop Series invites the pairing of the ceramic artist, and the technologist. Here the Analogue process present within the ceramic art, will mix with the Digital Process of Additive manufacturing (Liquid 3D Printing), in an act of cross-fertilization between two distinct design processes. In particular, the workshop series invites the negotiation of a shared process to develop and evolve the ceramic art towards a venture into an innovative digital practice.
Digital Craft
Workshop Series 3 - SEDW3
As part of the Serendipitous Encounters Programme, The Digital Craft Workshop Series utilises the derived knowledge from the previous two workshops (Digital Textiles Workshop & Digital Ceramics Workshop) in a methodology to share the intelligence with a greater audience. The idea is to offer an informal educational dimension with an intention to foster a community of locals with an awareness towards the ancient crafts (Ceramics & Embroidery) present within the villages of our island. The Digital Craft Workshop Series provides the participants with an exposure to several local crafts and seeks to equip the interested individuals with the command of digital tooling skills, as a method to unlock the development of capacity building. Furthermore, the latter stages of the programme, invites the participants of the workshop to attempt to discover their own localities' ancient craft and utilise the gained knowledge as an opportunity to revive these dying trades.
