/library/oar/handle/123456789/1056 2025-12-28T15:22:25Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/142091 Title: Cultivating creativity : the transformative impact of art pedagogy Authors: Zammit, Charmaine Abstract: Art plays a key role in education, stimulating creativity, critical thinking, and emotional growth among students and teachers alike. This chapter explores how integrating artistic practice into the learning process enhances cognitive development, engagement, and interdisciplinary connections. Research has shown that exposure to the arts helps students develop transferable skills necessary in today’s dynamic world, such as problem-solving skills and innovative thinking. Moreover, artistic experiences enable teachers’ creativity to explore new pedagogies to keep themes and activities relevant. This leads to better connection with their students, encouraging deeper understanding of themselves, others and the world around them. This chapter examines how art-rich curricula contribute to a holistic learning environment, supporting diverse learning styles and embracing inclusivity. By incorporating creativity in education, schools can nurture well-rounded individuals who are equipped not just with technical knowledge but also with the imaginative capacities necessary for lifelong learning and adaptability to the increasing changes. Through an exploration of case studies, academic research, and practical applications, this chapter underscores art’s profound ability to transform education, shaping both students and teachers into more engaged, insightful learners. Recognizing and integrating artistic expression within educational systems can lead to more vibrant, innovative, and inclusive learning experiences for all. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/141780 Title: Cosmopolitan spirituality in Mediterranean Catholic religious sites : the case of St John’s Co-Cathedral, Malta Authors: Debono, Sandro Abstract: The restoration of Catholic religious sites often concerns the materiality of both ‘container’ and ‘content’. More often than not, the original scope, function, and purpose are no longer understood, with knowledge of these aspects potentially lost throughout the years. Indeed, rather than the multi-sensory experience that Catholic religious sites naturally promote, whereby artworks are activated by ritual, aesthetics become the defining value that shapes the experiential dimension of these sites. As Catholic religious sites become increasingly accessible to cosmopolitan audiences, the understanding of Catholic heritage becomes increasingly limited. As space and content are neutralised and detached from original function and purpose, the distinction between a Catholic church and a museum becomes increasingly blurred. This presents a greater challenge for non-Catholic visitors, who are placed at a disadvantage when accessing what can be described as the Catholic scenography of ritual, let alone comprehending the purpose of that scenography as a backdrop for a multisensory, albeit often historicized, experience of faith. This paper explores possible ways of engaging with Catholic heritage sites by evoking the multisensory experiences for which these architectural structures and their artistic contents were initially designed. Using St John’s Co Cathedral as a case study, I propose a framework that broadly identifies forms of activation intended at ‘restoring’ the public’s understanding of the original functions and purposes of Catholic religious sites. 2025-05-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/141290 Title: MUŻA : community curation as a tool for social integration Authors: Debono, Sandro Abstract: MUŻA is Malta's brand new national museum of art and flagship legacy project for Valletta's 2018 Capital of Culture title. The chosen name also stands for the project's vision and the key values which it enshrines, also recognised by the Network of European Museums Organisations (NEMO) as "overlapping ... with the values NEMO promotes" and which the project "even supersedes". The word MUŻA stands for three distinct values and a chosen vision with clear objectives. The word is an acronym for (Mt: MUŻew Nazzjonali tal-Arti); the Maltese name of Malta's now defunct National Museum of Fine Arts established in the 1920s as a Fine Arts Section within the then Malta Museum. [excerpt] Description: The MUŻA concept was conceived and developed by Dr Sandro Debono between 2014 and 2024. These papers collectively stand for the concept’s main wireframe.; Further related links within this collection provide additional documentation:; /library/oar//handle/123456789/20637 /library/oar/handle/123456789/108359 /library/oar/handle/123456789/107355 /library/oar/handle/123456789/141154 /library/oar/handle/123456789/141153 /library/oar/handle/123456789/107354 /library/oar/handle/123456789/123097 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/141154 Title: Futuring MUŻA … and a manifesto for European public art museums Abstract: In a few months time, Malta’s capital city, Valletta, will be European Capital of Culture for 2018, which shall also be European year for Cultural Heritage. The legacy of this milestone has been works-in-progress for quite some time with a cultural infrastructure including, amongst other projects, a national art museum. As we look forward to this eventful year, I would like to do futuring, or how we can anticipate the future by looking closely at current trends, developments and visioning. My futuring exercise shall concern this national art museum, MUŻA. The name goes beyond a mere branding exercise and stands for a chosen vision with clear and set objectives. The word MUŻA is an acronym for Mużew Nazzjonali tal-Arti, the Maltese name of Malta’s now defunct National Museum of Fine Arts established in the 1920s as a Fine Arts Section within the then Valletta Museum. MUŻA is also a direct reference to the nine muses, the Greek mythological figures from classical antiquity thought to inspire creativity. As a research project in its own right, MUŻA strives to rethink the museum model by means of a thorough understanding of its origins, true meaning and purpose. Description: The MUŻA concept was conceived and developed by Dr Sandro Debono between 2014 and 2024. These papers collectively stand for the concept’s main wireframe.; Further related links within this collection provide additional documentation:; /library/oar//handle/123456789/20637 /library/oar/handle/123456789/108359 /library/oar/handle/123456789/107355 /library/oar/handle/123456789/141153 /library/oar/handle/123456789/141290 /library/oar/handle/123456789/107354 /library/oar/handle/123456789/123097 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z