The 3-year project Acting on the Margins: Arts as Social Sculpture (AMASS, Grant no. 870621) came to a close on 31st January, 2023.
The within the University of Malta's one of the partners in this project, organised a closing event in Valletta on 28th January.
This activity - a symposium called Impact of the Arts: Symposium on culture, participation and social engagement- was organised by and Research Support Officer brought together various speakers moderated by Austrian curator Maren Richter, who travelled to Malta specifically for the event held at Valletta Contemporary.
In this well-attended symposium, speakers Raphael Vella, , Josette Ciappara, Kristina Borg, Karsten Xuereb, Toni Attard, Margerita Pul猫, and Gabriel Zammit, moderated by curator Maren Richter, discussed the role of social engagement in AMASS and other similar artistic projects and the perils of instrumentalisation. They discussed the shift of various contemporary practices towards creative processes that encourage participation, collaboration or activism.
Members of the public were invited to join in the debate about the social purposes of art today.
