From 25 to 30 April 2022, the School of Performing Arts of the University of Malta co-hosted the Indeterminacy Festival, alongside connections in Montreal, Chicago, and Buffalo, NY. The Indeterminacy Festival is an international festival aimed at re-disciplining and enlarging our understanding of artistic practice and creativity in the world around us.
Students at the School participated in workshops focused on an enormous array of topics in artistic practice, from sound mapping and acoustic ecology to movement studies, improvisation, and choreography. As part of the Festival, the School also collaborated with the Opening Doors Association and Step Up For Parkinsons to host workshops for participants led by leading international artists and pedagogues aimed at fostering greater inclusivity and involvement in arts education.
On Monday 25 April, Fulbright Scholar Brian Kavanaugh led a workshop in conjunction with the Opening Doors Association with young adults with intellectual disabilities. After introducing to the participants his ‘Studio Forward Method’, which focuses on facilitating individualised success, Brian gave them an exercise in groups, focused on three main questions: What is someone excited about? How can a person describe what excites them? How long can someone stay focused on what they are excited about? Inevitably, whilst trying to put empathy into practice, the participants discovered something new about themselves too.
On Wednesday 27 April, Michaela Nield of the Ohio State University led a movement workshop in conjunction with Step Up For Parkinson’s for people living with Parkinson's disease. Michaela led a hybrid session from Buffalo, alternating synchronous and asynchronous exercises. Overall, it aimed to practise active listening, self-other relatedness, and building empathetic understanding among the participants. In addition, non-verbal communication, shared leadership, and collaboration, created a relaxed but also fun learning environment in the classroom. This unique experience ended up being emotional and moving for all the participants.
On Friday 29 April, Dr Jesse Stewart (Carleton University, Canada) led an additional workshop in conjunction with the Opening Doors Association for young adults with intellectual disabilities. A constant conversation between music and movement was making the room vibrating. The participants played with their bodies, with their voices, as well as with different instruments. The highlight of the workshop was when the Maltese participants were dancing in front of the screen, and different gongs were triggered by their movement and playing in Canada.
