Larger than Life! Online Gallery

In ‘Larger Than Life!’ we commissioned 6 human rights posters from established local artists: Ed DingliSarah Maria SciclunaMagda AzabSeb Tanti BurlóLuke CaruanaDaniela Attard. Our idea was to produce posters unlike our usual NGO poster. Instead, we wanted stunning artworks that happen to be posters grappling with a human rights theme.

PURCHASE YOUR POSTER:

These posters are now available for sale, with proceeds going towards our human rights work. The artworks come in 2 sizes and are perfect for filling up your home or office space!

  • Limited edition of 3: 1m x 0.7m, printed on FineArt Baryta paper (350gsm) @ €250
  • Limited edition of 25: A3, mounted on foamboard @ €25.

If you are interested in the artworks for your home or office, get in touch.


Born UN/equal
Seb Tanti Burló

Article 1 – All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

This article sets the tone for the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. It’s a nice boomer belief, but seventy years later it is very, very, very far from our reality. Just look around you.

Born UN/equal is a riff off of Philip Castle’s famous poster design for Stanley Kubrick’s film Full Metal Jacket.


Remembrance
Sarah Maria Scicluna


This work is a memorial for all those who lost their lives crossing the Mediterranean Sea, in support of all those who have lost family and friends in such tragedies. While newspapers and official reports mostly focus on statistics of lost lives, many times the people left grieving are forgotten and left without a place for mourning.


This work is done line-by-line in a very repetitive manner, which is representative of both the surface of the sea and the ever-rising tally numbers.


Architects of our destiny
Magda Azab

Despite close to 100 years having passed since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, rights that seem obvious to me are unfortunately not always guaranteed for everyone in this world.

Wondering which aspects to highlight, I decided to represent what I think they all have in common and make them fundamental, namely to guarantee us the possibility of being architects of our destiny and none of us should be denied that. We are all human beings worthy of happiness and justice regardless of where we’re born, of our cultures, customs, lifestyles or religions.


Global Injustice
Luke Caruana

The wealthiest and most developed countries in the world are largely to blame for the cataclysmic effects of climate change. However, as we have already seen, these countries are not the ones that will suffer the most from these drastic weather changes. It is the impoverished countries that are facing the gravest consequences. Ecological disasters and poor harvests are increasing inequality and political instability.

The melting globe interprets the climate injustice we are experiencing as the rich (Global North) are able to buy their way out of the climate crisis while the poor (Global South) are forgotten.


The Promised Land
Ed Dingli

Entire lives left behind. Moments, memories, families, friends left behind. There is no choice except to make the journey to the promised land. We can see it so clearly now, on the horizon. The human rights declaration a beacon of hope, our moral compass by which the ship should sail. Except, between us and safety, a few more obstacles to overcome. The sea, in all its power and unpredictability, the coast guards, whose side will they be on?

And the locals, our new neighbours, will they welcome us? Will they understand our ways, our language, our culture? Hopefully they will understand that all we want, is to be safe.


27
Daniela Attard

Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.”

In this digital piece we explore visually the interconnectivity of the arts, culture and sciences and their ability to grow and flourish in any community. That is, given that anyone and everyone is allowed to participate and contribute.


With the support of:

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‘Larger Than Life!’ exhibition now open

On Friday 13 December we opened our exhibition of human rights posters, ‘Larger Than Life!‘ as part of the project supported Arts Council Malta. It was a fun, vibrant and engaging evening where the 6 fabulous artworks could be fully appreciated…with wine and pizza 😉

In ‘Larger Than Life!’ we commissioned 6 human rights posters from established local artists: Ed Dingli, Sarah Maria Scicluna, Magda Azab, Seb Tanti Burló, Luke Caruana, Daniela Attard. Our idea was to produce posters unlike our usual NGO poster. Instead, we wanted stunning artworks that happen to be posters grappling with a human rights theme. The 6 artists did a great job, their works vary in approach, tone, colour, mood and theme thereby giving the exhibition a truly composite feel.

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A new art project that’s larger than life!


‘Larger Than Life!’ celebrates the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by producing and exhibiting innovative, cutting-edge and dramatic human rights posters designed by some Maltese’s leading visual artists.

This is yet another project where we’re engaging with Malta’s artistic community in order to promote our human rights messages. We find this approach to be an enriching, exciting and fun way of reaching out to new audiences and ‘lightening up’ our often tough advocacy work! Past projects where we successfully engaged with the arts include 9 Parts of Desire (theatre, gender), You Are What You Eat (visual arts, migration) and Burning Bikinis (film, gender).

Through its Curatorial Team, which will include local artist and curator Alexandra Pace, the project will commission carefully-selected local artists to design large-scale Malta-relevant human rights posters, which are able to report/mediate fundamental messages as dignity, equality, respect, diversity.

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Awareness Campus – aditus at a training in Italy

From 3rd to 16th July 2017, Teatro Stabile di Torino and Banca San Paolo with the support of the Regione Piemonte organised the Training Awareness Campus in Moncalieri, Turin, Italy, addressed to actors, cultural mediators, animators, dancers, social workers, doctors, psychologists, physiotherapists, trainers, gymnasts, singers and students, aimed at the consolidation of a group for conducting theatrical practices for the care of the person and in particular for the migrants.

Being also a Drama Trainer and Artistic Project Manager of programmes exploring themes related to vulnerable, marginalised and displaced people, I flew to Italy, to Turin and was one of the 50 participants.

The training provided a safe space in which everyone, young people up to the age of 85 years old, could express themselves freely and explore their creativity. The applied learning method was based on the constant and rigorous exercise of awareness and attention through the practice of physical, vocal and narrative action and on the practice of articulated instruments for building a way of reflecting on space and relationships with the others. The training focused on acting, interactive theatre, devising to bear witness, raise awareness, and build alliances and a cultural resistance movement at the core of a free and critical society.

During the training, the practical work was supplemented by several public talks of pedagogy, philosophy, history, and literature held by professors and doctors coming from the University of Milan, Bologna and Turin. Also in the evening, the social life consisted of cultural events organised by local organisations of refugees, volunteering associations for people with disability and migrant women groups.

Fonderie Limone, Moncalieri, Turin, Italy.  Ph credit: Giulietta Vacis

The training was very intense, from 9.00 in the morning till 8.00 in the evening. Living for 2 weeks with a very diverse group of people, sharing very personal emotions and stories helped us to develop an environment of inclusivity and integration in which every person is made to understand that she or he has a contribution to offer.

The trainers’ team worked hardly to facilitate and encourage our social interaction, collaboration, positive communication, mutual support and listening through very specific exercises and social games. I think that producing state of art and thought-provoking theatre and media products in order to strengthen collaboration, self-awareness, creativity and imagination is extremely important for working in our community and advocating good governance, accountability, equality, integrity and justice.

Fonderie Limone, Moncalieri, Turin, Italy.                                      Ph credit: Giulietta Vacis

Artistic expression is a strategy to build a sense of community, of unity, of shared values, an alternative world view, and a commitment to making the struggle for social justice an integrated part of our lives.

The cultural resistance campus in Italy aimed to raise awareness and critical sense that is able to analysis of the reality around us and challenge all forms of oppression.

Fonderie Limone, Moncalieri, Turin, Italy. Ph credit: Giulietta Vacis

Antonella Sgobbo, Programmes Officer

 


Which blood colour do you prefer?

aditus science in the city

Which blood colour do you prefer?

On 30 September our installation threw pop culture, provocation, and art together to discuss and challenge racism. ‘Colourism Haemophobia: Blood colour complexion’ took place in Valletta at Café Society during Science in the City 2016, the Science night festival—European Researchers’ Night.

The event is supported by the European Commission’s Research and Innovation Framework Programme Horizon 2020 (H2020, 2014–2020) by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions. Valletta was transformed with interactive exhibitions, artworks, music, talks and live experiments; it hosted science-fun activities for children and young teens, and science and arts workshops.

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Our idea was to create an anti-racist message that could also be used to promote the blood donations. We played with two different concepts:

  • Colourism, discrimination based on skin colour;
  • Haemophobia, a pathological fear of blood.

Our installation presented the tendency to perceive and behave toward members of a racial category based on the lightness or darkness of their skin tone, with the underlying message that skin colour is quite literally skin deep.

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It was a success and a lot of people interacted with the installation, during a pre-dinner drink or a beer later with the sea views at Café’ Society making it the perfect setting for our artwork.

The festival is organised by the University of Malta, Malta Chamber of Scientists and the Research Trust of the University of Malta, in partnership with Jugs Malta, Studio 7, MEUSAC, MCST, Valletta Local Council, Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology, PBS, Notte Bianca, Spazju Kreativ, and General Soft Drinks with Coca Cola.

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