Essentially, On Art And Art Education In Malta is the offshoot of a symposium held in November 2005 that was based on Raphael Vella's proposed study on art and art education in Malta. The symposium involved the presentation of a series of articles all of which aimed to assess current educational provisions in the visual arts in Malta and Gozo. It provided an analysis of the amount of time devoted to art in Maltese and Gozitan schools and assessed the quality of art education offered to students at different levels. Suggestions about possible improvements were also made in the hope that such issues could be addressed by policymakers.
Clearly, the publication On Art And Art Education in Malta helps the reader gain an understanding of the various aspects of art education in Malta. As Dr Vella states in the Introduction, it does not provide an idealised picture of a hypothetical "promised land" but instead gives a realistic description of the current condition of art education in Malta. The text aims to reach out to the public and the government by asking them to recognise and give definition and meaning to art and art education in Malta.
In effect, the publication is divided into two parts. The introduction provides the reader with an interesting outline of the history of art and art education in Malta. Prof. John Baldacchino's philosophical paper in Part One describes how Maltese art is filtered with contradictions of shifting identities and, finally, the essays in Part Two represent the proceedings of the Art Education in Malta symposium held in 2005. The presentations present the reader with an insight into the management of art education in different sectors and institutes in Malta and Gozo.
Just as the text illustrates, in comparison to other European countries, Malta is towards the bottom of the list as far as the time dedicated to visual arts in public schools is concerned. This is mainly because art is not regarded as an important subject. As Jessica DeBattista says in her article The Malta Society Of Arts, Manufactures And Commerce, the Maltese do not give art its due importance and what makes the teaching of art doubly difficult is the fact that teachers hardly find any cooperation from parents who regard art as a hobby and not a subject. Activities like exhibitions and art discussions need to be well advertised in order to arouse interest in art.
Indeed, due to the insufficient provisions for art in secondary schools, students are receiving a poor cultural and aesthetic education. As a result, as Donald Friggieri states in his paper Practical Thinking And Intelligent Making, a significant number of portfolios of artwork by students applying to join higher level art and design courses tend to manifest a tendency of conservative and unadventurous approaches. The reason is probably due to there not being enough time allocated to art lessons which would therefore improve the standard of one's work. Without doubt, schools should have art on the curriculum from primary classes onwards so that as the child gets older, he would then be in a better position to produce more advanced and varied work.
Another problem faced this time by the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta is the lack of adequate space, such as workshops and studios, for art which has hindered the development of the programme. Dr Vella brings up this major concern in his essay The Practice Of Reflecting On Practice: Art At The Faculty of Education. No doubt, the academic system will always leave an indelible mark on the development of art and art education and such inadequate facilities are only going to nail down any attempts to improve learning and the development of skills.
Certainly, On Art And Art Education In Malta addresses key issues in local art education. It seeks to assist the public in becoming more informed on core educational issues. The arguments are presented with relevant data support. Together, the different writers promote the different practices of art and art education in Malta as well as the challenges ahead. The text is an eye opener because no other Maltese publication offers an overall picture of education in visual arts. Without question, On Art And Art Education In Malta serves to form a basis on how the teaching of art in Malta can be improved.
• Ms Montanaro is a postgraduate student at the University of Edinburgh. She is reading for a PhD on psychoanalysis and surrealism in Britain.
• A review copy of this title was provided by Allied Publications.
Clearly, the publication On Art And Art Education in Malta helps the reader gain an understanding of the various aspects of art education in Malta. As Dr Vella states in the Introduction, it does not provide an idealised picture of a hypothetical "promised land" but instead gives a realistic description of the current condition of art education in Malta. The text aims to reach out to the public and the government by asking them to recognise and give definition and meaning to art and art education in Malta.
In effect, the publication is divided into two parts. The introduction provides the reader with an interesting outline of the history of art and art education in Malta. Prof. John Baldacchino's philosophical paper in Part One describes how Maltese art is filtered with contradictions of shifting identities and, finally, the essays in Part Two represent the proceedings of the Art Education in Malta symposium held in 2005. The presentations present the reader with an insight into the management of art education in different sectors and institutes in Malta and Gozo.
Just as the text illustrates, in comparison to other European countries, Malta is towards the bottom of the list as far as the time dedicated to visual arts in public schools is concerned. This is mainly because art is not regarded as an important subject. As Jessica DeBattista says in her article The Malta Society Of Arts, Manufactures And Commerce, the Maltese do not give art its due importance and what makes the teaching of art doubly difficult is the fact that teachers hardly find any cooperation from parents who regard art as a hobby and not a subject. Activities like exhibitions and art discussions need to be well advertised in order to arouse interest in art.
Indeed, due to the insufficient provisions for art in secondary schools, students are receiving a poor cultural and aesthetic education. As a result, as Donald Friggieri states in his paper Practical Thinking And Intelligent Making, a significant number of portfolios of artwork by students applying to join higher level art and design courses tend to manifest a tendency of conservative and unadventurous approaches. The reason is probably due to there not being enough time allocated to art lessons which would therefore improve the standard of one's work. Without doubt, schools should have art on the curriculum from primary classes onwards so that as the child gets older, he would then be in a better position to produce more advanced and varied work.
Another problem faced this time by the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta is the lack of adequate space, such as workshops and studios, for art which has hindered the development of the programme. Dr Vella brings up this major concern in his essay The Practice Of Reflecting On Practice: Art At The Faculty of Education. No doubt, the academic system will always leave an indelible mark on the development of art and art education and such inadequate facilities are only going to nail down any attempts to improve learning and the development of skills.
Certainly, On Art And Art Education In Malta addresses key issues in local art education. It seeks to assist the public in becoming more informed on core educational issues. The arguments are presented with relevant data support. Together, the different writers promote the different practices of art and art education in Malta as well as the challenges ahead. The text is an eye opener because no other Maltese publication offers an overall picture of education in visual arts. Without question, On Art And Art Education In Malta serves to form a basis on how the teaching of art in Malta can be improved.
• Ms Montanaro is a postgraduate student at the University of Edinburgh. She is reading for a PhD on psychoanalysis and surrealism in Britain.
• A review copy of this title was provided by Allied Publications.