Mcast students celebrate 10 years of art and design

The Mcast Institute of Art and Design’s annual student exhibition is celebrating its 10th anniversary and for this occasion, the student/teacher body has decided to host the show in-house – at the institute’s premises in Tarġa Gap, Mosta.

Displaying works by an unprecedented number of students, the exhibition promises to be a feast to the senses with creative productions in a wide variety of traditional and contemporary media and materials

The exhibition will be inaugurated by President George Abela on Monday, and will remain open daily between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. till July 5. Through this initiative, the students get the opportunity to showcase their creativity, skills and talents and strengthen their contacts with potential employers within the creative industries.

Exhibits on display are varied and include 3D projects in various materials and finishes, as well as professional graphic design, interactive animations and projections, and audio-visual work, all carried out by students throughout the academic year. The work will also celebrate the success of the first graduates in the newly launched BA (Hons) in Fine Arts, as well as moving image productions from media students, both at national diploma and higher national diploma level.

It is the first time that the exhibition is not being held in an art gallery. This was no accident but an opportunity for students to gain even more experience in the hosting of such events. All staff members at the institute have been working in tandem with students, generating ideas and developing concepts on how to best utilise the various spaces available and transform them into adequate exhibition spaces.

Students finishing their Higher National Diploma or their degree were allocated specific areas for which they were responsible, from concept to realisation, as part of their programme of studies. The students’ creativity was put to test even in this arduous task, as they audaciously put together a variety of unorthodox materials to set up their exhibition spaces.

During the inauguration, the students will also present an international fashion event; the culmination of two EU programmes in which the Institute of Art and Design has participated over the past two years. Artistic fashion creations from local students will walk the catwalk alongside works produced by students from art and design and fashion schools in Scotland, Denmark and Italy.

Students and staff from MCAST’s Institute of Community Services are being roped in to merge fashion design with their hair-styling and make-up skills, on the participating models.