Art encounters at Cospicua Primary

Cospicua Primary, one of the schools within St Margaret College, is currently buzzing with artistic fervour and excitement as "Art Encounters", a Kreattiv project, takes shape and hold of the imagination of all concerned.

Kreattiv is an initiative of the Culture Parliamentary. It aims to bring together creative practitioners into schools to work with teachers and students to inspire, learn and create in a collaborative and innovative way.

The project at Cospicua Primary, organised in collaboration with Heritage Malta, brings together a number of artistic disciplines offering children the opportunity to experience artists at work with particular emphasis on the artistic processes involved. It is providing pupils with an opportunity to interact with the artists in a series of workshops and informal meetings.

The Maritime Museum in Vittoriosa is the artistic inspiration for the entire project. Pupils have had the opportunity to explore the museum, both in terms of the myriad of artefacts on display as well as in terms of its architecture

In turn, they are experiencing how artists use first hand experiences, in this case of the Museum, and how they translate these into works of art. Artist Dione Borg has just spent an entire week at Cospicua Primary School, in what can best be compared to an artist-in-residence programme

Pupils in Year 4 have worked closely with the artist creating some particularly interesting and evocative works. Next, Year 5 and Year 6 pupils will be working with the Malta Writing Programme and a musician respectively, exploring the theme through a completely different art form.

Eventually, artists and pupils will present their work in an exhibition that will be held at the Maritime Museum in May 2012. The actual process that leads to the setting up of the exhibition is an integral part of the project. The project in fact provides pupils with an opportunity to explore the workings of an exhibition, including logistical and financial considerations, design of invitations, accompanying documentation and promotion.