Imagination run wild

Local author Clare Azzopardi speaks to Dean Muscat about the magic of children’s literature, her project Ħarba and the importance of arts funds.

For Clare Azzopardi, the aspiration of organising the first international children’s literature festival in Malta was close to her heart. Through submitting a successful proposal under the Malta Arts Fund (MAF), as well as securing other important logistical help, she finally got the chance to coordinate Ħarba; a five-day book fair held at St James Cavalier, Valletta, in 2010.

If Malta wants its creative people to work full-time in the arts, it needs to invest more and believe in its artists

To give artists some breathing space to do what they do best, being creative, the Malta Arts Fund was launched in 2009; the initiative was set up by the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts and the Ministry for Culture.

Having written numerous increasingly popular children’s books in Maltese, Azzopardi wanted Ħarba to not only allow children to fall in love with reading as an infinitely engaging and enlightening leisure activity, but also to fall in love with the books as fun physical artefacts that can ignite their imagination.

“I’ve always wanted parents to realise books can provide their children with just as much fun as toy trucks, dolls or video games,” says Azzopardi, explaining her starting point for pushing her pet project forward.

“Parents always seem to be reluctant to buy their children books as they assume children won’t be interested. So that is why one of the fundamental goals of this festival was to create an environment where children can play with books and treat them almost as toys. I wanted to show how children’s imagination can run wild with books, even if they don’t necessarily understand the text.”

In fact, even the most well-read children could certainly not have been expected to understand all the books on display at Ħarba as to foster this environment of books and play, Azzopardi gave Ħarba a purposefully distinct international twist.

Authors and illustrators hailing from countries as diverse as Spain, Portugal, Iran, Lebanon and Romania were invited to promote their work and give interactive workshops for both children and adults.

The unique styles and aesthetics of such heterogeneous children’s literature provided an impulse for the attending children to encounter books in a fresh context.

“Just because children are not familiar with a language does not mean they cannot enjoy a book. They can leaf through the pages, delight in the illustrations, all the while creating their very own stories,” explains Azzopardi.

It may come to a surprise to most but a festival such as Ħarba is very expensive to organise. Flights, lodgings and travel expenses of all the overseas guests have to be taken care of, as well as all the costs for decorations, stands and art installations within the venue.

“One aspect of the organisation of the festival I am most proud of is that everyone was paid for their time and contribution to its success. It was only fair.”

With over 1,000 children attending the five-day course, and extensive positive feedback from both adults and children alike, Ħarba was a great success.

Will we be seeing a second edition of Ħarba in the future?

“The amount of energy and work that goes into a project like Ħarba is immense,” says Azzopardi.

“While I am extremely happy with how well-received the festival was, the sad truth is I know I won’t get much else out of organising another, apart from the joy of seeing my project come to life.”

Unfortunately joy alone does not pay the bills. Not that she rules the idea out completely, but with a full-time teaching post, along with the time she fervently invests in her writing, there is only so much time in a day.

“Artists abroad can make a living from project funding. An Irish friend of mine who is a poet – and everyone knows there is not much money to be made from poetry – spends months giving creative workshops and is paid well for his services.

“That way he can sustain himself for the rest of the year, and dedicate all his energy to his art without having to face serious financial burdens.”

Regarding the local situation, Azzopardi stresses, “The MAF is an important initiative and a great step forward. The government needs to invest more in the local creative sector as at the moment almost no one gets paid. If Malta wants its creative people to work full time in the arts, it needs to invest more and believe in its artists.”

Merlin Publishers has recently published three new Clare Azzopardi children’s titles: Terramaxka, Ġużeppina and Il-Każ tal-Aħwa De Molizz Jispiċċa Llum.

www.clareazzopardi.com

www.maltaculture.com