[attach id=274137 size="medium"]One of the sketches by Wot Art students.[/attach]
The designer sneakers of one of the two little boys playing football stand in stark contrast to the makeshift, plastic shoes of his playmate, which betray his poor background. Yet, the ball is the same.
This is just one of the sketches that will be developed into a full-blown painting live in Republic Street, Valletta, as part of week-long activities themed Uniting Against Poverty Through Art, Music And Culture between September 9 - 14.
Organised by the Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity, the initiative follows the eight public consultation meetings held recently across Malta and Gozo with the aim of giving poverty a face.
The campaign against poverty and social inclusion will culminate in a strategy drawn up by Yana Mintoff Bland, the Government’s consultant on poverty.
A ministry spokeswoman explained that the poverty campaign would now take a different and friendlier twist, that of uniting people against poverty through different art forms.
The week of activities will be divided into different themes, including poverty and education, poverty and work and poverty and health.Young students of art school Wot Art will be taking to their canvases at the steps of the old Royal Opera House between 5pm and 7pm daily except on Saturday. They will produce paintings with a theme which, in one way or another, brushes with poverty.
Passersby will be invited to pick up a paint brush and a tube of paint and join the young artists in channelling their artistic streak.
At the end of the painting sessions, 12 paintings will be chosen by a panel of judges to feature in the ministry’s 2014 calendar.
Wot Art tutor Ryan Galea described the initiative as “an interesting approach which unites various elements”.
“The point is that it’s all-inclusive. Everyone can pick up a pencil and draw something. The students will be giving their own interpretations of ways of beating poverty and the exclusion it often breeds.”
Wot Art will also be mounting an art exhibition at Palazzo Ferreria, Republic Street, Valletta.
The evenings will be filled with performances by live bands, short recitals and discussions, where the public, rather than politicians, will be the protagonists.
The ministry can be contacted through 2590 3126 or via e-mail at antipoverty.mfss@gov.mt.
Further details will be out on Facebook page Ningħaqdu kontra l-Faqar.