During a series of storytelling workshops held over the past months with groups of youths, five successful grandmothers from various industries involved in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) spoke about their work and other experiences and discussed obstacles and opportunities that they encountered during their journeys.
The intergenerational project, entitled Grandma Got STEAM, comprised three phases; the first consisted of the storytelling workshops between the participating youths and the five women. The second phase saw the development of the storytelling and design processes to capture the rich array of memories, emotions, hopes and dreams that the women had shared in the form of an illustrated storytelling pack of cards. The third and last phase comprised ‘train the trainer’ sessions.
Esplora director Rachael BlackburnEsplora director Rachael Blackburn said: “It was an honour to work with this group of youths and see them develop through their interaction with the team and grandmas. [It was] a perfect example of bringing science, art and the community together through intergenerational learning.”
Spazju Kreattiv artistic director Toni Sant said: “It is through collaborations with diverse organisations that creativity of expression can be allowed to thrive and develop across generations and disciplines.”
A month-long exhibition on the project was recently launched by President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca at Spot A, Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta. It will remain open until December 9.
The project was organised by Aġenzija Żgħażagħ through its Youth.Inc programme and the exhibition is curated by Spazju Kreattiv and Esplora. The participants collaborated with Dr Giuliana Fenech who facilitated the storytelling element, illustrator Julian Mallia and photographer Dragna Rankovic to develop the illustrated storytelling cards.
Grandma Got STEAM was financed by Il-Premju tal-President għall-Kreattività, an arts fund that supports social and community creative projects. The fund is coordinated by Arts Council Malta in collaboration with the Office of the President.