Photo: Emma Louise Walker and Kostas Papamatthaisakis in Lucía Piquero's Blood Wedding (photo credit: John Ambrogio)
The streets of Valletta will be overtaken by plays, sculptures, dances and even a jazz band, to celebrate the research conducted here in Malta in unique ways at this year’s Science in the City on Friday 29 September from 18:00 onwards.
Science of Dance, co-ordinated by Lucia Picquero, will recreate the brain on stage with a troop of dancers. By representing the neuronal connections inside the brain with fluid movements or parts of the body, the dancers will be able to highlight the differences between a healthy brain and one afflicted by a disease. The audience is invited to get up close to this unique interactive experience, and see what’s going on in their heads.
Jazz for the Brain (full concert on 28 September at 21:00 and mini concerts on 29th September from 7pm) sees jazz musicians improvising their music depending on the brain images they will be seeing. The performances will be held at Santa Barbara Church in Republic Street.
Get Your Act Together, by More or Less Theatre, will be taking part at Spazju Kreattiv from 7:30pm. The project uses the medium of drama to raise discussions on societal issues namely cancer and suicide. The plays also touch upon the scientific research within these topics. This is the first year of this two year project, with exclusive theatre readings.
Also at Spazju Kreattiv, is an immersive sculpture titled “Transmission Interrupted”, put together by Martina Camilleri (MCAST). Representing the damage sonar technology has on how marine life communicates, the structure combines man-made materials with eerie soundtracks of underwater sounds. This haunting structure will be on display at the Atrium in the week running up to Science in the City, and at 9pm on the night.
The massive moving light sculpture Light Pushes Stuff, a life-size hologram, and creative performances will also happen throughout the night on multiple stages around Valletta, this is shaping up to be one of the most creative festivals yet.
The Science in the City—European Researchers’ Night festival, is organised by the University of Malta, the Research Trust of the University of Malta and the Malta Chamber of Scientists together with a large number of partners. It is funded by the European Commission’s Research and Innovation Framework Programme Horizon 2020 (H2020, 2014–2020) by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions and recognised as a Festival by Europe for Festivals and Festivals for Europe (EFFE). It is supported by Ministry for Education and Employment, Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation, BPC International and a number of corporate sponsors.
Full programme is available at www.scienceinthecity.org.mt or on Facebook.