When the exhibition showcasing the dissertation projects of the University of Malta’s Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts was cancelled due to COVID-19, digital arts students realised they would need to take their work online. In a first for the faculty, ground-breaking show Ctrl Z will launch later this week. The collective digital arts exhibition, which includes photography, animation, graphic design and illustration, has been entirely organised, designed and curated by the students themselves.

The Sunday Times of Malta talks to coordinators Giulia Micallef and Chalise Bugeja about adapting to the digital shift and what we can expect from these up-and-coming artists.

When did the Digital Arts students find out that the final year exhibition would not be taking place as usual and how did you all feel?

We found out around mid-March, around two weeks after University closed. We felt somewhat lost considering that this hadn’t been done before, and obviously we felt disappointed that we weren’t going to showcase our works as originally planned.

How did you reach the decision to do an online version of the exhibition?

This was a decision that was taken and approved by the faculty board and the senate. It was then discussed at a higher level than the department. The Department of Digital Arts, as the name implies, has the remit to cover arts, technology and digital media. In the department’s bye-laws, exhibitions can be both physical and online. Although it had never taken the online route, we were able to put our studies into practical use as digital arts students and were best suited for this shift.

Who is taking charge of organising the online exhibition and what are their roles?

Dr Trevor Borg and Dr Matthew Galea are the lecturers on the study unit for this exhibition. We were appointed the role of coordinators in order to represent the entirety of our year. The website itself is being created by students Rakel Vella and Luigi Rizzo, with the help of Ryan Sammut and the support of Dr Adnan Hadziselimovic.

What has been involved in the ‘digital shift’ of the exhibition for the students?

Most of the projects were envisaged for a practical exhibition, so when we were notified about shifting it online, many struggled with the fact that their works had to be compromised. We faced many challenges, including teams having to switch their roles and sort of starting over. Something everyone learned was to adjust and accept the circumstances, and make it a positive experience.

Something everyone learned was to adjust and accept the circumstances, and make it a positive experience

What have been the advantages and disadvantages of going online?

We’d like to believe that this carries a lot of advantages, the main one being that people can access our works whenever they wish. This also gave us the opportunity to create something that has never been done before within our course. The main disadvantage was having to adjust our finalised projects, but that has now been dealt with as we were given an extension on our deadline.

Can you tell us about the exhibition?

Themes that are common throughout include character development, portraiture, gender, relationships and the human senses. Our exhibition is the culmination of all the work we’ve done in the last three years, and even though it is the end of the course, it is also a new footpath for us all. Without a doubt, each and every one of us has put our heart into the final product and we hope that this shines through to the audience.

What purpose does the final year exhibition usually serve for students and how do you think this year’s online version will be effective in accomplishing this?

The exhibition presents an opportunity for students to meet potential employers who are usually invited for the opening of the physical exhibition. It is also a means of getting our names out there, as up-and-coming artists in our respective fields. Fortunately, this can still be done through the launch of the website, which will go live on our Facebook page on May 29.

What is next for you all now that you are finishing your studies?

The pandemic has certainly changed our future plans, as some of us wished to go abroad while others wished to find employment immediately. Even though it’s still a big question mark, we do hope that this exhibition will present us with opportunities from potential employers that get to see our work.

How do you hope the show will be received by the online audience?

We hope that people get to see the hard work we have all dedicated towards this exhibition, and that we are very proud of what we have accomplished in the last few months, considering the current circumstances.

A word from Dr Trevor Borg and Dr Matthew Galea on behalf of the exhibition curatorial team.

How do you feel about the ‘digital shift’ and how students have adapted their show into an online format?

The course of studies is a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) degree with Digital Arts as the main area of specialisation, so we fully embrace the digital shift. At its core, this practice-based course intertwines studio-practice with hybrid and emerging technologies, theory and contextual studies.

Given the nature of the digital realm, we are constantly updating our teaching and learning approaches to reflect contemporary shifts and developments. The current situation ushered in a quick response with regard to the final exhibition. The students were quick to adapt and make the most of this new reality by moving their degree show to a dedicated online platform.

What we should expect from the show and why shouldn’t we miss it?

CTRL-Z is the first exhibition of its nature for the department and the University. Not only is this show entirely online on a platform designed by the students, it was also curated entirely online and will be launched via Zoom, which is another first for our department. In this regard, this exhibition is breaking new ground.

The show is a testament of our students’ command of digital media and the new and emerging digital platforms. We have 35 artists and designers who will be displaying their research and whose contributions range from video to animation, painting, illustration, storytelling, immersive installations and other media. The show also displays a wide spectrum of thematic approaches through areas as diverse as gender identity that is approached through photography, clothing and dance, surviving the war, sound/image synthesis through dance and performance as well as custom-built audio-visual synthesisers, the notion of surveillance, atmospheric landscape painting, portraiture, artificial intelligence and the interpretation of dreams, homelessness, nostalgia and the act of remembering, just to mention a few.

Ctrl Z launches on Friday, May 29 at 6pm. For information visit facebook.com/exhibitionctrlz instagram.com/ctrl.z.bfa, or Facebook event page BFA CTRL Z facebook.com/events/236806954293171