Back from Berlin...again

I haven't been updating my blog at all for the simple reason that I was in Berlin for most of August, and I rarely had an hour or two to spare on updating the blog.

The visit to Berlin this time differed a lot my my previous visit in many ways: the major difference was that I was doing a work experience with T616 office, preparing all the promotion material for the 12th edition of the InternationalLiteratur Festival.  This year, it is going to be held in Berliner Festspiele, a lovely place which i visited during the press conference of the literature festival.

During my first day at work, the team discussed the cover for the catalogue.  The theme of this year's festival is "Europe Now", and questions the place of literature and arts in Europe while it is in an economic turmoil. One of the suggested covers showed me on a cow, holding a revolver and the Maltese cross, but it was rejected as being too comical.

Apart from working on the sponsors pages in the programme and posters, I also had a meeting with the Maltese Embassy in Berlin, where I had to promote the festival and get support for the screening of experimental films related to religion in Malta.  These films were done by 6 media students from MCAST, the college from which I graduated.

It was a pity that I couldn't stay for the festival, which is taking place between the 5th until the 16th September...but I strongly suggest anyone who can make it to go.  The link for the festival's homepage is the following http://www.literaturfestival.com/

Apart from working at the office, I also had some meetings with art galleries in Berlin, and we discussed the possibilities of collaborations in the near future.  Hopefully such collaborations would be more possible if I follow my plan to settle in Berlin by next April/May.

I also managed to see some good shows this time, bands which included Star Fucking Hipsters at CLASH, Diva Kolletiv, Cut my Skin, E-egal and COR in Postdam, at a venue called Archiv.

So we are back in Malta, where the studio hunting and collaboration partners continue.  I plan to finish off pending work, mostly paintings and the car crash series, and work for an exhibition early next year.