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Intercultural Expressions 2008 - 5 Senses

St. James Cavalier Centre for Creativity is currently hosting an innovative and interactive exhbition aimed at children as part of its year-long intercultural dialogue programme. The aim of this interactive exhibition entitled 5 is to immerse young children in a magical environment inspired by the five senses. Children can rediscover the worlds that unveil before them: smells, sounds, tastes, sights and textures. The exhibition reflects the intercultral dimension of daily life and allows children to learn about cultural diversity in a hands-on and fun-driven way. It stimulates cultural curiosity in an innovative, informal, and multisensory setting.

Through light beam interaction children can compose their own rythm interacting with special “sounding pillars”. These were created by artists Vanessa Galea and Ruben Caruana, using percussive sounds from around the world exlcusively selected by the renowned percussionist Renzo Spiteri. This part of the exhibtion makes use of Optimusic technology and is sponsored by Transient Light and Sound Ltd. An animation created by Mark Scicluna is also part of the exhibition Representing the sense of sight. The animation is based on drawings made by children about their cultural origins, attitudes and lifestyles during creative workshops led by the Community of Malta Artists. A variety of spices and herbs placed in contemporary wooden structures built by artists Jennings Falzon and Elaine Vella evoke scents from different cultural traditions.

The sense of taste is represtned through an interactive installation by Terry Flaxton named In other people’s skins, inspired by Da Vinci’s The Last Supper. Children are summoned around a table for a virtual intercultural dinner. Finally, artists Ruth Curmi and Stefan De Battista have set up a tactile environment for children to explore. The exhibtion, curated by Katya Borg and assisted by Andrea Scorcia, will run until November 2. Entrance to the exhibition is free. The exhibtion is another project devised and commissioned by St. James Cavalier Centre for Creativity and supports the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.