Ambit Ġgantija Archaeological Park

Xagħra | Gozo | Malta

For immediate Release

Gozo, 29 October 2022

The magic and energy of the Neolithic constructions embrace Cristobal Gabarron's artistic action in the heart of the Mediterranean.

The Spanish artist has brought to the island of Gozo in Malta the fifth edition of his proposal 'Ámbito', with which he is touring the world.

The new work, a 3 x 9 m mural, has been titled 'Landscapes. Traces and times'.

Xagħra. Gozo (Malta). 29.10.2022

The magic of the megalithic temples of Ġgantija declared of universal interest by UNESCO, has made vibrate this morning the artists and personalities who attended the new edition of 'Ambit' that the creator Cristobal Gabarron (1945, Mula, Murcia. Spain) has displayed in the Maltese island of Gozo, in the middle of the Mediterranean.

The Archaeological Park of Ġgantija on the periphery of the town of Xagħra has become a space for experimentation and reflection on the safeguarding, preservation, revitalization and enhancement of heritage, shedding light on the creative link between culture, art and innovation with heritage as a dynamic and cohesive force that unites them all.

The artistic encounter was held from 11:00 am to 2:30 pm in front of the main wall of the impressive megalithic complex of Ġgantija, which was erected in three stages over several hundred years (c.3600-3200 BC) by the community of farmers and shepherds who inhabited the small island of Gozo in the central Mediterranean. The rituals of life and the cycles of the seasons seem to have been practiced within these enclosures, while the sophisticated architectural achievements reveal that something truly exceptional was taking place on the Maltese islands more than five thousand years ago.

There, under the bright Mediterranean sun, Gabarrón has brought together nine artists, mostly Maltese and exponents of different artistic disciplines, with the aim of highlighting the importance of historical-artistic heritage, which more than ever needs the attention of our society and which is fundamental to understand where we come from and where we are going.

The work has been baptized with the name 'Landscapes. Traces and times'. "Landscapes, for the multiple scenarios that can be seen from this special geographical point. Traces, those left by man, in this case for more than five thousand years. Times, for the respect of time, first that of Mother Nature, then that of the people who erected these marvelous constructions, and now ours, the contemporary one that we enjoy and with which we compare ourselves. Everything has worked well, the artists have interacted, I discover new landscapes and I realize that I need time, a lot of time, my mind needs time to process, to think and keep a very open mind," said Gabarron at the end of his work.

The artistic encounter, organized by Heritage Malta, Spazju Kreattiv and the Gabarron Foundation, started with a few words from Russell Muscat, General Manager for International Relations at Heritage Malta, the main public entity responsible for national heritage in Malta, "Ġgantija holds a special place in the collective memory of many people and has different meanings for all those who in one way or another passed through or came in contact with this space.... It is an architectural jewel and a testament to sophistication, especially considering that it was built more than 5,000 years ago. The material evidence found at this site and in adjacent areas is a testament to the inhabitants and their practices. The more we study and research these people, the more we understand how close they were to our contemporary daily life. The need to represent the different members of the community and their animals."

Gabarron then began to sketch his first strokes in greens, at the same time that the poet and writer Francesco Grech read an unpublished poem, composed as of today, with all the meaning he needed to communicate to the rest of the artists and attendees, one part in Maltese and one part in English, which spoke of the beauty of these landscapes, at the same time of his need to know what happened in Ġgantija, what these ancestors of his wanted to transmit to us, but above all, he moved on to an essay on the responsibility of the current generations, on what we are going to leave to our generation and to those to come, talking about that important and enigmatic trace.

The improvised music of the electronic creator Charlon Calleja, who dialogued harmoniously with the monument and with Gabarron who continued to capture on that canvas of 3 x 9 meters the architectural plan of the temples, until the violinist Pierre Louis Attard from the Gozo Visual and Performing Arts School, presented his sophisticated and beautiful contemporary discourse.

A great surprise for the audience was when suddenly, the avant-garde dance of Julia Lundberg, conquered the spaces of the canvas, proposing a rupturist proposal, through 5 stones that she moved, wrapped with her body and carried from one end to the other of the stage integrated into the landscape of the archaeological park.

Jonathan Orchard, dressed as a harlequin and made up as an ancestral character, sang, danced and masterfully expressed "his fears about the lightness of a part of our society, which did not know where it was going to take us", commented the writer Albert Marshall of the Arts Council Malta.

Maribel Bajada's contemporary dance, depicted magical beings such as fairies and deities who were the protagonists of ceremonies performed for thousands of years in Ġgantija. All this was captured by the cameras of Lithuanian Karolis Vitonis and Spaniard Jordi Serqueda.

This fifth edition of Ámbito, held in the city of Xagħra on the island of Gozo, was curated by Rupert Cefai, president of Fondazzjoni Kreattività, who expressed his satisfaction and joy "for the powerful momentum that took place, for the dialogue between all the participating artists and for the pure and free creation in a natural setting of enormous historical and artistic richness".

More information: www.gabarron.org/Ambit

E-mail: prensa@gabarron.org

Dpt. of Communication of the Gabarron Foundation

For immediate Release

Valletta, 28 October 2022

Cristobal Gabarron invites to reflect on historic-artistic heritage through his art making proposal 'Ambit' in Gozo, Malta

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Multidisciplinary Spanish artist Cristobal Gabarron (1945, Mula, Murcia), together with creators, scientists and thinkers from Malta, invites to reflect tomorrow Saturday 29th, through a new edition of his artistic proposal 'Ambit' at the Ġgantija Archaeological Park in Xagħra, Gozo (Malta).

The artist Cristobal Gabarron chose Ġgantija in Xagħra, to highlight the importance of the historic-artistic heritage, declared of universal interest by UNESCO.

The artistic encounter is at 11:00 h (local time) at the Ġgantija Archaeological Park in Xagħra, Gozo (Malta). The awe-inspiring megalithic complex of Ġgantija was erected in three stages over a period of several hundred years (c.3600-3200 BC) by the community of farmers and herders inhabiting the small island of Gozo at the center of the Mediterranean. Rituals of life and seasonal cycles seem to have been practiced within these precincts, while the sophisticated architectural achievements reveal that something really exceptional was taking place in the Maltese islands more than five thousand years ago.

AMBIT Gabarron Xagħra is a space for experimentation and reflection on the safeguarding, preservation, revitalization and enhancement of heritage and sheds a light on the creative link between culture, art and innovation with heritage as a dynamic and cohesive force that bridges them all.

'Ambit' is an original artistic proposal in which, through the action of ‘happening, performance and action painting’, creators of each habitat and edition act in a participative way developing their artistic works, such as painting, poetry, music or dance, in an improvised and choral way, in dialogue with Gabarron, who will capture live all that impulse on a large canvas of 9 x 29 feet.

The event, organized by Heritage Malta, Spazju Kreattiv and the Gabarron Foundation, will be attended by personalities from the artistic and educational world and thinkers, as the writer Albert Marshall from Arts Council Malta, the musician Pierre Louis Attard from Gozo Visual and Performing Arts School, the dancer Julia Lundberg, the writer Francesco Grech, the dancer Maribel Bajada, the performing artist Jonathan Orchard, the electronic musician Charlon Calleja or the videographers Karolis Vitonis and Jordi Serqueda, who will actively participate in the reflection and conversation that this unique momentum will generate.

This new collaborative meeting is curated by Rupert Cefai, the Chairman of Fondazzjoni Kreattività, and coordinated by Russell Muscat and Daphne Sant Caruana from Heritage Malta.

This is the fifth edition of 'Ambit', which after starting its journey in Spain has already visited India, Germany and United States, and in the coming months will visit Egypt, Nepal and Australia, among other venues. The idea is that this initiative will continue for two more years reaching geographical enclaves of special interest to Gabarron located on five continents.

The ‘AMBIT’ event forms part of the Gabarron, the Colours of Hope exhibition programme. The exhibition will be held as part of the Spazju Kreattiv programme from Friday 4th November till Sunday 10th December 2022 at Space A and Atrium, Spazju Kreattiv.

More information: www.gabarron.org/Ambit

E-mail: prensa@gabarron.org

Dpt. of Communication of the Gabarron Foundation

Final work: Landscapes. Traces and times

AMBIT: HAPPENING + PERFORMANCE + ACTION PAINTING

AMBIT is the main program of the commemorative events of the 30th anniversary of the Gabarron Foundation. After passing through Spain, India, Germany, and USA, the next edition will be held in Gozo (Malta) on October 29, 2022 at the Ġgantija Archaeological Park, Xagħra, Gozo. Malta. In November in El-Bahnasa (Egypt), in December in Kathmandu (Nepal). For 2023 editions are being prepared in Australia, Canada, Chile / Costa Rica / Mexico, China, Ghana / South Africa, Qatar and Spain.