EASA Malta 2015 - Issue 3

Perceptions of EASA The past few days have seen a familiar face floating about the EASA site. Chris Maloney is a tutor at Birmingham School of Architecture and Design, a veteran of six EASAs and a former organiser of EASA Manchester 2010. He has swung by for a few days to conduct a study among our numbers.

Chris wants to ask this year’s participants to explain their perception of EASA as an organised network - how they view the structure of the assembly and their place within it. The responses that Chris receives will go towards producing an online questionnaire, and the data will eventually be fed back to the next INCM.

“I’m here because EASA is very interesting but hard to define structurally. I’ll be looking for commonalities between people’s answers in order to better understand outlook. The EASA network is evolving every year and first-timers will obviously have a very different view of things to those who have a few years under their belt.”

Chris can be found at the EASA site today with his green book, in which he wants participants to share their views using sketches, diagrams or key words. It is very important to also state how many EASAs you have been to, and everyone’s opinion is welcome and valid.

You can also get in touch with Chris at ck.maloney@gmail.com and umbrella would like to urge participants to take part.

Amsterdam Expressionism

I am getting so hot, I wanna take my clothes off...!

Ahmed Nuur Ibrahim founder of the NGO African Media Association which hosts radio programs for African migrants in Malta came to EASA yesterday. Ahmed is a journalist who was invited by the Immigration Game to tell us his story of his escape from Somalia, with a dream to end up in Europe.

The hot weather is making us all want to strip down to get rid of all the constricting clothes we have on and the police has noticed this as well. The organizers were informed that we should keep the “orgies” away from the public streets. An orgy within the site is more than acceptable though. Umbrella even recommends this. But all you ladies and men as well ofcourse, remember protection! The morning after pill is illegal in Malta so there won’t be a chance to regret later and we don’t want any std’s spreading around Europe and the world either.

Stay happy, free and safe!

Ahmed from African Media Association

Behind the stage you find piles of limestone blocks stacked nicely together, some have been carved, others are starting to resemble a structure. Amsterdam Expressionism is working with the material to build a pavilion on top of the bastions but first they need to do a full scale mockup as the building site is used for a wedding this weekend.

When more than 18 fellow journalists were killed in Ahmed’s hometown of Mogadishu, he feared for his own life and left the capital to move around the different regions in Somalia. Since Ahmed covered humanitarian issues, life got even more difficult for him so he had to leave for Ethiopia.

The participants seem to be thrilled with the workshop and one of them even elevated it to be the best workshop in EASA. The tutors are ambitious and have a professional but laid back attitude towards the work. Tools for a great success are definitely there and Umbrella has no doubts that the workshop could end anything but spectacular! In any case, all the physical work will result in slim and muscled EASAians giving an extra reason to go and have a look behind the stage.

“I was not welcome there either, so I left my two sons and wife behind and headed to Sudan, where I faced the same threats. It was then that I decided to follow my friends to Libya for Europe”

On top of working hard sculpting the stones, there’s an exciting idea of a limestone Olympics planned for next week. Everyone is also welcome to go and try out sculpting the stones by contacting the tutors after dinner time. Next week some help might be also wanted and especially strong EASAians should lend a hand.

Umbrella is excited to see the end result and highly recommends making a visit to the workshop – and not just because of the beautiful people!

RESTORATION GARDEN A week has passed by. Thanks to the help of the organizers since still not so many EASAians know where the beautiful garden is, Umbrella this week got a chance to visit the lovely antique Msida Bastion’s “secret” garden, where the Restoration Garden workshop is progressing.

L UMBRELLA

Humans of Valletta

Due to the heat and outdoor working, everybody started early in the morning, had a long break in between and ended their day at six in the evening. The previous cement joints on the 15th century stone walls have to be removed and replaced by a more suitable substance that will not destroy the stones. The most difficult part of the task is that the participants have to differentiate the original joints from the 15th century with those badly done in the 1990s. The tips from the tutors is that the joint types can be classified by colour and how they dry out by using water.

After fleeing sub-Saharan Africa for Libya, he was kidnapped by smugglers in the desert and had to pay a ransom of $3,500. Once in Tripoli, he was thrown in prison, as he had no documents or money.

“Everything is about money in Libya. If you have money, you’re safe, if not you’re beaten up or jailed. When I managed to escape, I paid another $800 to get on a boat headed to Europe, but we ended up in Tunisia instead.

“We were 85 in all and we were taken to the border between Libya and Tunisia. For the second time I was thrown in a prison cell but I managed to run away again.”

His family sent him money to flee on a boat again where he spend 4days and 4 nights without food or water. “I really thought I was going to die” but he was “lucky” enough to be saved by the Maltese armed forces. He says he will always remain grateful to the Armed Forces of Malta. Once here, he received refugee status.

Ahmed arrived in Malta on 28th August 2013 where he would be able to start his new life. “When I gained my freedom and moved to the open center in Marsa, I started looking for a job in journalism but this time I wasn’t so lucky. So I thought of doing what I do best: inform and entertain. That is why I am urging migrants who are journalists by profession to join me on my African music radio show” he adds.

XXX

Ahmed now has his family here with him in Malta and is very happy with his new life. He will be back on Tuesday if anyone has any questions.

N°03 2015

Though thought to be just a manual work, the job requires lots of theory to be understood and as well high concentration so as not to harm the precious heritage.

It seemed that everyone enjoyed what they were doing alot. There is no limit for the work, everyone can do as much as possible. But amazingly they have achieved more than what the tutors expected for 2 weeks in just 5 days!

{umbrellanewspaper@gmail.com}

Sunday 9.8.2015 15:00

National Evening bonding with your country

18:00

National Evening preperations

20:00

National Evening getting pumped

21:00

National Evening your first rakiya

21:02

National Evening mayhem

Monday 10.8.2015 10:00

Excursion Hangover

Your preception of the EASA-network:

Gossip Girl

Sangria night

Manifolds

Yo bitches! What a night we had with all that Spanish heat. It’s clear that the mating season for architects is here. Thankfully, the orange tent on the ground floor of the accommodation has started a much needed service for all you EASAians. You can rent it for some sexy time for just 5€ and every third visit is complimentary. There’s some regulars already and the popularity of it is pretty much guaranteed by the amount of couples formed by now.

The Spanish excelled themselves on Friday with their famous sangria night. As usual they went above and beyond to provide us with one of the best nights of EASA, spending all day chopping fruit and mixing hundreds of liters of alcohol in a big yellow tub. The music, provided by DJ Miguel set the mood, with lots of salsa spotted on the dance floor.

Before the rain may have slightly scuppered Manifolds’ plan, they were beginning the preparation of materials for the final pavilion.

To prepare for his and learn the correct folding techniques the team shows practiced by designing some furniture. As pictured above Nadia (Scotland), Fiona (Switzerland) and Rita (Hungary) made some flexible furniture which can be turned from bed to a full dinning set and all folded away again at the end.

Some sad faces and even couple of tears have been spotted though because some of the couples have ended up dissolving. But don’t be disheartened, a new adventure is waiting right around the corner. Just ask one of the players who had a strike of three ladies in one night. And how about switching teams? One of the handsome gays have scored himself some ladylove.

Of course, with the heat only a few glasses were needed to start the kissing game- and boy didn’t that spark some romance. Each time you refilled your glass a letter was given out to stick on your head. If you found your matching letter you could kiss that person for a free shot!

A tall man from Scotland was seen picking up pairs on the floor sticking one on his head and giving the matching pair to the girl he liked behind the, sadly for him that didn’t quite work out. You didn’t get to chose, just hope you get lucky! The hangovers on Saturday were helped to clear with just a little rain, so on to the next one!

And if you have missed all the action, there’s nothing to worry about.

From the years of EASA-experience, I can make an exposé: the casual fucks don’t last but the friendships formed during our time together carries on through time and distance.

And who rocked my sangria? That’s a secret I’ll never tell.

You know you love me, Xoxo Gossip Girl

I have been to ________ EASAs. Fill this space and return it to any Umbrella-member to help out Chris with his research.

Storm alert!

Malta was hit by a storm yesterday and the scene was like it was a doomsday. People running around saving their belongings as fast as they could. Surprisingly not too much damage have been spotted as the organizers had equipped us with plastic covers to shield the water.

Most EASAians were in a positive mood and took the best out of the situation and enjoyed a natural shower or had a little dance in the rain. Afterwards the scene made us reminiscent last year’s National Evening when we all slept outside as well.

There is still a chance of rain till Wednesday so it’s wise to keep your things together and ready to be rescued on a short notice.

What are your expectations of National Evening?

Ken, Ireland, participant Blathmhac, Ireland, participant

Julian V, Malta, organizer Justin, Malta, participant

K: Apparently you just get locked… Smashed. Shitfaced. Falootered. Trolleyd. Yeah, a trolley describes the situation well.

B: Pure unadulterated, hedonistic debauchery. Everybody talks about it but no-one remembers it.

K: Muntered. Gee-eyed. Bollocked.

B: The storm was merely a silence.

K: Sandpapered. Milled. Hooped.

Off my tits! Dashed.

K: I think we’re better with hangover words.

J: I have no expectations for national evening so I won’t get disappointed. I think I’ll be spending a lot of time by the Spanish and their ham.

V: I think there’s going to be a lot of naked people, EASAians running around in their underwear. The site will look amazing for sure!

J: I’m going to eat that much that I don’t get too drunk.

V: But it’s the mixing of different drinks that really kicks your stomach…

Press Play

Excursion to White Rocks

The team are have come up with an electric, motion sensing creature which will end up hanging from the accommodation at the end of the week. The animal like object has sensors which send out an echo to gage the distance of someone standing near it, then it can pull up the sides and look towards you. The group have been working in the fab lab to bring all the components together and two members have been writing all the codes. If you see strange hanging objects go up close and you might get a shock!

The photographers of Secta Darkroom workshop went on a trip to the abandoned buildings on white rocks. The blocks stand empty and windswept on the western coast of Malta, just north of Valletta. As the participants are learning the ways of analog photography, different settings provide new challenges and compositions. Part of this idea was to use the last remaining modernist structures from the British rule in photographs with parts of the body. Pairs wondered in and out of the shadows, making shapes with arms and legs for the afternoon, with just enough time to swim at the end. We are looking forward to the final photos in their exhibition at the end.