ArtBeat showcases the creativity of young people with mixed abilities

Bright splashes of colour, sketches and a range of mixed-media works created by young people with diverse abilities will go on public display on 3 July at MICAS in Valletta, showcasing the results of a year-long programme of therapeutic art workshops.

ArtBeat Goes Public, which is the culmination of the past year’s therapeutic workshops for young people aged 11 to 18, showcases the artistic abilities of children and young people with disabilities.

Organised by The Malta Trust Foundation’s through its Centre for Music and the Arts, ArtBeat’s workshops provide a safe and accepting space for these youngsters to explore and express their creative spirits.

One young member described ArtBeat as a wonderful experience that he will always fondly remember. “The environment during the ArtBeat sessions was incredibly wonderful, and I could feel the sense of community being created in that space,” he added.

TMTF chair Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca expressed the hope that this exhibition would become an annual event, and that ArtBeat would find its natural home within Dar Saura, once the Centre for Music and the Arts moves to the new premises in Rabat.

“ArtBeat became a place to share worries,] laughter, interests, stories and ideas. These therapy sessions allowed the team to think together about each member's interests, needs and individual talents as they develop and evolve,” she said.

ArtBeat meets weekly, giving its members the opportunity to work alongside one another as individuals pursuing their creative ideas, while at other times collaborating as a team and drawing inspiration from each other.

“We are proud to have this opportunity to show family and friends some of the beautiful things we have created over the past four years. Even more importantly we love belonging to this group and are very excited to be 'Going Public’,” one of ArtBeat’s members said.

ArtBeat’s exhibition is on for one day, 3 July, at Micas, Valletta, between 5-7pm. Entrance is free