MCAST students on Erasmus+ project in Germany

Students from the MCAST Institute for the Creative Arts visited Max-Born-Berufskolleg in Recklinghausen, Germany for their final Becoming a Designer in Europe mobility project.

Becoming a Designer in Europe is an Erasmus+ project involving five educational institutions from across Europe. Over the course of this two-year project, students from Germany, Italy, Malta, Poland and the United Kingdom have explored both the differences and similarities of each country’s creative practices while also engaging with their European peers.

MCAST Institute for the Creative Arts in Mosta has been part of this project, joining numerous international lecturers and students from various European educational institutions.

Four students following a BA in Graphic Design course (Matthea De Bono, George Lewis, Scott Schembri and Sarah Schembri Warr) participated in the final mobility project held between 22 and 29 September. This mobility was part of a series of exchanges aimed at broadening students’ professional horizons by making them more aware of what a creative career in Europe entails.

Before meeting in September, all participants created visual patterns which form part of their represented cultural identity. The students adapted their patterns to previous research on traditional Maltese cultural icons.

During a screen-printing workshop, the participants created an open calendar. Approximately 50 copies of each pattern were hand pressed and printed among the students to create the finished product. It contains a collection of patterns influenced by each country’s respective culture together with a list of significant annual design events taking place across Europe each year. The result is a visual embodiment of the project’s rationale and represents the culmination of all the research and collaboration carried out throughout the project.

As an end to the project, students also organised a small exhibition that presented their experience through the past two years and showcased their work to the public, including future employers within the industry.