Women in Malta is a portrait exhibition project consists of women who are over 40, living in Malta and successful in their field and made their contribution to the country and people. In March 2015, Women in Malta Exhibition was held at the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Valletta, inaugurated by H.E. Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, former President of Malta.
Watch trailer with mobile click HERE
This exhibition project “Women in Malta” is a portrait photography exhibition project. I am inviting 15 amazing women who are over 40 and living in Malta to join this project. This project is to raise awareness of women’s influence in Malta.
Every woman has her own stories to tell. I hope to through the portraits exhibition and the stories of the women will help to encourage, inspire people and encourage people to employ and promote more women in life.
Sponsorships are very welcome to support and finance this project. The portraits will be exhibited from 9th March 2015 for 2 weeks at the Chamber of Commerce, Republic Street, Valletta.
This exhibition project “Women in Malta” dedicated to my dearest friends, family and all the women in Malta.
The portraits will not be revealed before the exhibition.
Here is the list of the 15 ladies, do come to see their beautiful portraits from 9th – 20th march:
(List is not in any particular order)
Helga Ellul – Director of ADVISE LTD, former CEO of Playmobil for over 30 years
Laurie Pace – Olympian, former Judoka
Mariella Pisani Bencini – TV Producer and Writer
Rosetta DeBattista – Musician/Educator/Therapist
Rebecca Farrugia Hall – Flautist – Musician
Sylvana Brannon – Director at Stem Cells Malta Ltd
Janet Mifsud – Professor in Pharmacology of University of Malta
Lorraine Spiteri – Chairperson of the Malta Confederation of Women’s Organisations
Joan Abela – Historian, the chair person of Notarial Archives
Ariadne Massa – Journalist – Head of News, Times of Malta
Maria Pisani – Academic and Activist
Lorraine Schembri Orland – Judge
Locations: Malta Chamber of Commerce, Pjazza Teatru Rjal , Mediterranean Conference Centre, Teatru Manoel and Casa Rocca Piccola
The team:
Makeup artist: Anabel Attard
Hairstylist:Rimvydas Stasiunas
Assistant: Justyna Ch
Cinematographer:Malcolm Debono
Photographer: Amanda Hsu
Links:
Exhibition event: https://on.fb.me/1BuQcSK
Official trailer: https://youtu.be/hlhe5zv7KOQ
info@amandahsu.com
Updates and logs about “Women in Malta” will be posting on this page, stay tuned!
26th March 2015:
All the photographs were dismounted yesterday. This whole project took me 6 months, finally all is finished and done. I’m happy. I feel so tired and think I can sleep for a week…..
Blog update:Amazing Ride
https://amandahsu.com/amazing-ride-women-in-malta/
Left:Joe from the Chamber of Commerce, joined me for a quick shot. xD
24th March 2015:
Thanks for coming to the artist walkabout! 🙂
17th March 2015:
Last day of my exhibition “Women in Malta”, we are going to have Artist Walkabout.
I’ll be walking you through the photographs, telling you the stories behind them, where the ideas come from and how we made the project. It would be interesting, come and join us.
Date: Tuesday, 24th March 2015
Time: 2pm and 5pm (2 tours)
Place:Malta Chamber of Commerce, Valletta
PM me for booking the tour. (Free)
Hope to see you at the Chamber on Tuesday.
Women in Malta Exhibition from 9 – 24 March at Malta Chamber of Commerce, Valletta. You’re all very welcome to visit. Free Entry.
Official trailer: https://youtu.be/hlhe5zv7KOQ
Exhibition website page: https://bit.ly/1CfgUjl
17th March 2015:
Interviewed by TV program Meander on Net TV. Promote video link.
15th March 2015:
Sunday Times of Malta, published the news about my exhibition “Women in Malta”. Thanks so much Times of Malta for reporting the news. Hope this will help to get more people to know about these 15 amazing ladies.
Photos by David Bugeja.
8th March 2015:
It was really an honour that Ms. President of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca visited my exhibition opening and being very supportive.
Thank you Mr. David Curmi the President of the Malta Chamber of Commerce for the wonderful speech and supporting the exhibition project right from the beginning.
Huge thanks and hugs for everyone who helped and support me to make this exhibition project. Friends and family are my motivation and drive. Love you all!
Thank you for all the friends who attended the exhibition opening. It was great having you all there.
More photos from the exhibition opening click HERE.
2nd March 2015:
Invitations are out, some international audience included.
28th Feb 2015:
Official Posters are out!
27th Feb 2015:
My exhibition is becoming installation art involved. For the idea of suspending photographs in the mid air, there is much more to do. These 2 marvellous men, Joe and John are helping me with it, the engineering aspect of installing the photographs is beyond my knowledge.
Thanks for all the men who help with my exhibition project “Women in Malta”, you’re awesome!!!
Thanks Sue for the photos.
9-20 March at Malta Chamber of Commerce, Valletta.
Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/349986581870181
26th Feb 2015:
Official Trailer for my exhibition “Women in Malta”.
Please share.
Huge thanks to everyone who helped me with this project, either in practical or spiritual ways, all very important to me. I’m immensely grateful to you all. (For mobile click HERE)
25th Feb 2015:
Wine at the opening sponsored by Marsovin.
23rd Feb 2015:
Photographs are arrived! Busy unpacking!!
11th Feb 2015:
I plan to have the photographs suspended in the midair at this beautiful courtyard at the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Valletta. There still a few more things to attend to, a couple of more sponsors would help. Please contact me if you would like to sponsor my exhibition project or your boss might be interested, it would be a good publicity for their company and business.
8th Feb 2015:
Interviewed by Pink Magazine – the leading women’s magazine in Malta. Click HERE to read the interview. It’s about my work and also my coming exhibition.
6th Feb 2015:
“Women In Malta” sponsored by GTI Group Co Ltd, Kenjo Kyoto.
26th Jan 2015:
“Women In Malta” sponsored by MSV Life.
24th Jan 2015:
All the photo shoots with 15 ladies of “Women In Malta” all went very well.
Here is the list of the 15 ladies, do come to see their beautiful portraits from 9th – 20th march:
(List is not in any particular order)
Helga Ellul, Sandra Mifsud, Charlotte Grech, Laurie Pace, Davinia Galea, Mariella Pisani Bencini, Rosetta DeBattista, Rebecca Farrugia Hall, Sylvana Brannon, Janet Mifsud, Lorraine Spiteri, Joan Abela, Ariadne Massa, Maria Pisani, Lorraine Shembri Orland
12th Jan 2015:
H.E Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta has gladly accepted to inaugurate the exhibition entitled Women in Malta being held on Saturday 7th March at 1930hrs at The Malta Chamber of Commerce in Valletta.
9th Jan 2015:
The gowns for 15 ladies is Malta is sponsored by Kenjo in Valletta.
6th Jan 2015:
Thanks Teatru Manoel for supporting us for the location shoots!
5th Jan 2015:
I’d like to think that I am immortal (too much The Lord of The Rings), I make magic (too much Harry Potter and photography) and time is the most valuable thing and everything (too much Lucy. I’m having a love-and-hate relationship with time. )
There are rough times when I have to keep telling myself “don’t give up, keep going. ” But it’s nicer to hear someone to say it. (Friends are awesome!)
Anyway, after months’ preparation, contacting, meetings, research and work, finally “Women in Malta” is going to start the photo shoots next week. I’m very excited about it. This project has been testing my stamina and put me through challenges, nothing is easy in life as we all know it. It’s been a great ride and a lot of fun. (I’m loving it)
I’d like to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who help me with this project, I can’t do it without you and am immensely grateful to you.
The photographs for the “Women in Malta” exhibition won’t be uploaded to Facebook or Website. it’s totally “hush hush” as I would like to invite EVERYONE, all of you, to come to see the exhibition. (Journalists and TV programs are welcome to contact me for more information.)
My “Women in Malta” exhibition is on the 9th March for celebrating the International Women’s Day at the Chamber of Commerce, Republic Street, Valletta, for 2 weeks.
(Please put the date down on your diary )
17th Dec 2014:
I’ve made the decision to have 15 women instead of 20. I just had my birthday, realised I’m getting older, shouldn’t work too hard. So 15 is a good number, the list will be announced soon. Stay tuned!
10th Dec 2014:
I”m very pleased to announce that “Women in Malta 2015”, my Photography Art Exhibition is supported by: Pjazza Teatru Rjal, Casa Rocca Piccola, The Malta Chamber of Commerce and The Mediterranean Conference Centre.
6th Dec 2014:
I’ve known Sylvana for a while. She is one of my awesome clients and friends, we created some really amazing photographs together. We had good time during the photo shoot and after the photo shoot. We went partying and dancing together. We talked a lot about life but never talk about much about work.
[singlepic id=855 w=300 float=none] Photo by Amanda Hsu
She has the quality and the strength of a woman that I admire and she is one of my inspirations for starting this project actually. I wasn’t going to invite her to participate in project, firstly she is my friend, secondly I’ve already photographed her before I know she is going to do some mischief during the photo shoot and that would make my job extra harder. I love my friends and family but to be honest, they are the most difficult people to photograph. They don’t really listen to instruction and just find me very funny.
Then one day I met Sylvana, she said to me, “I’ve done a lot for women in Malta, you know.” Then she sent me messages, talked me into invite her to join the project.
Her work and ideas are very much focus on empower women. She is one of those rare endangered species I feel people should get to know more.
She has a company “Stemcell Malta”, you can go to her website to know more about her business.
Link:
https://www.stemcellsmalta.com
https://www.facebook.com/StemCellsMalta/timeline
She encourages natural birth at home and any other kind of birth, as long as women can make their own choice. She told me, “women should have options about what she wants for her and her child.”
“There are many women run a household or company successfully, they have clear mind, making all the difficult decisions precisely and carefully. But when it comes to child birth, they give away all their power to other people who don’t know her body as well as herself.” She said she finds it very strange and not correct. “Women should be the one to decide what she wants.” That I totally agree.
That just some of the conversation which struck me.
More of the stories will be publish on my website later.
30th Nov 2014:
I had more meetings with some of the 20 women last week. It was all very inspiring. Believe me, they were brain storming for me with the project, I get so excited that people would input so much idea and thinking into my project.
Why women over 40?
I get this question a lot.
why not?
There are so many reasons and where should I start?
They are so interesting to talk to, they are energetic, full of ideas and inspirations, they are smarter than me, they are funny, with good sense of humour, they are confident so they don’t take things personally. They are so easy to be with, there is no false pretension. I must admit that I always get along with them because, I like them very much before I even met them. They inspire me, encourage me. The energy they have around them, just incredible. There is never a dull moment during the conversation.
They know what they like, what they want, what is it about life. I feel very comfortable to be myself when I was with them. We talk about all sort of things in life and women love to share life.
There is only one thing about women, we are very conscious about our looks, sometimes too much, that let us shine less.
I think women over 40 are less photographed. When I talk to them, when they talk about something they love, they shine and they are beautiful. I know I can catch that moment for every woman and I would like to show them how beautiful they really are.
This is a poem by Hafiz, for all the women.
” I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness,
the astonishing light of your own being.”
17th Nov 2014:
I just had a very interesting meeting with a flutist Rebecca Farrugia Hall this afternoon. I think we were pretty much be ourselves and talked about all sort of things. It’s impressive to know that she has about 90 concerts a year both in Malta and abroad. I am hoping to see her performance on this coming Sunday in Valletta.
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Photographer: Joe Smith
She is like many of my clients who actually think having portrait photo taken it’s like going to a dentist – it’s painful when just thinking about it and maybe even worse. Firstly you have no control, secondly most of the time you have no idea what’s going on in your mouth. She told me about her feelings about portrait session. She feels she has no control whatsoever during the shoot and the photos can’t present her, “the energy was not there” she said. I agree with her in some point that a portrait can’t present a person’s personality entirely but a part of it. Then she told me that she feels in her photos the person in the photo is someone else, not her.
She rarely let people photographing her, I’m really glad that she accepted my invitation. I take it as a delicious challenge, I have confidence and good feelings about the portrait session and I think we will have a lot fun during the photo shoot.
I do a lot of preparation and very serious when planning a shoot. But when it comes to the time when shooting, I think a photo shoot has to be fun and tons of it!
I am grateful that since I start this project I got a lot of support and encouragement. I have very interesting conversations with the 20 women and I’m very grateful that they trust me and would let me take their portraits.
This project has taken up a lot of my time to prepare, planning the shoots, contacting people, finding sponsors, talk to people to get ideas, get advice, get inspired and find the right direction. It hasn’t been easy, I have to do a lot of research, about the women I will be photographing and the concept of the photo shoots etc.
It’s an very interesting journey about finding the 20 women, planning the shoots and later I will be planning the exhibition. I have pressure and feeling stressed at times, but generally, I’m really enjoying it.
Good news about the photo shoot location. I plan to have all the locations in Valletta. I would like to thank the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Mr. David Curmi who has given me the consent that we can use the Chamber of Commerce as the location for photo shoots. I have looked at the rooms in the building, they are absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much for the support!
30th Oct 2014:
We have a novelist who is known as a TV program Meander – Arti u Kultura producer joined our project, it’s Mariella Pisani Bencini.
I had a short meeting with Mariella yesterday. It’s like there is always not enough time to talk to these awesome personalities, I have a lot question to ask and they have to much can tell me, their positive energy influencing me and it infuse into my project. One thing I discovered is, they all look beautiful in person. I’m sure we are going to have good time for the photo shoots.
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24 Oct 2014:
We have an actress joined our project, Charlotte Grech. This is fantastic!
Early this week I had meetings with Davinia Galea, Sandra Mifsud, Charlotte Grech and Dr. Joan Abela. They are all amazing women and there are some qualities they have in common – they are active and with positive energy. I can’t wait to share their story with you.
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18 Oct 2014:
I had a very productive conversation with Helga Ellul on Thursday. She came to my studio in the afternoon after her golf course, we talked about one and half hour. I really enjoyed the conversation with her.
Before I met Helga, I saw her photographs on her website and social media. I must say that she looks much more beautiful in person. Helga told me she doesn’t like photo shoot, so I’m really happy and grateful that she would accept the invitation. We will have her photo shoot in early December. I have ideas and very good feeling about the photo shoot, I would like to make her look graceful and elegant, and we will definitely have fun.
“Whatever you do, you have to love doing it and ultimately love it.” –Helga Ellul
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14 Oct 2014:
We have Davinia Galea and Sandra Mifsud joined our project! This is fantastic!
Davinia was the CEO of Malta Council for Culture and the Arts for 6 years.
Sandra is a dancer and freelance dance practitioner. She has been giving lectures and teach in workshops, travel for work between Malta and the U.K.
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This project was performed in July 2014, at the Swansea National Waterfront Museum in Wales, UK as part of a festival called Dance Days, organised by the Taliesin Arts Centre
photographer: Phil Rees
11 Oct 2014:
We are looking for location sponsors. Rooms with antique furnitures, chandelier, old painting and old wall paper that kind of setting. Palace, hotel or private villa are all very welcome to contact us.
We are looking for dress makers, designers for making the dresses like the photo below, we want big skirts! The dresses are by R-Mine, please look at their website and Facebook for more inspiration. When you contact us please send us link or photos of samples of your work. Thank you.
Please contact us by email:womeninmalta@amandahsu.com
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10 Oct 2014:
I have sent out a few invitation earlier this week, I am very happy to tell you that “no one has turned me down” yet! I was expecting rejections as I understand many people don’t comfortable in front of camera. I am so grateful to have these women join the project.
Now we have:
Joan Abela – Historian, in Secretary Malta Historical Society. Read about her:Chance to help preserve ‘treasure’ and Expert brings new life to Malta’s oldest poem.
Helga Ellul – The first business woman in Malta. Her Facebook, her website. I’m going to meet her next week, how exciting!