Meet the Judges for the Pitch Live Contest in collaboration with TECH.MT X ARTZ ID
Here they are, our four judges for The Pitch Live Contest, part of Digital, Shaping the future of art, a collaboration launched between Tech.mt X ARTZ ID , in aid to support artists and art professional navigate and use digital tools as part of their artistic and professional growth. The finalists will be pitching their digital project, idea or ways to use digital in their creative or professional development within the visual arts. Each will be judged based on their creativity, digital intervention, how this can help them further their careers and a clear plan of action on the way forward. Each finalist have already experienced a one hour mentorship session with our supporting partners, Red Orange Consultants, Blonde and Giant and Seed Consultancy. The winning pitch will be awarded a €2,000 prize to get their digital project or plan started. Meet our carefully selected judging panel:
Dana Farrugia
Ceo of Tech.mt
Dana Farrugia is the CEO of Tech.mt, a Foundation established in partnership between the Government of Malta and The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry to promote the National strategy for Technology & Innovation. She is engaged in ensuring sector growth for technology and innovation, primarily focusing on AI, blockchain, IOT, cloud services, data analytics, software development, robotics, cyber security and research on innovative solutions. Dana Farrugia has worked in the telecoms industry for fourteen years, mainly shaping the mobile, fixed, internet, tv, fiber and IP networks in Malta. She has also worked at the Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses for six years where she has developed an in-depth understanding of the needs of different local industries and also gained a sound exposure on the potential of various international markets. Dana Farrugia is also a Director at Malta Enterprise and at the Malta Start-up Foundation.
Andrew Farrugia
Co-Founder of Te fit-Tazza
Andrew Farrugia is the co-founder behind the instantly-recognisable Te fit-Tazza prints, which capture the essence of Malta’s multi-faceted, ever-evolving identity while paying homage to its rich heritage. In 2018 Te fit-Tazza acquired Souvenirs That Don’t Suck, and both brands are now showcased in their retail shops in Sliema & Valletta. In 2020 Andrew moved to Lovin Malta as their Chief Technology Officer before moving back to the company he co-founded as their General Manager.
Vince Briffa
Artist, curator and academic
Artist, curator and academic. Fellow of the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, New York.
Selected international representations and exhibitions include the Malta Pavilion, Venice Art Biennale, 1999 & 2019; the Pierides Museum, Cyprus; the Palais des Nations, Switzerland; the Museum of Modern Art, Liechtenstein; the Casoria Museum, Naples; Villa Manin Contemporary Art, Italy; MAC, Argentina; Palais Liechtenstein, Austria; The Museum of Fine Arts, Romania and the Museum of Modern Art, Israel. Commissioned projects at the Cork 2005, Pafos 2017, Valletta 2018 and Leeuwarden-Friesland 2018, European Capitals of Culture. His work forms part of numerous private and public collections.
Awarded the prize ‘Omaggio all’Arte ed all’Innovazione a Venezia 2019’ by The Union of Honorary Consuls of Italy (UCOI) and the National Association of Young Innovators (ANGI) at the 2019 Venice Art Biennale.
Curated exhibitions: NRW-Forum, Düsseldorf; the Münchner Künstlerhaus, Munich; Les Rencontres Arles; De Harmonie, Leeuwarden; the Museum of Fine Arts, Valletta amongst many others.
Angelo Dalli
AI expert and serial tech entrepreneur
Angelo Dalli is an AI expert and serial tech entrepreneur. Holding a Ph.D. in Computer Science, Angelo has distinguished himself for combining deep technical ability with commercial acumen.Angelo has founded 9 startups, was involved in four IPOs and invested in over 40 successful companies in the Technology, Entertainment and Fintech industries. Through his innovative disposition and ability to build and lead teams, he has secured over 25 investments into his ideas from EU funds, Private Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists. Angelo is also invested in the London based Seedrs, the leading European crowdfunding site with over 400 investments, regulated by the UK FCA.Angelo is a fully accredited member of EBAN (European Business Angel Network), a senator representative of WBAF (World Business Angel Forum) and president of BAM (Business Angels Malta). His long track record was recognised when he was twice named as Malta’s Top Entrepreneur of the Year in both 2014 and 2019.
On the artistic side, Angelo has been instrumental in creating human and AI collaborative art, in which humans collaborate with AI to create new types of art. Angelo’s early artworks date from 2003, when the field of AI art was still in its infancy. More than a decade later, the culmination of experience and thought about this new art form resulted in the creation of the ‘UMA System’, which stands for ‘Universal Machine Artist’. UMA debuted via the creation of a painting together with Mark Mallia, a known artist in Malta, which was then auctioned off during the Malta AI and Blockchain Summit in October 2018, achieving one of the highest ever prices for artwork of a living artist in Malta. UMA has since produced around 15 more artworks, including an exhibition in Paris, ‘Visions de Tiffany’, which showcased the work that we are doing to a wider international audience.Angelo’s profile is a realization of the mantra he works by ‘To create scaleable, repeatable technology businesses that lead by innovation’.
Save The date
The final will be live streamed on our facebook chanel, all finalists will pitch their idea and winner will be announced on the day. On behalf of ARTZ ID and TECH.MT we would like to wish best of luck to all finalists , and thank all judges and other collaborators for their contribution to this initiative.
Haven’t met the finalists yet? Read more about the four finalists here, and follow their journey on our social channels!
Supported by TECH.MT
Tech.mt aims to position Malta as a quality, creative, tech-savvy country, and promote Malta as a suitable set-up for foreign direct investment, whilst also promoting the local technological industries abroad. Tech.mt shall be instrumental in taking the Technology industry to the next level, as it will seek to make the world notice the huge potential the technology sector in Malta has to offer as it boasts on the economic performance and financial stability of the island. We acknowledge that data is the new oil, Tech.mt wants to be part of the IOT evolution and be on the forefront of the global digital revolution that we are experiencing.
In collabortaion with
ARTZ ID is partially supported by Arts Council Malta through The Creative Industries Platform.
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