From the ancient walls of Mdina to the majesty of Ħaġar Qim, stories once told on the world’s most prestigious cultural stages are now returning home. Retold, launched by Arts Council Malta as part of our 10th anniversary celebrations, brings together six acclaimed art and design installations that represented Malta at the Venice Art Biennale and London Design Biennale.

This is the first time these works are being exhibited in Malta, and with their return comes a chance to see our own narratives through fresh eyes.

Urban Fabric

Imdina Ditch, June 30 – August 2

Step into an installation that reimagines the Maltese village core through the intertwined histories of fabric and city planning. Created by the award-winning Open Square Collective – Luke Azzopardi, Trevor Borg, Matthew Joseph Casha and Alessia Deguara – this tactile, walkable piece merges recycled stone, sustainable materials and archaeological research to create a ‘street’ you can physically explore.

The installation, which was inspired by Phoenician dyeing techniques and the sacred act of crafting cloth, encourages us to reflect on our roots and how we might reweave them into a more sustainable future.

Revisiting Maleth

Natural History Museum, Mdina, July 15 – August 31

Maleth. Haven. The ancient name of Malta becomes the thread for this poetic reflection on the island’s role as a spiritual and physical refuge. First shown at the Venice Art Biennale in 2019, Revisiting Maleth brings Malta back to its roots – a place people have always arrived at, crossed through, and called home. It’s a quiet reflection on what it means to live in the middle of the Mediterranean, surrounded by movement, while always holding space.

It is both a return and an invitation to pause and ask: What does it mean to be an island, today?

Urna

Ħaġar Qim, Qrendi, September – November

Winner of the London Design Biennale 2025, URNA is a breathtaking sculptural installation that confronts one of humanity’s most delicate subjects – death.The installation is formed from reconstituted Maltese limestone, steel, sound and film, creating a meditative space which reimagines how we mourn, remember and celebrate life.

Set among Malta’s own prehistoric temples, URNA becomes a ritual of its own — a modern ode to loss, presence and the sacredness of space.

The Ship (unseen)

Inquisitor’s Palace, Vittoriosa, October 4 – November 16

Built on the artist’s previous work I Will Follow The Ship,, this new site-specific installation by Matthew Attard and curator Elyse Tonna explores Malta’s maritime heritage through digital technology and ship graffiti. Here, history meets the future, and age-old markings left by sailors find new life in immersive media.

Homo Melitensis: An Incomplete Inventory in 19 Chapters

MUŻA, Valletta, October 3 – 30
Curated by Raphael Vella and Bettina Hutschek

Originally Malta’s pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2017, this ambitious installation wrestles with identity in all its complexities. Drawing on research, conversations, and cultural theory, Homo Melitensis presents a fragmented yet resonant ‘inventory’ of Maltese life  from language to religion, memory to imagination.

Burning Waters – Diplomazija Astuta: Retold works by Arcangelo Sassolino

Victor Pasmore Gallery, Valletta, October 9 – January 3
 Curated by Keith Sciberras

Arcangelo Sassolino’s metal sculptures are big, bold, and strangely delicate. Originally shown at the Venice Art Biennale, they bring together two primal forces –  fire and water, heat and silence. At the heart of it all is molten steel hitting water, a slow, hypnotic clash that speaks of conflict, of pain, of something deeply human.

In this latest iteration, Sassolino adds a new dimension: paper. Fragile, absorbent, a counterpoint to steel.

Why this matters

These works have been praised on the world stage. Now, they’re here,  in the places that shaped them.  Retold is a chance to witness how art carries memory, provokes thought, and transforms space in this homecoming