Calling all filmmakers, animators, and audiovisual creatives! Arts Council Malta’s Screen Support Scheme is now open for applications, offering financial support to help bring your project to life. Whether you’re working on a short film, a feature-length production, a documentary, or an animated project, this is your chance to get the support you need.

What kind of funding is available?

There are five strands available under the scheme, each designed to support a different stage of film production:

1. Scriptwriting (Pre-Production – Strand 1) – If you need time and resources to write your script, this strand is for you. With a total of €140,000 available, you can receive up to €25,000 to fully finance the scriptwriting process. This includes funding for writing, research, and the development of shooting outlines or treatments (especially for documentaries).

Projects eligible under this strand include fiction, animation, and documentary works intended for theatrical release, festivals, TV, or VOD. TV series (including pilot episodes, subsequent episodes, full seasons, or mini-series) are also covered.

Full guidelines and online applications are available here.

2. Development (Strand 2) – If your project is beyond the initial concept and needs additional work before production, this strand is designed for you. With a total fund of €200,000, you can request up to €50,000, covering 100% of development costs.

Funding can be used for storyboarding, budgeting, location scouting, refining the script, and other crucial pre-production tasks. Eligible projects include fiction, animation, and documentary works intended for theatrical release, festivals, TV, or VOD, as well as TV series (pilot episodes, subsequent episodes, full seasons, or mini-series).

Full guidelines and online applications are available here.
 

3. Short Film (Strand 3) – This strand is designed to provide financial support for short film projects, with a total fund of €80,000 available. You can request up to €35,000 to fully fund your project. In addition to financial support, the scheme offers mentoring from a highly experienced film industry expert appointed by Arts Council Malta, ensuring that productions meet high-quality standards.

The scheme accepts various types of short film projects, including fiction, animation, and documentary.

Full guidelines and online applications are available here.

4. Production (Feature-Length – Strand 4) – This fund has a total budget of €460,000. Applicants can receive up to €300,000 for full productions or up to €50,000 for minority co-productions, providing essential support to bring feature-length projects to completion. This funding covers 100% of project expenditure, and eligible projects include fiction, animation, and documentary formats, with a focus on feature-length productions intended for theatrical release, festivals, television, and VOD platforms. Funding also extends to television series, supporting pilot episodes, new seasons, and mini-series.

Full guidelines and online applications are available here.

5. Cultural Programmes (Strand 5) – This strand is designed to support projects with strong cultural and artistic value, particularly those intended for private broadcasting stations. It aims to offer support to challenging audiovisual works that often struggle to secure private investment, ensuring they have the opportunity to be developed and broadcast to a wider audience.

With a total of €120,000 available, you can receive up to €20,000 for your project, covering up to 100% of the project costs. To be eligible, the project must fall under the category of a Cultural Programme, and the original language of the audiovisual work must be Maltese.

Full guidelines and online applications are available here..

How to apply

1. Check the guidelines – Make sure your project fits within the scheme’s requirements.
2. Prepare your application – Download the relevant forms from the above links and gather any supporting materials.
3. Submit online – Everything must be sent through the official portal before the deadline.

The deadline for all strands is 12:00 pm on 15 April 2025.

What happens after applying?

Once you submit your application, it will go through an evaluation process. If successful, you’ll receive funding and guidance on how to proceed with your project. Results will be announced on 26 June 2025.

The Past Decade – A Bold Journey

The launch of the Council in 2015 marked the beginning of a transformative journey for the sector, spurred by an ambitious vision inspired by the European arts scene.

These past years have seen ACM observing and learning from international practices, embracing an outward-looking and bold approach. The need for dedicated focus areas was immediately apparent, leading to the creation of specialised directorates to address the diverse needs of the sector.

The milestones we’re celebrating today include:

• The creation of national artistic companies such as Kor Malta, Teatru Malta, Żfin Malta, and the National Agency for the Performing Arts (NAPA).
• The establishing of Festivals Malta as an independent entity to focus exclusively on festivals.
• Increased arts funding.
• The joining of global networks such as IFACCA and EUNIC, alongside participation in major events like the Venice Biennale.
• Concrete steps to safeguard Malta’s artistic heritage by acquiring band clubs and supporting traditional feasts.
• Introducing EU-funded regional strategies to guide cultural growth across Malta.
• The launch of the Right to Culture pack to foster community engagement in the arts.
• The launch of the Status of the Artist Charter.
• The legal protection of artistic freedom.
• Collaboration with various organisations to promote cultural partnerships.
• Tax reductions for artists and incentives for cultural donations.
• Training and development opportunities for creatives.
• Surveys and studies on the arts sector.
• Rewarding and promoting excellence through the Premju għall-Arti.

Strategy 2025 – What’s Next?

We have now reached a stage where Strategy 2025 is nearing its fulfilment. The coming months will see us focusing on fostering growth and inclusivity so as to take the principles outlined in the Strategy to the next level.

We’ll be conducting consultations for Strategy 2030, while prioritising the improvement of artists’ working conditions through the Charter for the Status of the Artist, and promoting inclusion.

Other key action areas include:

• Advocating for the Charter for the Status of the Artist to protect rights, improve conditions, and ensure fairness in cultural sectors.
• Promoting cultural rights as universal through campaigns, media, and stakeholder consultations.
• Mapping cultural assets to inform regional cultural strategies.
• Providing updated cultural statistics to enhance policymaking and audience insights.
• Collaborating with education entities to promote arts careers and integrate arts into STEAM.
• Partnering with public entities for sustainable, cross-sectoral cultural policies.
• Assessing accessibility in public cultural venues for physical, intellectual, and linguistic needs.
• Promoting arts in health through collaborations and intersectoral policies.
• Establishing the Sectoral Representative Working Group for strategic advice over two years.

23 Funding Schemes To Be Launched

This year will also see a portfolio of 23 funding schemes and 34 calls, addressing key areas including education, internationalisation, media (encompassing film, newspapers, and radio), artistic heritage, entrepreneurship, project development, capacity building, community and regional projects, as well as health and wellbeing.

The list includes five new schemes alongside changes to some of the existing schemes. Highlights include:

• The Arts Support Scheme – one of the most popular programmes – will see increased anonymity and the introduction of a wellbeing objective for the thematic call.
• The Access Support Scheme, previously a complementary measure for other funded projects, will now operate as a stand-alone call. It will be open to applicants aiming to carry out independent projects centred on accessibility.
• The Screen Support Scheme will see significant growth with Strands 1-5 reissued in March, and increased funding. A new strand focusing on the internationalisation of local films will be introduced. The International Cultural Exchanges Scheme will also support projects by Malta-based artists in foreign countries.
• ACM and ARC Research and Consultancy Ltd will jointly introduce a scheme intersecting the cultural, health, and care sectors, supported by the European Commission’s Creative Europe platform through the CultureAndHealth initiative.
• A new scheme will offer financial assistance to local parishes for organising internal feasts.
• The Training and Development Support Scheme and the International Participation Scheme will be the first calls issued in 2025, each featuring two calls during the year.

More Funds & A Directorate For Internationalisation

Earlier this year the ACM launched the International Cultural Relations Directorate, dedicated to expanding Malta’s cultural footprint globally. We have long given priority to this aspect, and now this new directorate is set to strengthen our efforts to showcase Maltese artistic talent through prestigious international platforms.

The new directorate is headed by Annabelle Stivala, who will be focusing on promoting Maltese artists and Malta’s identity on the world stage. There will be additional funding and increased opportunities for local artists to exhibit and perform internationally.

Moreover, the directorate is committed to providing the tools and resources artists need to thrive globally, leveraging the momentum of Malta’s participation in the Venice Biennale and the London Design Biennale.

The Next Decade

As the next decade begins, we will continue to focus more strongly on the national development of creativity and culture while renewing our commitment to support the growth of a new generation of creative operators and cultural organisations.

Our priority is to ensure that this new generation is equipped to learn new technologies, apply them, and push boundaries. We will continue to proactively engage with our creative partnerships, building connections between communities, businesses, and institutions to raise awareness of the benefits that creativity and culture bring. Our Action Plan for 2025 is a reflection of the unwavering commitment to fostering a cultural environment where creativity and innovation thrive, positioning Malta as a global leader in creative excellence over the next decade.

Key Learnings to Help Shape Malta’s Cultural Strategy

The first national symposium dedicated to the artistic and creative communities was organised by Arts Council Malta in October. Hundreds of artists, practitioners and creatives gathered in Valletta for a full programme that served as platform for an ongoing discussion about the challenges and opportunities faced by these sectors in Malta, and the international contexts that shape their dynamics.

The symposium was spread over two days and included panel discussions, workshops and keynotes that saw the participation of international and local practitioners and experts in the topics under discussion.

In this post, Arts Council Malta will offer an overview of these learnings, based on the documentation exercised that was carried out throughout the symposium.

Protection of artistic freedoms

The first panel discussed the status of artist rights and freedoms from both an international and a local perspective. Censorship of artists in certain countries, as discovered by the 2021 Freemuse report, was discussed at length.

From a local perspective, a number of action points were identified to help support artistic freedom. These included collaboration with the media, as well as an educational effort to raise awareness about the importance of such freedoms among the public.

Panellists recommended funding not only for the arts, but also for cultural and advocacy organisations, while calling for transparency in the process.

Ensuring sustainability in the arts

The second panel discussed the significance of sustainability within the context of the arts, stressing the importance of a permanent approach, rather than basing sustainable strategies on one-off events. Participants noted the importance of placing focus on mapping economic and social values to make informed decisions leading to sustainable, resilient policies.

Cultural investment needs to be appreciated as an investment in an entire ecosystem that promotes the wellbeing of society across the board.

The right to culture and accessibility

The third panel discussed cultural rights and the wider context in which they may be implemented. Reference was made to the current, prevalent system that places value on endeavours resulting in a financial yield, rather than cultural activities.

Panellists also put strong importance on giving the widest possible interpretation to the right to culture, stating that this relates to all forms of self-expression and includes accessibility and participation. The right to culture needs to be discussed in the context of human rights, while recognising that it pertains to all communities and ethnic groups and should thus be equally accessible to all.

Access to resources, professionalisation, internationalisation and entrepreneurship

The State of the Arts symposium also hosted a number of workshops dealing with different themes that ranged from access to resources to well-being, education and development, professionalisation, internationalisation and entrepreneurship.

Access to resources –  Those considering artistic practice have access to a range of tools, including financial, social, educational and infrastructural resources. Policymakers need to facilitate access to these resources as emerging artists may find the process challenging.

Well-being in artistic practice – This area has the potential to result in more energetic creative industries, and thus needs to be prioritised in a holistic manner. Artists are encouraged to approach the topic with honesty, especially in identifying areas that may require self-improvement.

Education and professional development – More opportunities for specialised training are needed in order to shift the prevalence of artists pursuing this as a secondary profession rather than as their main source of income. This challenge arises mostly due to the  geographical limitations of Malta. The Ministry for Education needs to incorporate this approach within the general curriculum framework to ensure exposure to the arts, while stronger investment is needed for specialised schools like The Malta Visual and Performing Arts School.

Internationalisation – Speakers discussed the need to place this at the centre of Malta’s cultural policy, given our geographical constraints, while noting that Arts Council Malta facilitates international cooperation via new funding models, networking opportunities, export research, toolkits and training. This is essential for artists to alleviate the burdens of accessing international networks.

Professionalisation –  One of the biggest challenges in this regard is the prevalence of short-term projects. There is a strong sense of community within the industry, which is characterised by cross-collaborations, favourable fiscal incentives and high transferability of skills. Limited audiences, budgets and lack of support from the private sector remain the biggest challenges.

Entrepreneurship – Artists embarking on a professional project also need to acquire ancillary skills that are necessary for the success of any business. These include project management, a degree of financial prowess, risk assessment, digital skills and leadership skills.

Looking to the Future

The State of the Arts Symposium spurred a much-needed conversation between artists, practitioners and the country’s cultural stakeholders. These documented outcomes will help inform the guiding principles employed by Arts Council Malta in the shaping of future strategies, as part of a continuing journey to strengthen the sustainable development of the cultural and creative industries. Arts Council Malta will be following up on the State of the Arts Symposium in October 2023.

ACM would like to thank all Symposium speakers and workshop leaders for their contribution to these outcomes as well as the rapporteurs for documenting the discussions:  Sean Borg, Mark Cachia, Christa Callus, Daniel Darmanin, Michael Farrugia, Althea Valletta Troisi and Francesca Zammit.

Operating within the remit of Arts Council Malta, Public Cultural Organisations (PCOs) have two common objectives that unite them: the investment of public funding in culture and the arts, and the fostering of creativity, social well-being and economic activity.

Each PCO focuses on strengthening a specific cultural strand, and these organisations have become synonymous with the art-form that they represent on a national level.

Reflecting past and present national cultural strategies and under the guidance of Arts Council Malta, Public Cultural Organisations have today formed a network of cross-collaborations with the aim of sharing resources and expertise.

PCOs have benefited from increased public investment over recent years, to satisfy the growing need for human and technical resources. Their operations and strategies are monitored by Arts Council Malta, which works with each PCO to develop an annual plan within the objectives of Strategy 2025.

The list of Public Cultural Organisations includes the following:

Festivals Malta – Responsible for the growth of festivals and cultural events across the Maltese Islands, this PCO counts some 160 individual activities, 8 festivals and 5 national events under its portfolio. Its calendar of events offers myriad opportunities for local artists to showcase their talents, while strengthening the accessibility of such events and taking them to the community. Festivals like the Malta International Arts Festival and the Valletta Baroque Festival are also credited with attracting a growing international audience.

KorMalta – Malta’s National Choir was founded in 2018 and is made up of professional choristers who deliver a wide range of repertoire. The choir is known for its eclectic style, and for its collaborations with other forms of art, including dance, theatre, and visual art. The choir, which currently counts 56 members regularly collaborates with the national orchestra and other local and international entities.

Malta Philharmonic Orchestra – The national orchestra performs a full, weekly repertoire that includes symphonic concerts, opera productions, community outreach and educational initiatives, together with concerts that are more accessible to a diverse audience. The orchestra regularly promotes works by Maltese composers both in Malta and internationally, besides fostering young talent via the MPO Academy and the Malta Youth Orchestra.

Mediterranean Conference Centre – Set within one of Malta’s most iconic heritage buildings, the national events centre uses this unique space to host large scale performances in collaboration with other PCOs, local and international entities. It is known for events that reach audiences of thousands, such as the legendary Cirque du Soleil performances.

MICAS – Founded with the objective of providing a platform for contemporary art and internationalisation, the Malta International Contemporary Art Space (MICAS) has already established itself on the international forum, creating opportunities for local artists to showcase their works. The full opening is scheduled for 2023, when MICAS will take its functions to the next level, strengthening its role as advocate of contemporary art.

Pjazza Teatru Rjal – Located within the historic remains of Malta’s Royal Opera House, Pjazza Teatru Rjal (PTR) offers a diverse cultural programme of events. These events offer the unique experience of being within a historical open-air performances space in the heart of the capital city. PTR’s programmes not only showcase a mix of local and international artists, but also attract larger, diverse audiences.

Spazju Kreattiv – Malta’s hub for creativity,  Spazju Kreattiv offers a programme of creative arts and culture events, hosting a theatre and exhibition space, a cinema and a number of festivals, such as the iconic ŻiguŻajg children and young people’s festival. The seasonal programme includes a mix of commissioned or co-produced work, along with others that are the result of an open call. It is based on the 3 pillars of artistic excellence, community outreach and internationalisation.

Teatru Malta – Described as more than just a national theatre company, Teatru Malta’s programme proves that theatre goes beyond the stage, providing a repertoire that has taken theatre to the towns and villages of Malta, using performance spaces within the communities. It regularly commissions new work from local artists, collaborating across a diversity of genres.

Teatru Manoel – Malta’s national theatre has an illustrious heritage as one of Europe’s oldest working theatres. It was recently restored to bring it in line with the facilities expected by modern day audiences, while ensuring that its unique Baroque features are showcased appropriately. Its seasonal programmes is a fine example of cross-collaboration across the arts, with the annual Christmas panto maintaining its popularity with the widest audience possible.

Valletta Cultural Agency – The VCA is responsible for creating a comprehensive cultural plan for the capital city, while also supporting and strengthening the traditional cultural celebrations that bind the community together. It plays an important role in terms of protecting and promoting Valletta’s cultural and artistic heritage, also commissioning public art for the city. The agency also organises the popular Stretta festival.

ŻfinMalta – The national dance company is known for pioneering fresh thinking about contemporary dance in the Maltese Islands and has raised the profile of contemporary dance with local audiences exponentially. Made up of a talented ensemble, it collaborates with local and international dancers and choreographers. Its guides artists towards personal development, while taking risks.

Arts Council Malta has the responsibility to strengthen all PCOs, so as to also ensure the goals and objectives of Strategy 2025 are achieved, while guaranteeing them independence in artistic programming. Thus ACM continues to foster inclusive and sustainable growth for Malta’s cultural and creative ecology through investment, enhanced opportunities and inter-PCO collaboration.

What are the Regional Cultural Strategies?
The Regional Cultural Strategies are a series of guiding frameworks for cultural and artistic development on a regional level. The Local Government White Paper, published in 2018, supplemented by the Local Government Act amended in 2019, divides the Maltese Islands in six unique regions: Gozo, North, East, West, Port, South. Together with the Local Government Division and the Association for Local Councils, Arts Council Malta spearheaded the research and development of a unique cultural strategy for each region, a process which took place over a number of years culminating in 2022. The project Provision of Cultural Strategy Development and Implementation to Local Councils and Regional Councils was developed through an EU-funded project (ESF.04.079) entitled Create 2020: Investing in Cultural and Creative Capacity Skills in Malta’s Public Sector, financed through the European Social Fund Operational Programme II – European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020 Investing in Human Capital to Create More Opportunities and Promote the Wellbeing of Society.

Through a research process spearheaded by Arts Council Malta in collaboration with Culture Venture and Mdina International, the strategies draw upon the functions of the Regional and Local Councils and provide strategic direction. The resulting strategies are based on a thorough mapping process of cultural assets and the opportunities and challenges faced by each region and interrelated stakeholders. The Regional Cultural Strategies lay out generic and region-specific priorities, which need to be addressed in an implementation process through a direct collaboration between Arts Council Malta and the Regional Councils, together with other stakeholders such as Local Councils, non-profit and non-governmental organisations, and creative practitioners.

Why are the Regional Cultural Strategies important?

The Regional Cultural Strategies are a strategic milestone for the cultural and creative industries. Their development on a regional level showcases the commitment of Arts Council Malta to develop informed region-specific objectives and priorities based on the unique identities, capacities, and resources. The RCS aim to further improve coordination between Regional and/or Local Councils, open up further opportunities for collaboration between various stakeholders, and facilitate further understanding on the development of international and EU projects. Most importantly they ensure that culture is used as a tool to build stronger, healthier communities, that it is also considered as a tool for economic development, that our heritage is safeguarded, and artistic expression is nurtured.

The diversity and uniqueness of various communities of the Maltese Islands was recognised as a core priority facilitating the development of the RCS. Awareness and appreciation of the distinctiveness of each region should be supported through more participatory approaches and grassroots initiatives developed by Local Councils, organisations, creative practitioners, and communities. By empowering communities to be active stakeholders in the implementation process, overall participation is further encouraged, and new audiences are reached. More equitable and fair distribution of cultural investment not only facilitates revitalisation and strategic resources management of heritage assets but also enhances professional growth and sustainable development of the CCIs.

How will these be implemented?

The implementation of the RCS is a collaborative process between the Regional Councils and Local Government Division and Arts Council Malta. Through specific roles set up to spearhead the implementation process, both entities are equipped with capacities to further understand the needs and identities of each region. The Regional Cultural Coordinator, on behalf of ACM, and the Regional Cultural Managers within each Region, act as facilitators and enablers to improve coordinator and create connections between various stakeholders, to incentivise the creation of creative projects of higher standards, to assist in the development of community-based cultural initiatives and facilitate understanding of regional resources and assets. In this collaborative process, Arts Council Malta will give overall strategic direction and expertise to ensure coherent progress and provide resources where necessary. On the other hand, the Regional Councils under the guidance of the Local Government Division, will be working with ACM through the Regional Cultural Coordinator and Officers to ensure the strategic objectives are being implemented.

Check out the 6 Regional Cultural Strategies here.

Titled State of the Arts – Malta National Symposium, the two-day meeting brought some of the most prominent voices in Malta’s cultural sphere together in vigorous debate about some of the key challenges that the sector faces. Coming on the heels of the launch of Strategy 2025, the symposium highlighted three of the key themes that lie at the heart of the strategy – the status of the artist; sustainable development and the arts; and cultural rights.

Following a stirring opening talk by motivational speaker Simon Alexander Ong, a bustling Valletta Campus Theatre was introduced to Sara Whyatt, a human rights activist whose keynote speech focused on the first of the symposium’s key themes, namely the status of the artist. Whyatt spoke about the precarious state of artistic freedom around the world highlighting how, despite the legislative changes that have taken place over the years, there still exist cases where artists face the threat of exclusion, marginalization and (in some cases) imprisonment or physical danger as a result of their work. Whyatt urged artists and private cultural organisations to collectively advocate for artistic freedom and to ensure that public bodies adopt an arm’s length policy in public arts funding.

The status of the artist in today’s cultural sector was also the topic of the panel discussion that followed Whyatt’s intervention. A key point that emerged throughout this discussion was the need for a more nuanced distinction between professional and amateur artists, so as for both to receive the necessary economic, social and logistical support that will enable them to flourish. Furthermore, there needs to be a more collaborative – and less competitive – relationship between independent artists and public bodies, whereby the two sides hold constructive discussions on strengthening the sector’s core infrastructure and regulatory framework. The panel was composed of representatives from the Malta Producers’ Association (Charlie Cauchi), MEIA (Howard Keith Debono), and Art Workers Italia (Amos Cappuccio), as well as Maryana Golovchenko, an independent Ukrainian musician.

The relationship between sustainability and the arts was under the spotlight in a keynote address delivered by Shain Shapiro, founder of Sound Diplomacy and Executive Director of the Centre for Music Ecoystems. Shapiro highlighted how sustainability and resilience are ensured through evidence-based decision making, whereby the rights of people working within the sector are protected and where transparency in communicating challenges and mistakes is at the forefront. Emphasising the need for long-term strategic planning, Shapiro argued that we must not use ephemeral solutions to try solve permanent problems. By being honest and open about our difficulties, we can collectively address our challenges and build a more sustainable cultural sector.

A subsequent panel discussion reiterated these points, with one panel member (Anita McKeown, an artist and educator at University College Dubin) arguing that if we aspire for a truly sustainable cultural sector, we need to place greater focus on restorative and regenerative development whereby excessive consumption is reduced. Other panel members included Petya Koleva (founder of Intercultura Consult), Jonas Büchel (co-founder of the Urban Institute in Riga) and Karsten Xuereb (researcher in cultural relations).

The third and final keynote delivered by Dr Milena Dragicevic Sesic, Head of the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policy and Management, addressed how cultural rights are of relevance in contemporary contexts. Dr Dragicevic Sesic referred to Augusto Boal’s “Theatre of the Oppressed” whereby theatre is for everyone, and that every human being becomes an artist, due to the transformative and democratic potential of theatre, as participatory and cooperative forms of interactions take place. Ur was agrued that, this illustrates how culture and art are then essential qualities and fundamental to human rights. Creating cultural sustainability, therefore, requires developing the need to protect these rights. Dr Dragicevic Sesic referred to forms of censorship that are still present and hinder freedom of artistic expression such as financial censorship and criticsed profit-driven policies that overlook the ethical aspects of cultural policies. It was concluded that in the end culture becomes sustainable as a right once it is available to everyone equally and when policies are developed and implemented with the multiple realties of all communities in mind.

A panel discussion followed, during which the overarching theme that stood out was that cultural rights are not a ‘one size fits all’. A central argument was that cultural rights are inherent to being human and this entails a nuanced understanding of what culture means in relation to forms of expressions, how accessibility determines rights to culture and the roles of education and language as both tools for exclusion and inclusion. The panel consisted of of Dr Desiree Attard (legal advisor specialising in human rights and equality), Dr Jo Butterworth (professior in dance studies), Dr Georgina Portelli (specialist in concept formation, language representation and multilingualism) and Dr Antonio Cuyler (Professor in Music, Entrepreneurship and Leadership at the University of Michigan).

The Symposium also consisted of parallel workshops addressing wellbeing, education, entrepreneurship, employment, access to resources and internationalisation in relation to the arts. During these workshops participants actively interacted with workshop leaders to critically discuss practices, trends and challenges that pertain to these facets of artistic activity. On the final day a World Cafe took place with 12 thematic parallel tables linked to Sustainable Development Goals that have been linked to the arts and culture during which participants assessed and proposed ideas that can be recommened for strategy and policy development and implementation so as to improve the state of the arts and cultural sectors in Malta.

Included in the programme are a series of workshops and an interdisciplinary residency during which the participants explored their ideas and thoughts on art and activism.

The 2022 Artivisti are: Marilyn Aquilina, Mariah Borg, Matteo Pullicino, Nicole Vassallo, and Sam Vassallo.

They have all shared their views on the residency which took place between the 13^th and 15^th of September at Villa Psaigon in Dingli:

Marilyn Aquilina

The Artivist Residency was a very insightful and thought provoking experience. It gave me the opportunity to escape my daily work routine and solely dedicate my time to learn about art, activism and critical thought through listening to different speakers, and engaging in discussions and activities. It gave me the space to not only reflect on my project, but also to reflect on my artistic career and to get to know the other participants better. It feels good to know that there are other people who feel the same passion, desire and struggles in pursuing their art.

Mariah Borg

The Artivisti Residential Program took place in the therapeutic surroundings of Dingli, where the surroundings alone heightened my artistic passion to draw everything and everyone I witnessed in those days. The sessions were inspirational and stimulating as they gave me the opportunity to listen to activists that challenged issues through their artistic expression. This program gave me a broader sense of self, as it permitted an escape from my day-to-day life to a place of ease and inspiration, allowing me the realization that art is my language, method of protest, and way to make a difference.

Matteo Pullicino

“First and foremost, the three-day residency gave us – this year’s Artivisti participants – the space and time to connect not only as fellow artivists, but as people with our personal histories, passions and perspectives which we rather quickly felt safe enough to share and bond over, so that by the end of this experience, we became a small community, ready to support one another along this year-long journey. At the heart of it, this residency begged us to question the fundamentals: what it means to be an artivist, what it entails to create change in a particular community, and how to do this responsibly so that the mark we wish to leave lasts long after our project ends. The latter question has particularly preoccupied me and will undoubtedly deeply inform how I choose to reshape my project.”

Nicole Vassallo

The Artivisti residential programme not only helped me explore my artistic roots, but also helped me understand and altered my perspective on activism. I had the opportunity to deepen my understanding of the power that art holds, and all the uncountable things we can do with it. Throughout this residency, I got to know the other Artivisti and their passions. I’d like to think that it created a special bond between us.

Sam Vassallo

The three-day residency in Dingli kicked off the Artivisti journey – it was intense and enriching. I got to learn from different art practitioners about the power of art and activism which helped get the creative cogs in my head flowing for the project I’ll plunge into. It was also great to experience it with other young artists working in different disciplines. 

From April until July, I was provided with the experience of working as an intern for the Malta Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2022. My internship as a curatorial assistant for Diplomazija Astuta was an experience where I had the opportunity to learn about what it entails to work on a large-scale international project within an artistic environment. After recently having graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in History of Art from the University of Malta, this internship served as a smooth layover into the artistic sector on a professional basis.

Essentially, my colleagues and I were present at the pavilion on an almost daily basis. During this time, we had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the full experience of forming part of a large-scale international exhibit which is presently on show. As interns, we were provided with the dual role of being ‘behind-the-scenes’ but also ‘front-of-house’ representatives of the Malta Pavilion. With an experience ranging from writing articles about the Pavilion, to interviewing the artists, curators and project managers, and learning about the day-to-day general upkeep of an immersive installation, this internship provided me with an abundance of valuable experience in the artistic sector.

Perhaps amongst the most rewarding moments of my internship was viewing members of the public and observing their reactions to the installation. Being able to engage with the public and listen to their respective comments was certainly an experience, for we never quite knew with whom we were conversing with—be it tourists, art-lovers, or professionals in the sector, we as interns had the privilege of being able to act as representatives for the Malta Pavilion, and thus explain the meaning of the installation, as well as the mechanics of it. What was particularly rewarding was hearing the respective comments of visitors as to the feelings that the installation evoked for them. Whilst taking an active role in explaining the installation was certainly beneficial, the moments which were equally as intriguing were when we would simply stand back and observe the audience. From the very second the curtain is slightly parted and the public enter the pavilion, and from the moment the coil of steel begins to drip from the ceiling, we can immediately begin to hear the physical reactions of the public. Some people would stand back in silence, others would gasp in awe and admiration, and some would even move back with surprise at seeing molten steel falling into the pools of water.

During my time in Venice, I, together with my colleagues, was given the opportunity to engage with artists and curators who made this project come alive, as well as with those from other pavilions. Moreover, we were able to engage with experts in the field from all over the world, as well as with like-minded students or recent graduates, whereby we were united by our mutual love for the arts. Working as an intern at the Malta Pavilion provided me with the experience of immersing myself into the artistic sector, as well as into the cultural scene of another country. By being present in Venice during the Biennale, I was also able to visit the collateral exhibitions around Venice, as well as the other Biennales, such as the Theatre Biennale. Moreover, I also attended a number of talks and meetings on art which were delivered by leading experts in the artistic field. By immersing myself in this manner, I was thus given the experience of engaging with the multidisciplinary approach to art—an approach which I am particularly interested in.

Succinctly putting this experience into words is certainly no easy feat, precisely because this experience is almost indescribable. All in all, this internship served as an incredibly fruitful experience which has left me with new friendships, professional relations, and skills, as well as an abundance of creative inspiration. Moreover, this experience has provided me with the beneficial and necessary foundations to begin this venture in the artistic sector.

Hannah Dowling- Intern at the Malta Pavilion – April – July 2022.

My internship as an exhibition assistant with the Malta Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia was a truly rewarding experience, which provided me with valuable hands-on practice and a deeper understanding of the realm of contemporary art. An experience through which I transitioned from being a student to an active contributor within the artistic and cultural sphere.

During a typical day at the Arsenale I, together with my colleagues, would be greeting visitors and VIPs, giving tours and explanations of the pavilion, engaging with the installation itself and collaborating with the team to make sure that our visitors get the full experience which the Malta Pavilion seeks to put forth. However, apart from the professional side of the internship, I would many times find myself participating in a number of interesting and fruitful discussions about the overall Biennale exhibit and other Pavilions. Having such conversations with other interns who share the same interest but come from different backgrounds, countries, cultures, and academic institutions has steered me towards a more constructive thinking process. Being surrounded by and being part of such an incredibly wide-ranging artistic community has not only helped me grow professionally and academically, but it has also helped me acquire personal skills such as building the self-confidence that is necessary to perform several public tasks. Moreover, this has significantly impacted my professional development positively as I built a number of important connections and friendships with several pros in the sector. Undoubtedly, meeting and engaging with so many artistic professionals as well as art enthusiasts from all around the world has broadened my knowledge about the diversity of the field of curation and has left me wanting to delve further into this career path. 

The freedom of putting into practice all I had learnt academically has been enriching beyond anything I expected. I feel truly privileged to have formed part of such an exciting project and I will certainly keep enhancing the skills that this opportunity has furnished me with.

Thea Leotta – Intern at Malta Pavilion – April – June 2022. 

The Schloss, as it is informally called (plus that’s the word for castle in German), has been the house for the Salzburg Global Seminar for the past seventy-five years, an anniversary which is also being celebrated through this year’s seminar programme, and an event for which, luckily, I am present for. After around five hours of travelling, we arrived in Salzburg (luckily with no delays, unlike some of the fellows here), I dropped my luggage off in my room, and immediately went exploring to find the venerated gate used as a backdrop in The Sound of Music, of which I happen to be a big fan and was exposed to at a very early age. So to me this does seem all a bit like a dream that I as a child would have had—and yet here I am, living it.

The same goes for the feel of the seminar. On our first day upon arrival, we did a round of introductions, and the number of interesting people from all corners of the world which I had the honour and privilege to chat with was immeasurable. People with different backgrounds, experiences, and knowledge are coming together to discuss the redefinition of cultural diplomacy, and I just had to stop for a minute to take a deep breath and take it all in. I am currently surrounded by people who are being themselves, sharing their thoughts, engaging in discussions to further strengthen the arts and culture sector on a global level; scholars and academics from different backgrounds; artists who express themselves through different mediums; experts in political science; you name it, they’re here. 

Just this morning, conversations were held on whether arts’ affecting power can drive movement, actions, and change; everyone had the opportunity to listen and contribute on the matter on 5 different facets presented by the panellists’ field of expertise. We then had a workshop on hip-hop and cultural diplomacy—presented by Next Level’s director Junious Brickhouse—which looked into this initiative’s work in promoting international cultural exchange in underserved communities, conflict transformation, and entrepreneurial skill building through hip-hop and dance cultures.

We do have quite a jampacked, super-interesting programme which makes you want to yearn to learn more from your peers and to continue working towards better redefining cultural diplomacy. That being said, time does seem to fly, as the programme is extremely engaging and has a hands-on approach. I am looking forward to the rest of the sessions we have here; however, it’s a pity we don’t have the time to re-enact a scene from The Sound of Music.

The Salzburg Global Seminar – Currents of Change: Redefining Cultural Diplomacy for the Future we need, 4-8 July 2022. Salzburg Global forum is supported by Arts Council Malta. 

The invitation by Arts Council Malta to represent Malta with my sustainable design project, SORĠI, at The WantedDesign Manhattan in June turned out to be not only a wonderful opportunity, but also a defining moment.

For those needing some background, SORĠI is an ongoing research project that seeks to merge circular design and sustainability with high-end furniture. In fact, we were representing Malta in Manhattan for Eco Solidarity.
 
While the project is ongoing, the first phase has resulted in the creation of an outdoor furniture collection for public spaces. The six benches that we created were inspired by six buildings that are the result of the local construction frenzy and are intended as a statement about the choices that society is making today and a suggestion for tomorrow’s actions.
 
Created entirely using recycled construction waste –  such as limestone, broken terrazzo, marble offcuts and fragments of glass – the benches tell the story of the building that inspired it, highlighting the need to find a solution for the amount of material waste that keep accumulating on the Islands. The project promotes circularity via recycling, thus raising awareness on environmental issues within a larger audience.
 
SORĠI received very positive feedback from its beginning. The first piece of the collection, Rita was exhibited in London and received the Spotlight prize at the Decode competition in Hungary. It was also one of three start-ups in the Sustainable Cities Category that was selected to participate in the Circular by Design Challenge, with the possibility of developing the concept in Luxembourg.
 
But our proudest moment was certainly being selected for ECO Solidarity to represent Malta with my studio to take part in the physical exhibition at the Javits Center in New York. The exhibition was presented by International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) and WantedDesign Manhattan.
 
SORĠI has presented many challenges, including whether this nature of project should be based in Malta or elsewhere. Large-scale developments unfortunately remain the rule in Malta, promoting short-term wins instead of the importance of public spaces and preservation of our architectural heritage.
 
Our experience as exhibitors at ECO Solidarity, which included more than 700 booths, thousands of exhibitors and an even higher number of visitors, has strengthened the team’s confidence to persist with the project. There, the team had the opportunity to speak, connect and network throughout the trade show with companies and other professionals.
 
We exhibited alongside top designers showcasing high-end collections, with our booth for Eco Solidarity positioned as an emerging generation of European designers who are taking a personal responsibility for climate change by finding innovative solutions to environmental concerns. Particularly noteworthy was the Austrian company EOOS NEXT, which exhibited their development of a passive urine separation technology that promotes safe sanitation among those who don’t have access. Definitely not the theme that we were expecting to see in this beautiful glass building in the middle of Manhattan! Even more interestingly, the project is open-source and can downloaded and produced anywhere around the world, so the product isn’t motivated by profit at all.
 
SORĠI is motivated by the world’s need to understand that we are running out of our natural resources, destroying our heritage and creating irreversible damage to our planet. I hope we understand we don’t have another planet Earth available. I believe the leaders of tomorrow need to act for a better good that serves humanity, instead of serving developers.

For me personally, it took being part of this exhibition to start believing once again in the values that SORĠI represents. It is important to see socially-engaging projects being placed on a par with high-end furniture, merging the two by creating designs that contribute to the circular economy and the community. I believe this can be achieved while being aesthetically pleasing and by reaching market value, and this is exactly what I plan for SORĠI in Malta and abroad.

Keith Sciberras, Co-Curator

Professor Keith Sciberras is Head of the Department of Art and Art History within the Faculty of Arts, University of Malta. Professor Sciberras is a Member of Senate and Rector’s Delegate for the Curation of the Historic Building and Works of Art.

“My role as a Seicento scholar was to elucidate on the context of that space and to articulate the contextual, theoretical and art-historical references of the project. Uslip’s role is to dialogue with contemporary imagery, while Sassolino, Schembri Bonaci and Schembri sought to anchor their own creative production in what we were discussing. The point of departure, and the beauty of it all, is that the Malta Pavilion reminds you of the space of the Oratory but takes you into contemporary thought and engagement. This is essential.” [Diplomazija Astuta to represent Malta at Biennale di Venezia 2022, 13 February 2022, available here]

Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci, Artist

Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci studied Philosophy, Law and the Arts. Schembri Bonaci is coordinator of the Fine Arts Programme in the Department of Art and Art History, Artistic Director of the APS Mdina Cathedral Contemporary Art Biennale, and Artistic Director of the Strada Stretta Concept, a cultural programme under the auspices of the Valletta Cultural Agency.

“Faktura is the tangible relationship existing between any artist and the chosen materiality of creation. This excited me intensely and I felt that this might be my perfect chance, at last, to challenge and deal with this other contemporary art category that became dominant during the twentieth century, particularly in its first decades.” [Challenging metallic ‘faktura’ through a heartbeat, my heartbeat, 19 April 2022, available here]

Brian Schembri, Musician

Brian Schembri is one of Malta’s most prolific and critically acclaimed musicians. He was Chief Conductor of the OPF Orchestra and the Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa, Music Director at Teatru Manoel, and Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra.

“…what excites me is that there’s a unique instrument, the installation, which is going to produce a visual and a sonorous effect which I must musically organise into a score. The sound produced will be both heard and seen”. [Brian Schembri sets the score, 1 March 2022, available here]

Nikki Petroni, Project Manager

Nikki Petroni studied History of Art at the University of Malta and at University College London, completing a Ph.D. in Maltese Modern art at the University of Malta in 2019. She is a visiting lecturer in Modern and Contemporary art at the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Malta and Executive for Education and Development at Arts Council Malta.

“The team is made up of many different professionals working on the various aspects involved, from the technical to the administrative, the artistic to the curatorial, and it is important to maintain a synergy between all”. [How to manage ‘Diplomazija astuta’, 27 March 2022, available here]

Like his colleague Christopher Spiteri, ACM creative broker Glen Zammit plays music, specifically the horn. Unlike him, however, as a kid he was not fond of music at all. “When I was five or six years old I started playing the horn with a local band club. That’s how nearly everyone usually starts here in Malta. That being said, strangely enough I didn’t like anything about music and had no interest in playing any instrument. It just happened that my father decided I should play some instrument, just like my brother. Then, as apparently I had very small lips, the band club thought that the horn would be a perfect fit for me,” he recalls.

“Il-biskuttini f’ħalq il-ħmir,” I thought. No offense there, really. It’s just that my story was the other way round: all I thought as a kid was about rock and pop stars, pulling off guitar solos, and then – since it didn’t go anywhere – about playing football with our beloved Lilly Whites. “One day I’ll pull off some injury time 35-yard screamer and lift the FA Trophy for you. I’ll be the new Gilbert Agius. You’ll be proud dad, I tell you.” My parents weren’t exactly pleased. “Such nonsense! I’d say lots of stars must align before any of that happens. To hell with your Gilberts and your Madonnas! That’s not where the money is anyway. I guess you’d rather get your schoolwork done, son,” I recall my late father telling me. Your typical mid-eighties papa-don’t-preach situation. “Aspiring artists have an unprecedented number of opportunities now. Arts Council Malta has done an awful lot of work to improve things, especially during these last few years. That’s one reason why I am glad to be part of it. I truly feel I belong here,” he tells me.

One would say that his has landed a dream job. His role of creative broker at Arts Council Malta, Glen Zammit acts as the first point of contact for artists, representatives of organisations and the general public. He deals with queries, addresses difficulties, receives and gives feedback, develops ideas, makes contact with entities and other stakeholders. His role includes the organisation of regular sessions and workshops whereby information and good practices are shared and cultural matters debated. In tandem with other Council creative brokers, he also facilitates networking between peers and other interested parties and advises prospective funding schemes applicants about which initiatives and grants suit their projects best. Previously Zammit had also worked in the informational technology sector at a local leading private financial institution. On the face of it, I really doubt he misses those days.

Zammit educational accomplishment are quite diverse. He holds a MCAST-BTEC National Diploma in Computing, an ABRSM Diploma in music performance and a post-graduate degree in music from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. The latter was co-financed by the Joseph Calleja Foundation, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra Scholarship Scheme and the Malta Arts Scholarships. During these two years Glen “Eventually music grew on me, but the tides were turning. By the time I seemed to have settled for a “normal” job, my parents started to have second thoughts about my undying music ambitions. Actually they started to sound a bit like yours,” he joked. I cringe for a while on my couch.

Nonetheless, thank goodness, Zammit had other ideas. He started playing music at the early age of ten at the Johann Strauss School of Music with Philip Psaila and later on with former principal horn of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra Emanuel Spagnol. Then he continued pursuing his studies with Paul Borg and Jose García Gutiérrez. He has performed in various prestigious locations around the Maltese islands, including the Manoel Theatre, the Mediterranean Conference Centre, St. John’s Co-Cathedral and Casino Maltese. He has also attended several masterclasses with Klaus Zayer, Will Sanders, Esa Tapani, Szabolcs Zempléni, Markus Maskuniitti, Christoph Eß, John Ryan, Froydin Ree Wekre, Jeff Bryant and Jonathan Lipton.

As an ensemble player, he performed with several duos, trios and orchestras.  Between 2010 and 2015, he was principal horn of the Malta Youth Orchestra and BISYOC youth orchestra (UK). For two seasons (2012-2013 and 2015-2016), he was reserve player with the European Union Youth Orchestra. He also plays regularly with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2015, Zammit was on tour with the World Youth Philharmonic Orchestra tour in New York with the final concert at Carnegie Hall as part of the Play for Peace event organised by the United Nations Organisation. In 2016 he took part in the Festival d’Aix-En-Provence in France and in the Ljubljana Festival. Furthermore, during his time at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland he performed with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Ballet, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and at the 2017 British Horn Festival.

Zammit has indeed kept his baby. It goes without saying that he must have made his parents proud. As for me, musicwise, all I’ve managed to bring off were some singing jobs, a couple of lyrics and a crash course in air-guitar. Then there were also those Sunday afternoon seven-a-side footy fixtures with my then MUSEUM mates. Eventually I stumbled upon other passions, but that’s a story for another day. “Well, the mentality as regards the arts has improved over the years. Parents seem to be more willing to let their children explore their talents these days. We notice this very often at Arts Council Malta,” pointed out Zammit. I nod in agreement… with a little sense of relief…

Now, at least, modern day Papas won’t preach.

Rita Falzon is a language person. Being one myself, the prospect of exchanging a few words with language people often fills me with some suspense and lots of questions. Why some people tend to pick languages? Why anyone these days – in such a world arguably dominated by visuals – would opt to stick to them? What are their favourite languages and why? “Like most children of my generation I grew up watching Italian television. Paolo Bonolis’ Bim Bum Bam, Ciao Ciao and the like. Nonetheless, in secondary school I put italian on the backburner and choose French and then Spanish. Eventually I went on to specialize in the latter at the college and later in other schools,” she explained. I raised my eyebrows right away, as any (would-be) Boulevard Saint-Germain faithful would do. Maudits Français! as they say in Quebec. Still, why would anyone choose Spanish over French, I wonder. “Fácil!” she retorts. “To my mind it’s a common-sense option: Spanish is the fourth most spoken language in the world, and I wanted to be able to communicate with largest number of people possible. I just felt I should heed the Pragmatists. It paid off a few years down the road, especially when I broke into the tourism industry. I am a tourist guide by profession as well,” Falzon revealed.

Falzon’s professional interest in the holiday business earned her a Tourist Guide Certificate and License from the Institute of Tourism Studies and a first class Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Malta’s Institute of Tourism, Travel and Culture. All this while brushing up her Italian at advanced level as an autodidact. After a number of years working in the tourism sector, she moved on to greener pastures with yet another pragmatic choice. “I wanted to further my education by doing a Masters degree, but back then most post-graduate programmes available were very far from my interests. In the end I enrolled for an MA in Creativity and Innovation at the Edward de Bono Institute for the Design and Development of Thinking. Let’s face it, creativity and innovation have become incredibly important skills in all trades nowadays, regardless of one’s field,” she pointed out.

Especially in arts and cultural management, one would think. As Head of Funding at Arts Council Malta, Rita Falzon currently acts as general coordinator for the funding and investment portfolio of the Council to ensure efficient, effective and transparent fund management, evaluation, monitoring and reporting. This entails coordinating the funding team and overseeing the funding processes while consulting with the Director Funding and Strategy and respective Executives. Among her tasks, she updates and publishes guidelines and application forms related to the different funds on a regular basis. She also establishes and oversees a comprehensive yearly planner for all funding programmes with clearly defined frameworks and dates for programme launches, application deadlines, screening, evaluations, pitching sessions, publication of results and reporting dates. On the monetary front, Falzon oversees the funding processes ensuring the proper distribution of funds. Furthermore, she monitors the funded projects awarded to beneficiaries who have been allocated funds to ensure that the projects are being implemented as per agreement between the Council and the beneficiaries while coordinating the monitoring support, reviewing and sharing regular reports about the funds distributed with the associates. She also oversees communication processes related to the various ACM’s schemes and calls and discusses effective ways of executing the funds communications plans, the information sessions and the comprehensive support services to the prospective applicants. Finally, she communicates with various stakeholders on issues related to the Council’s funding portfolio. Whoof! Another long list of tasks indeed. I’ve yet to meet a Funding and Strategy Directorate team member who is not a busy bee…

As soon as our time ran out my mind was filled with more to think about, especially apropos this insoluble dogmatic/practical dichotomy that has plagued me for years. Obviously, no contradiction has been resolved and I won’t be taking Spanish evening classes anytime soon. Nonetheless, by the time Falzon disappeared into the ether I became perhaps a little wiser, a little more discerning. Chapeau!

I’ve often heard it said that all roads lead to Rome. It may sound cliché, but at times it is also very true, especially with regard to the individual career paths of Malta Arts Council’s Funding and Strategy Directorate team members. Adrian Debattista’s academic and professional route is no exception. “Notwithstanding my interest in culture and the arts, my first main specialization was in economics. See, economics is arguably a social science. It’s not only about studying finance and fiscal policy and what have you as most people think,” he told me a bit defensively. “It is also ostensibly about human relations and allocation of resources. Nonetheless, career prospects in economics tend to be quite limited, unless you want to specialize further in statistics and data analysis. Things might get boring in the long run. Thankfully, back then I had other interests, mainly the local music scene,” he adds.

Debattista is certainly not your typical economist. For starters, he’s a Hip Hop aficionado. “In my early teens I engaged in the local Hip Hop scene and later in our music scene in general, specifically in what many call the alternative scene. It wasn’t only about the music perse, especially when it came to Hip Hop. Truth be told, I was always fascinated with its subcultural dynamics: graffiti, DJing, tribal elements, explicit social roles. While also performing live, eventually I got involved – both before and while earning a living in the banking sector, mind you – in a few NGOs related to culture and social causes. Little I knew perhaps that they would define my future,” he explains.

After reading commerce and economics, Debattista completed with distinction a master’s degree in Cultural Management at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh where he focused his dissertation on the practices of live music promoters in Malta. He then furthered his digital marketing skills by attaining a professional diploma while also acquiring a PRINCE2 project management certification. Once more at Queen Margaret University, he is currently reading a PhD in Cultural Policy with a focus on Malta’s independent music scene. Meanwhile, he is representing Arts Council Malta – as an Expert Author, Board Member and Vice-Chair – at the Bonn based transnational association for the Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends.

The last one in particular got me curious. “The Compendium seeks to generate and review policy standards in areas of concern to governments and society, by providing knowledge, statistics, comparisons, resources, thematic sections and more,” he explains. “The country profiles contain information on the historical development, present structure, financial aspects, specific sectors and ongoing debates in national cultural policies. The information presented is derived from research studies, governmental documents and reports by ministers and other key representatives, reports or manifestos of lobby and advocacy groups, important statements from artists and cultural producers, from political campaigns or the media,” he clarifies. Debattista’s ongoing work with his German counterparts has inarguably provided him with vital insights for his key positions at Art Council Malta. As a Research Associate, he managed the Council’s research programme through qualitative and quantitative methods to conduct and commission evaluations and research regarding the Council’s initiatives and funding programmes, thus providing information and analysis for cultural policy decision-makers. He also assisted creative and cultural practitioners in managing artistic practice-based research projects by managing the Council’s former Research Support Grant. Amongst his manifold notable accomplishments, he supervised Malta’s first ever cultural participation survey and co-authored the most recent National Cultural Policy document.

As a recently appointed Head of Strategy at the Funding and Strategy Directorate, Debattista is responsible for the implementation and monitoring of the Council’s Strategy through the design, management and evaluation of strategic plans and frameworks supporting Malta’s cultural and creative sectors. He currently heads the strategy team managing the speċifiċi strategic initiatives and programmes outlined in the recently launched Strategy 2025 public consultation draft document, namely research, internationalisation, community cultural exchange, education, training and cultural entrepreneurship. He also contributes towards leading the development of partnerships and collaborations with stakeholders from the public, private and third sectors to further strengthen Malta’s creative ecology.

Compendiums. National Cultural Policies. A cultural rights manifesto. Two strategies on the trot. Dear me! I dare tell him that creatives often complain they feel lost in all these hypothetical blueprints. Others then often fret about the lack of tangible results. “Being a creative myself, I understand where they are coming from. But there’s a lot of discernible transitioning going on right now. As a nation we never really had an enlightenment period so to speak, so some things are still being tested. I’m aware that we tend to look at things from a utilitarian perspective, but this might prove counterproductive at times. Ultimately you will always need a philosophy – something substantial on paper to measure yourself against. Concrete results also depend, if you will, on the abstract. Short-term fixes won’t do the trick,” warns Debattista.

The abstract and the concrete… For a moment I’m reminded of Marx’s Das Kapital and its aftermath. But having worn and juggled with both hats myself, I can’t help giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Christopher Spiteri’s career spans across various roles and fields: Manufacturing Engineering, Project Management, Creative Brokering. Nonetheless, first and foremost he is a musician. “When I was very young I started playing at local band clubs, and once I finished my O levels I told my father that I wanted to study music at the Royal Academy of Music in London. But that was not possible as tuition fees were too expensive. Not to mention accommodation expenses,” recalls Christopher Spiteri. “And sadly some twenty-five years ago there weren’t many opportunities for Maltese people in the cultural sector. Thus I had to settle down for second best – namely Maths and Physics – with an eye to work in the engineering industry,” he adds.

He soon found out that working in a factory was not exactly his cup of tea. After a brief spell at STMicroelectronics, he took up a post-graduate research position at University of Malta’s Faculty of Engineering. But old habits die hard. His passion for music came back to haunt him. “I definitely felt more at home working at University. For starters, I got the chance to present my research at various conferences abroad and eventually also worked on EU projects. I guess in some ways Malta joining the European Union was game-changer, especially in terms of cultural prospects. Long story short, within three years I found myself studying music at the prestigious Conservatorio di Musica ‘Giuseppe Verdi’ in Milan after being awarded a full scholarship from the Italian Cultural Institute. During my stay in Italy I received my orchestral training with the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana, Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra and the Academy Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala. Talk about Fate twisting in mysterious ways!” recounts Spiteri with a glee.

Mysterious ways indeed. Spiteri’s experience in working on EU projects during his time at the Faculty – along with his six-year stint in Milan’s cultural scene – proved invaluable later on, particularly upon his return to Malta in 2013. After proving his managerial nous with a leading local EU Funding consultancy firm Spiteri joined Arts Council Malta as Creative Broker. He assisted various project management tasks related to the submission of new ACM proposals for the Creative Europe programme and supported Manoel Theatre’s participation in Creative Europe project ‘European Union Baroque Orchestra’ (EUBO).

In this current EU Project Associate role, Spiteri is now responsible for the development and implementation of ACM’s strategy concerning EU projects while identifying EU funded opportunities and coordinating the preparation of grant proposals. He prepares calls for application for grants awarded through the ESF.04.079 project, disseminates these grants with project partners and administers reimbursement processes. He also assigns responsibilities to the ESF.04.079 project coordination team while managing its overall preparation, implementation and reporting in line with the applicable EU and National rules. In addition, he also reports regularly to the Programme Implementation Directorate regarding the overall ESF project progress and disbursement of funds together with any issues which may affect their successful completion. Furthermore, he oversees all contractual and financial aspects of current projects.

In 2017 Spiteri prepared and submitted a proposal entitled ‘Creative Labs and Artistic Performances in Palestine’. The proposal was funded by the EuropeAid programme and saw Arts Council Malta collaborating with lead partners Al-Harah Theatre (Palestine), ŻiguŻajg International Festival (Malta), Spazju Kreattiv (Malta) and the International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts (IETM, Belgium) to enhance intercultural creative exchange between European and Palestinian cultural leaders, performing artists and their organisations through capacity-building, networking and showcasing. These past 3 years he has been managing a €1M ESF.04.079 project ‘CREATE2020: Investing in cultural and creative capacity skills in Malta’s public sector’. Busy, busy, busy.

As we keep talking over Zoom about everything and anything I can’t help thinking that this guy is quite something. Besides the abovementioned accomplishments, nonetheless, Spiteri’s greatest achievements have so far been arguably in music. As a soloist he premiered locally – accompanied by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra no less – Arutiunian’s and Plau’s Tuba Concertos. On an international scale, he performed with Teatro alla Scala, Sinfonica di Milano, Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Arena di Verona and Tiroler Festspiele Orchester. He also won the 7th International Edition of the Premio Virtuosité and the Concorso Società Umanitaria in 2008 after being recognised as one of the most promising students from all the Italian conservatoires.

I wonder how he managed to get so much done. Towards the end I ask him, somewhat vaguely, about his foremost inspirations. “Strangely enough, both as a cultural project manager and musician I owe a lot to Maths and Physics. They helped me to stay focused and organised… just like my wife these days,” jokes Spiteri. My word! To think that back in college – after just three weeks, alas – I dropped Math for Dante and Hardy… and my then girlfriend for singing. Perhaps Novalis was indeed on to something: character is Fate.

“One of the greatest benefits of studying the Classics, especially at a young age, is that it helps you organize and sharpen your thinking in virtually any other academic pursuit. It had provided me with a clear head start, I must say,” says Eleonora Ruggieri. I nod unconsciously: partly with admiration, partly with contrition. “What would I not give to read Plato’s Symposium in Ancient Greek and Seneca’s De Brevitate Vitae in Latin?” I ask half-jokingly.

Indeed, the manifold cognitive benefits of pursuing Classical studies have been well-documented. Ruggieri seems to throw in a little more proof. Born in the Urbs Aeterna of Rome, Ruggieri studied Greek and Latin while exploring generally complimentary fields such as literary translation and philosophy. Her curriculum vitae includes Bachelor’s Degree in Modern Languages and Cultures (with an emphasis on Spanish) and a Masters Degree in Public, Political and Institutional Communication from the University of Tuscia as well as a Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing from the Institute of Computer Education here at Żebbug. Sapere aude: a few months after settling in Malta in 2018 she also decided to take on Maltese as a foreign language. “Even though I knew I could get along anyhow I still felt as though I’d be missing out if I didn’t have a go at learning some basic Maltese. I am no fluent speaker by any means, but being able to use and grasp some simple phrases has brought me closer to the locals,” says Ruggieri. “At times it’s been a bumpy road. For us speakers of Latin-based languages mastering Maltese is a tough nut to crack, particularly Semitic verbs. Certain letters are also hard for us to pronounce properly. On the flip side, the seamless lexical blend with Sicilian and Italian elements strikes me as very fascinating,” she says.

Before I really got the chance to point out that Maltese is the only remaining Siculo-Arabic language in the world, the chat turned to her brief internship at University of Tuscia where she worked as an archivist. “Book lovers would definitely benefit from some hands-on working experience in archiving. It has deepened my appreciation of conventional printed books, especially very old books. And not only for reading purposes: I also find they have a certain feel, an alluring smell, don’t you think? I’m all for digital media but digital books will never, to my mind, outweigh paper ones. This is not to say, of course, that electronic media are of no use… like, say, our Zoom transcriber. Technology, eh?” jokes Ruggieri.

Which partly brings us promptly to her present work at the Arts Council Malta. Formerly a Communications Assistant at the Council, Ruggieri now designs and develops social media campaigns, coordinates and issues the ACM monthly newsletter and creates content for its website. She also coordinates the publication of the yearly funding programme and report while organising and promoting the monthly ACMlab events. Currently she also oversees the completion and the eventual dissemination of the Councils Strategy 2025 document. “Reaching people these days entails juggling with many different social media platforms all at once. This can prove disruptive and creates communication issues. Most news feeds are usually typically peppered with a constant stream of everything while statistics keep insisting that most viewers, understandably, have very little time and patience with frequent e-information overloads. Even reasonably visible cultural entities like us can end up, sometimes, left a tad behind or worse overlooked amidst that flux of noise,” admits the Creative Communications Broker.

“Ahimè, brevitate vitae indeed – time’s up.” We switched off our awful transcriber and soon got back – not to Plato or Seneca – but to our own noisy overloads and algorithms with this one timely note: “In a few days we will finally launch our upcoming strategy. It’s crucial that the public now learns about how the Art Council intends to still evolve further while adapting to the still turbulent times ahead. In the end, that’s the leading gist of the Council’s new strategy. That’s why this newsletter is so important now: we must communicate and invite feedback. Having all recent salient news posted to you once a month circa is a fair proposition. It’s more efficient and yet far less invasive. At times less is more. You might also get, luck permitting, to outsmart social media algorithms. Here’s the strategy behind our Strategy, voilà,” suggests Ruggieri.

“Gia!”

“The most important thing I did at home during the pandemic was fixing up my garden. Otherwise – like most people perhaps – I didn’t really do anything productive. As soon as the pandemic hit there was a lot of false hopes around: we all initially thought that finally we can be truly creative, finish-off long-delayed projects and whatnot. But admittedly it was a bit like living in the end times, to borrow a phrase from Slavoj Žižek,” says Neville Borg as he reflects over these past surreal months.

Nonetheless at times the worst of times – as Charles Dickens would have it – is also the best of times. Truth be told, Borg’s professional life certainly didn’t follow such an apocalyptic trajectory. In fact, during lockdown he has held Armageddon at bay by planning the dissemination of a recently completed cultural survey, developing new research studies and overseeing the Digital Research and Development RESTART Scheme. His efforts seem to have paid off: “During lockdown we had to make hay while the shone. We have addressed issues we’ve been meaning to address for many years. We focused quite heavily on research and development, online migration and the now pivotal role of digital technology within artistic and cultural practices. Eventually we issued a special Arts Fund call, to which local artists responded with unprecedented alacrity with a remarkable number of tech research-based proposals,” says Borg. He sounds relieved. Yahoo, in the end times we are not.

Meanwhile the Research Associate turns his attention to a much-cherished side-project, namely Wikimedia Community Malta. Launched in early 2016, this ongoing endeavour seeks to encourage the uptake of wiki activity among Maltese-speaking communities via several wiki pursuits, projects, training and outreach events such as monument photography, female art wiki coverage as well as Wikipedia editing and translation workshops. “As an organization we focus very much on Maltese language content as ours is one of the smallest and most problematic Wikipedias around, especially in terms of quality and impartiality. Besides, in terms of engagement and quantity we’re still lagging far behind other small countries such as Wales and Iceland. Perhaps due to the voluntary nature of such undertakings, finding an adequate number of committed suitable editors has so far proved difficult,” Borg laments. He also notes, quite legitimately, that the lack of serious art criticism is yet another spanner in the works. “Top-notch critics in Malta are regrettably a rare breed, especially when it comes to contemporary works. If we’d had a body of critics reviewing local works our wiki editors would also have had a solid corpus of critical literature to refer to and possibly to build upon. Alas, this is not the case,” remarks he.

I ask him straight away whether he thinks that local critics – presumably due to social and professional concerns – seem to prefer to lie doggo. He doesn’t mince his words: “A few local critics I’ve met literally told me that they steer clear from writing bad reviews. Some say they feel bad about hurting other people’s feelings. Others prefer not to make enemies. I feel it’s a shame really, but in fairness to them I also reckon that in a such a tiny country like ours – in which we’re all often roughly one degree away from everybody else – upsetting the apple cart is no mean feat. Let’s face it: most local artists depend heavily on peer support and public funding. They’re afraid that if they speak out they might end up cancelled, ostracized and, worse still, not considered for funding. Nonetheless, nobody benefits from such a lack of honest informed feedback, least of all the Arts Council for that matter,” he bluntly remarks.

The discussion then turned to cultural participation trends in Malta, specifically apropos a recently exposed gender divide amongst theatre attendees. “One previous cultural survey suggests that women are generally more interested in attending cultural events, particularly theatrical ones. That being said, the survey only looks at passive modes of engagement. We still don’t have a broader understanding of local gender trends as regards active participation. It is also yet unclear whether this is also reflected in most project proposals submitted to the various ACM funding schemes. That’s one of the things we are currently focusing on in our latest cultural survey analysis,” rounds off Borg.

The next thing we knew our time ran out. “We almost reached the end of time,” I joke over Zoom. “Indeed, but hopefully not as your Žižek intended,” he sanguinely retorts. “May we all see the best of times…”

L-aktar sitwazzjoni li effettwat ix-xogħol tiegħi bħala kompożitur, kif ukoll bħala producer kien il-fatt li l-bookings internazzjonali kollha li kelli fl-2020 ġew posposti, peress li l-festival konċernat dik is-sena ġie kkanċellat. Din għalija kienet “reality check” kbira. Sitt bookings waqgħu mil-llum għall-għada. Dan kien ifisser ukoll li tlift madwar 50% tal-qligħ tiegħi għal dik is-sena.

Proġett ieħor li kelli nikkanċella ġimgħa qabel it-tnedija, kien “Kafka’s Insect”. Kont ili aktar minn sena naħdem fuq din il-produzzjoni li kienet saħansitra kisbet l-għajnuna tal-Malta Arts Fund.

Is-sena ta’ qabel (2019) kont ġejt maħtur direttur artistiku tal-Malta International Arts Festival (MIAF). Meta faqqgħet il-COVID kellna kollox imħejji għall-edizzjoni tal-2020 … iżda bħat-teatri u festivals kollha internazzjonali, hekk ukoll bil-MIAF bdejna nħejju programm online. Nistqarr li din kienet sfida interessanti għalija. Kont ili snin napplika l-vidjografija fix-xogħol tiegħi u għalhekk ħessejtni komdu li nuża dan il-medium bħala “vetrina” għall-MIAF.

MIAF 2020 – YouTube playlist

L-online vidjow fil-fatt sar il-“palk” il-ġdid għal kull teatru, festival, arena, teatru tal-opra … eċċ. U din ħolqot demokrazija interessanti bejn l-istrutturi kulturali kollha internazzjonali. Il-Palais Garnier (Opéra National de Paris) u l-MIAF issa għandhom l-istess “spazju” … l-ispazju virtwali tal-internet. U għandhom l-istess “palk” … dak tal-mobile, tablet jew computer.

Ħaġa oħra li seħħet bla ħsieb fl-ewwel fażi tal-COVID kienet vidjow qasir li ġbidt tal-partner tiegħi Dawn, iddoqq it-toy piano fuq l-irdumijiet ta’ Ħad-Dingli. Bla ma nafu kif, dan il-vidjow kiseb ’il fuq minn 8000 view fi ftit ġranet fuq facebook. Il-vidjow ixxerred fuq diversi blogs internazzjonali tal-mużika … tant li l-kumpanija tat-toy pianos Schoenhut, lil Dawn bagħtitilha l-akbar mudell tagħhom b’xejn mill-Amerka.

5 MEASURES OUT by OLIVIA KIEFFER

Ovvjament il-vidjow qatt ma jista’ jieħu post l-esperjenza ta’ kunċert live ġewwa teatru. Iżda il-vidjow iġib miegħu vantaġġi u sorpriżi interessanti. Wieħed mill-vidjows ġodda li pproduċejna għall-MIAF 2020 kien dak tal-kanzunetta “Kemm Hu Sabiħ” b’arranġament ġdid ta’ Kris Spiteri f’kollaborazzjoni mal-Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO).

Kemm Hu Sabiħ (MIAF 2020)

Fi spirtu ta’ soledarjetà, involvejna 17-il kantant lokali u r-riżultat kien tassew spettakolari. Fi ftit ġranet dan il-vidjow kiseb aktar mill-15000 view fuq facebook u hemm indunajt kemm dan il-mezz għandu saħħa. L-attivitajiet tal-MIAF normalment jiġbdu udjenza ta’ madwar 500 ruħ …iżda dan il-vidjow wasal għand eluf, bil-konsegwenza li jippromwovi kemm il-festival kif ukoll l-artisti. Fil-fatt dan il-proġett tant ħassejtu li kien suċċess, li fl-edizjoni tal-2021 ipproponejt vidjow ġdid. “Fejn il-Baħar” (Down by the Water) tal-grupp The Characters – b’arranġament ġdid ta’ Kris Spiteri f’kollaborazzjoni mal-MPO.

Fejn il-Baħar (MIAF 2021)

https://www.facebook.com/324697727231/videos/811778533041048

F’Lulju tal-2020 kelli ferħa bla temma! Festival f’Ċipru bbukkja waħda mill-produzzjonijiet tiegħi: il-ballet “PARADE & the Velvet Gentleman”. Dan il-festival kien maħsub li jittella’ f’Ottubru 2020 u kont eċitat li fl-aħħar, wara 6 xhur wieqaf, ġiet opportunità ta’ safar u ta’ xogħol. Iżda ma kellux ikun, għax f’Awwissu Malta ġiet red zone u l-booking tħassar. Niftakar li d-direttur artistiku tal-festival f’Ċipru qalli li jkun ta’ reklam ħażin għall-festival jekk nuru li se nġibu artisti minn Malta! Jidher li għalissa se jkolli nibqa’ nikkuntenta bl-ispazju virtwali tal-vidjow u tal-internet! … iżda kif semmejt qabel, il-medium tal-vidjow jinteressani u l-opportunitajiet baqgħu ġejjin. Ġejt misteden nidderieġi l-kunċert tal-indipendenza tal-MPO f’Settembru tal-2020:

Kunċert tal-Indipendenza 2020

U f’Novembru jien u Dawn ġejna mistiedna mit-Three Palaces Festival biex nikkontribwixxu sensiela ta’ vidjows bħala parti mill-programm tal-2020.

Out of the Cage

Iżda naħseb li minn dawn kollha, l-aktar proġett għal qalbi huwa LA PIETÀ. Fi Frar ta’ din is-sena, iddeċidejt li nidderieġi u nipproduċi vidjow li kien ilu snin iberren f’moħħi. Kollox beda b’kunċett li naqleb is-sessi fil-Pietà ta’ Michelangelo: in-nudo tal-korp ta’ Kristu jsir mara u l-figura tal-Madonna ssir raġel. Għall-bidu, dan kien biss kunċett u ma kontx ċert kif l-aħjar jissarraf. Iżda wara ħafna ħsieb iddeċidejt li noħloq sekwenza koreografika għal vidjow … dak li llum jissejaħ “videodance”; koreografija maħsuba speċifikament għall-video. L-idea kienet li nippreżenta dan il-vidjow ġewwa Spazju Kreattiv bħala installazjoni minn Marzu tul il-Ġimgħa l-Kbira sa Ħadd il-Għid. Iżda anki din id-darba, ix-xitan reġa’ deffes denbu, għax ftit ġranet qabel it-tnedija kellna lockdown. Għall-inqas din id-darba l-proġett stajt inxerrdu fuq YouTube:

LA PIETÀ – a videodance project

Words by Ruben Zahra. 

Media was there before but now it took centre stage. Perhaps previously taken for its easy availability for granted and now unsuspectingly accepting it was our umbilical cord to the outside world. At times, what often appears on social media could be frustrating for persons like myself who truly value culture and its real contribution.

When the first lockdown struck us there was no time to think. In reality, every day brought in new information, new rules, new worries. It did not dawn on us at first what was about to happen and how our ‘normality of going about our daily life would drastically change both physically and mentally.

Watching the news daily seeing the reality of death, stretched resources, and the very idea of liberty being taken, the fear seemed to have made us move inward, deepen our reflections and challenge our imagination to a place perhaps we have never been to. Needless to say, an awareness publically grew in the importance of the arts and their solid contribution was needed for a well-being healthy society. As we were locked in our homes, some of us in solitary confinement, the only source of momentary distraction would often come from the arts.

As a practising dance artist, teacher and choreographer, my first responsibility was to support my students and to get them through the semester not only physically but also find ways how to ease the burden of learning online. However, in all my years of teaching experience nothing prepared me for this. It was frustrating, to say the least, that what is usually covered in a physical class was virtually impossible to sustain that kind of attention on a screen. I found I needed to constantly encourage dancers to find a voice that they can identify with, perhaps finding new ways to understand ourselves better and the world around us. I had to find a way. I would find myself exhausted with the burden of worry and days and nights became one as schedule and time was intertwining for a while.

Personally speaking, it was a completely different homemade studio situation, re-teaching yourself ‘how-to-teach’ through digital technology in difficult spaces. How do we create the sensation of touch, space, communication, energy, physicality, let alone the emphasis on dance technique? How do we keep the attention, the interest and sustain excellence? Theory is doable, practice is …..!

It was a struggle in the early weeks, eventually reaching out to colleagues, discussing and exchanging ideas, and finding some form of support in one another developed new communication skills for us all. The Zoom phenomena! What was taken for granted was no longer. Newfound skills were explored in new formations of learning, and this I personally found challenging. A new existence of observation, deeper listening and tuning in to detail of things that were assumed in the past through other senses.

In these times we tap into our collective ability to try to make sense of a new normal. Are we mourning the past? Or a time we can never get back? As our consciousness struggles to frame the new reality we begin perhaps to reach out through our confinement to share what we love through our art. It is more than a casual swap of ideas for entertainment but more of a way of externalising our personalities and who we are as artists continuing our journey through new paths.

My self-survival command mode was ‘stay productive’. I had to, otherwise, I would lose my sanity. I needed to be immersed in projects, that’s where my ‘normal’ lives. And if I did not have one, I found a way to create one at home reaching into things I had shelved in the past that I had no time for, painting and dabbling in new mediums. Suddenly I needed wall space to hang them all! So I started attacking old furniture!

In the time of confinement, we seek TV, film, books, music, dance, theatre to give us the freedom to lock into the imagination, this frees us from reality. It is the art that connects us to the impossible, away from our current context and it is also a way that connects us as human beings in a world where all things are possible, or perhaps no longer so much in our grasp at the moment.

It seems that the world we wake up in is an imitation of the other. Things look the same but they are not. I missed my family, relatives and social circles terribly. This was hard.

Whilst losing many local and international projects like so many of my fellow artists, made me tap into smaller commissions which opened a new door of creativity. I still got to play and explore a little, in what I love to do best the three C’s, Choreograph, Create, Collaborate! New experiences brought in new strengths such as choreographing online, a very interesting chapter and a story to tell on another blog perhaps! It’s amazing how if you allow your thinking to shift a little, it takes a new form of risk, new approaches evolve that enhance and make work a valid experience from all perspectives.

As a teacher, we must practice what we preach. You just have to try and if you fail it’s a learning curve to do it better next time, and if you manage, well, it just encourages you to keep going. Recognising that we live in a digital world love or hate it, one had to keep up and get on with it. However, all this ‘newness’ was overwhelming and of course will never take away the feeling of real live performances and theatre. That feeling is unreplaceable. They coexist but as humans, we thrive on the need to have the living experience. The real thing. On the other hand, it was effective to see the reach one’s work could have globally online notwithstanding the free-flowing comments and reviews. It makes one vulnerable and stronger simultaneously.

Varied forms of collaborations brought the global dance family closer, the network grew stronger. Suddenly, I was communicating with long-respected artists in their fields on an equal level playing field. In conversation, we were all going through the same experiences; sadness, frustrations, survival modes. I finally found the moment to tap into personal research and professional development training by taking online in-depth courses with phenomenal established tutors that I have admired and never found the time to do so due to busy schedules. This allowed me to personally train in other forms of dance techniques fusing them into my own style of work and methodologies. There were days of course where frustration kicked in, and if you let it a heaviness knocks on your door. This is normal I kept telling myself, we are human. I missed dance in all its entirety as it’s a big part of who I am.

Attending online labs was an outlet I found helpful, many issues were raised and discussed, this allowed me to meet others from the various fields in arts and culture, that perhaps would have never acquainted myself with. Seeing their perspectives, their reason, their lens, their suggestions and sharing with my own thoughts brought in ideas and the juices of creativity began to stir. Yes, the pandemic brought many difficulties, however, it also shook hard enough to remind me that our artistic journeys are never linear. We persevere, continue, invest and battle on. We will return better and stronger! Thirsty for art, to be together, this phenomenon and need for a movement contributes so much to a healthy society. On a last note, I am content to see the sunrise and sunset rise and fall whilst listening to the sounds of life. Grateful I am still here………..

Words by Francesca Tranter. 

I think the most devastating thing for us artists, apart from the obvious hugely significant financial ramifications, is the sense of loss. We feel bereft of the part within us that is probably the strongest part inside us. In the more introspective of our beings, this period has perhaps allowed us more time to conceptualise, compose, curate in the extraordinary spaces of our mind… that wonderfully psychedelic, kaleidoscopic, unpredictable labyrinth, that sheer open space… a real dichotomy of ‘safe haven’ and extraordinary freedom.  We are a thousandfold richer for allowing it to ‘be’, assimilating the beauty and wonder of the world around us.

We have been asked so many times: Can the Arts bounce back? Music has managed to bring people together throughout history – and still does. One need only mention the Christmas Truce which brought ceasefire and peace, if only for Christmas Eve, in the First World War with the singing of Christmas Carols by British and German troops together in no man’s land, where officers and men got out of the trenches, shook hand and exchanged greetings and gifts; the incredible Baltic Chain (Chain of Freedom) when two million people in the Baltic created a human 675km chain of people holding hands and singing across the borders of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania; or, closer still, the West-Eastern Divan orchestra which, to date, still brings Palestine and Israel together, defying fierce political divides in the Middle East, creating a space where all differences are forgotten and something new and beautiful is created by making music together.

What are the Arts if not a way of speaking, of reacting, of setting trends, and of communicating?  Few things are more beautiful and intense than making music or sharing musical experiences together, than the exhilaration and emotion on stage and in the public just after the curtains close, the wonderful camaraderie of a community project, the awe at the world of art and sculpture, the indescribable sense of immense fulfilment after one creates something, and the adrenalin kick throughout the process, the recognition of what this does to all of us individually inside, as artists, as participants, as audiences, as visitors, and collectively as a society… the basic sense of well-being and of being together, and, to put it simply, just having fun! 

Never before have the Arts been more important in my lifetime.  Luckily (perhaps), unlike in our previous generations, we live in a digital world that makes separation a bit less painful, and allows the Arts to speak in different ways.  Like many other industries, the arts sector has taken a massive hit over the last twelve months. As an international artistic director, I cannot feel more strongly for the over 3 million people in the UK so far excluded from any packages and support – many of whom are freelancers, the real backbone of the creative economy.  This is tragic for so many on a personal level, but it is also tragic for our industry – an industry that, as reported by the Creative Industries Federation, was growing four times the rate of the economy as a whole, contributing £116bn in GVA in 2019, and creating new jobs at three times the UK average, prior to the pandemic. 

Within the European Union, there is an acknowledgement of the importance of the Arts, as can be seen through the trilogue negotiations recently concluded, pending final approval of the legal texts by the European parliament and the Council – with a dedicated budget of more the €2.4 billion for the Arts for Creative Europe Programme 2021-2027, with the 2021 budget coming in at more than £300M Euros, and with an appreciation and recognition of the smaller organisations, with co-financing rates of up to 80%.

The sector is a resilient one, and a creative one, constantly adapting itself; not to mention the internal enrichment and health benefits it brings with it.  It is also the sector that has been with everybody throughout this devastating year, bringing moments of joy and beauty into people’s homes.  With proper support, the creative industries will flourish once again, coming back even stronger. 

Art has endured with us throughout history. She always has our back and we shall remain loyal to Her. May we all look back on these days very soon,  proud to have acted in the ways we have done, and of our little part in helping society when it was at its most vulnerable – in whichever way we could best do so – even, crucially, if that was by staying at home to help save lives. Finally, a thank you to all – friends, colleagues, supporters, partners and collaborators, and our marvellous audiences.  Please stay with us throughout this.  We shall certainly remain here for you.  We have ploughed on… Keep safe and take care of each other. Extraordinary, sad and uncertain times. May we all get through this safely and well; and may the world be kinder to us all soon.

“As I always say, we must find ways to dance in the rain, and to build turbines for gales…”. Here is The Three Palaces Festival responding to the pandemic with its 2020 edition curated specifically for the digital medium itself. 

Words by Dr Michelle Castelletti. 

A paradoxical positioning which is much in line with the manner in which many lived the pandemic. In life, we are at times faced with situations wherein we are forced to reflect on existential concerns, dilemmas such as what unites us to the rest of humanity, what makes us diverse, and what makes us so similar. The pandemic thrust humanity into the depths of the abyss, when death visited our doorstep on a daily basis, when the need for human contact had to be kept at bay due to enforced isolation. Our individual and collective sense of being was ruptured, without rite or ritual, and a transition of great magnitude loomed. However, such liminal spaces arrive with added benefits, as with each major transition comes the possibility of change. Just as we descend into freefall with familiar, disorientating, gut-churning chaos, we similarly have the capacity to emerge out of moratorium, having shed the old and embraced a more coherent world view.

With this context as a backdrop, the artist in me had the liberty to take central stage. I had the physical and mental space to ponder on fundamental issues, and finding meaning out of a meaninglessness reality spurred me to action. My creative forces were let loose. Day after day after day, while the pandemic raged on, I found refuge in my studio, thinking, sketching, and painting. While firmly rooted in an urban context, my imagination explored familiar and distant terrains, both primitive and divine.

The journey started off with the “Lands” series, wherein I explored the female form, adopting a mostly arid background, except for the presence of life-giving water. The series moved from figures in total abandonment to figures in a state of complete union, in blissful serenity. Themes of isolation and clinical detachment were balanced out with the harmony of oneness, in synch with what was going on around me. In this series of works, I pondered on what makes us draw near and what makes us detach; what makes us seek the novel or the familiar, and what makes us retract. Amidst the contextual confusion that surrounded me, I concentrated on themes related to the intimacy of being.

My next major enterprise during the pandemic was the aptly named “Darkness at Noon”. In this collective exhibition which explored the uncanny, I employed frenetic figuration and the use of the union of the human with the bestial, mixing the mythological and the pagan, with opposites and dualities being explored through juxtaposition and mirroring. This resulted in multi-layered collages, wherein the most primal and raw emotions were portrayed. Archetypal characters on canvas assumed primordial and base qualities, with this representation implying that adopting an animal nature prevents humanity from becoming conscious of its creaturely origins. Similar to Otto Rank’s psychoanalytic concept that unconscious forces prevent humanity from thinking of its animal nature and, consequently, its death (Rank, 1930/2003), I wanted to place the fear of death at the foreground, at a time when such a fear was palpable in the community, through embracing the individual and collective shadow.

The pandemic also gave me the possibility to reflect on the more elevated aspects of what makes us human and what links us to the ethereal. As an artist, I am deeply interested in classical painting, in the beauty of form, line, and composition. With these concepts in mind, I embarked on a diptych entitled “Agnus Dei”, featured in the collective exhibition {v}. The diptych featured the union of the gods with humanity and the bestial, with the upper section depicting a utopian salute to creation, and the lower section flagrantly displaying the downfall of man.

“Primavera”, the largest canvas I have painted to date, came hot in the heels of “Agnus Dei”. At first glance, the painting features mythic figures, humans, and animals, caught in a seemingly playful, surreal dance, cavorting in complete and utter abandon. Yet, similar to the tragedy that has struck the world, the main protagonists of this orchestrated pictorial scene are visual symbols of the angst which torments humanity, and the aftermath which may occur when man is in the grips of the relentless pursuit of pleasure. Our hedonistic displays have exacted a high cost.

This is the reality I have lived for the last year, and the artist in me has echoed the roller coaster ride that the world has lived through. Humanity has not emerged unscathed. Let’s hope that the scars will be faint and the cracks will be small enough to sustain the living.

Photo credit: ‘Mediterra’ series (Circe and her Nymphs), Gabriel Buttigieg.

Words by Gabriel Buttigieg. 

Gaston Bachelard analogised the poesis of our existence through the idea of the ‘happy home’.  Not necessarily meaning the physical shell of the house, because the comforting and restorative feeling of “home” resides in our memory, which we can dream of anytime or anywhere.  But these dream values are the creative tools that furnish the inner quarters of our soul – the “house” within which we live, cradling us from birth, fashioning who we are. 

We grow to attach the greatest protective values over our ‘dream spaces’ because our imagination needs to be our most defended space for our survival.  To do this we learn to negotiate a healthy balance between the ‘private’ and ‘public’, to guard our personal boundaries and nurture our personal freedom. This, after all, is what gives us control and defines our individuality.  Our human double anthropology distinguishes the Diurnal from the Nocturnal in terms of personal spacetime – we devote ‘public space’ for rational worktime and ‘private space’ for dreamed time.  These interchangeable mechanisms between our interiorities and exteriorities are key to our vitality and emotional well-being.  When the harmonising of these “spaces” becomes compromised it takes its toll on our creativity and deprives us of ‘happy memories’.

Truth be told, I have never felt my inner quarters so rudely interrupted as now.  My role as artist is my space for dreaming; that as educator, on the other hand, is protective of the dream space of young others.  The conflict has not been easy.  Remote mentoring has made things manageable, but it is also invasive on the “dream space”.  The Art space must remain a physically ‘defended space’, as should the educational experience. Nothing can replace the heightened interaction engaging all the senses in our human-to-human relationships.  Technologies are extensions to our imagination, not replacements.  When Paul Virilio spoke about ‘the aesthetics of disappearance’ years ago, he said human beings were confusing their natural and artificial horizons (through digital screens).  What he meant was that our technological gains would also bring losses to our spatial sensorium.

On the personal level, for a wanderlust like myself, I have found these times incarcerating.  Travel fuels my work and imagination, and the density of a small island makes it hard to be excited by change of scene. Quietude and isolation are not the same; neither is solitude out of one’s choice the same as confinement imposed by legal notices.  The invisible presence of Covid-19 leaves little space for “dreaming” when our “house” is no longer protected.  Zoom life and homeworking may have solved some problems, but this also blurs worktime from playtime, interrupts time zones and personal space, and strains relationships.  Imagination also strives in a void when plans and futures feel uncertain.  

Yet, all is not dismal and where there is challenge there is life.  The above has formed the substance for a curatorial collaboration at distance between myself in Malta and the German curator Verena Voigt in Berlin.  Space-Is-Your-Own-Expression – https://www.instagram.com/space_is_your_own_expression/  is an artistic Documentary Photographic Project on Instagram that examines the understanding of space under the condition of Covid-19 in Malta through the eyes of 95 art and architecture university students.  This anthropological record explores the frictional tensions between private and public spaces that have become increasingly tenuous since the outbreak of the pandemic. The photos and captions are revealing of the diverse emotions of these socially distanced students at a time when First Year should have been the most exciting.  Our conceptual “Space House” will, in hindsight, optimistically serve as a memory to cherish ‘daydreaming’ as the prerogative of our personal freedom and relationships with space and one another.

_{Credit: @Space_Is_Your_Own_Expression curated by Ruth Bianco (MT) and Verena Voigt (DE); image courtesy Nicole Micallef.}

_{Photo credit: ‘Uncertain Paths’ by Ruth Bianco.}

References: Gaston Bachelard: La poétique de l’espace (1958); John Armitage: Paul Virilio Live Interviews (2001).

Words by Prof. Ruth Bianco.

For anyone in doubt of the economic power of the CCS, just click onto the recent in-depth study by E&Y ‘Rebuilding Europe’. The study is on the cultural and creative economy before and after the COVID-19 crisis, and published in January 2021 https://www.rebuilding-europe.eu

We are just hearing that in mid-May 2021 the European Parliament will be approving the new Creative Europe programme. This is substantially increased by €800 million to €2.24 billion with its co-funding rates also to be increased. A new dedicated cluster to culture under Pillar II in Horizon Europe programme called Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society will also shortly open.

There is a much emphasis on rebuilding and reopening Europe, with a focus on bringing the citizen closer to the Green Deal through cultural initiatives like the New European Bauhaus. Where is Malta’s recovery plan and reopening strategy for culture, which is crucial to our economic survival? What is happening with our smaller-scale open air venues and festivals? We have seen excellent examples of good practice from this sector last summer, adhering perfectly to the health authority guidelines. We need to support the most affected sectors of the economy to prepare for reopening. The CCS must support tourism and vice versa.

We must latch onto this crucial link between culture and tourism. What are the Maltese Islands offering visitors during these months besides our natural sun and sea resources? We are selling our climate, our diving and our healthcare system according to the Visit Malta website. Is this our new tourism policy for Malta? We need to enable local festivals to reopen. I am of course not speaking about the MTV mass event, which cannot yet take place, but the smaller-scale seated festivals such as the Victoria Arts Festival, all the Festivals Malta summer festivals, the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival organized by Inizjamed, and the APS festival which opened its doors for the first time last summer, organized superbly by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, just to mention a few.

Festivals in northern climates such as the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF), are opening outdoor events during their non-ideal summer months. Malta has the ideal climate conditions and outdoor venues and yet this is not yet given a go-ahead to proceed. The EIF are using three purposely built pavilions with a covered stage, shorter performances with no intervals, physical distancing, regular cleaning and contactless ticketing. It is clear that smaller scale events and festivals, especially outdoors, observing all COVID preventative measures, have no reason not to be allowed. This is probably the only sector which has remained in total lockdown since March.

We have venues such as Teatru Pjazza Rjal which already have the perfect conditions for this. Other spaces can be set up and can be made available for events whilst sharing costs between festivals or event organizers. It is already late to organize fully-fledged summer festivals, but it is not totally impossible to engage local artists. Many are currently without any work at all. A time factor needs also to be considered as there is a lot of work to be done to make them happen.

We have learned a lot of new skills during this pandemic and have also come to realize the importance of further access to digital development and training for new skills. However good they are, online performances will never replace the live experience. We all understand the health authorities are doing their best to keep us safe in these challenging times. However, we must also ensure the government listens to the voice of reason. We need to roll out a recovery plan for culture, and reopen – with restrictions – live performance as soon as possible.

Photo credit: Lindsey Bahia. 

Words by Davinia Galea, Managing Director at ARC Research & Consultancy. 

Film Critic and theorist, André Bazin once said that, “As soon as it is formed, the skin of history peels off as film.” They have always proved to be a very popular genre. Many of the most critically acclaimed works of the last fifteen years can be readily identified as historical movies.

From the very beginning of the art form, historical films have served as vehicles of artistic ambition, but more importantly, as a spark for public debate. While many detractors of this genre question their potential to mislead, the historical film is also widely recognized for its ability to establish an emotional connection to the past. This can awaken a powerful sense of national belonging but also probe one’s identity. No matter what, the historical film places the audience on the balcony of History.

Recently, together with my fellow colleagues Aaron Briffa and Pedja Miletic, I have embarked on a wondrous journey to try and bring to life the bread riots of 1919. Blood on the Crown has already opened in North America to an astounding success.

Crippled by years of austerity, soaring unemployment and rising prices, an exhausted Maltese population rose to challenge the despotic Colonial Office. A day of rage was called on the 7th of June, 1919. Thousands of hungry, destitute and hopeful men descended upon the city to demand much needed reforms. The protests turned violent. The British flag was torn down from many government buildings. Numerous edifices were looted and then burnt. British troops were immediately deployed to restore peace and order. Blood flowed freely as many died that day. The British hid the story from the public and tried to cancel any traces of what happened.

The film gives a snap shot of that fateful day. It tries never to take sides. Caught in the cross hairs of duty and oppression, the viewer is placed centre stage, reliving pages of silenced history, shifting between the occupier and the occupied.

The film was directed by award winning director Davide Ferrario who moved his camera with great elegance to capture the very soul of humanity on both sides of the conflict. Hollywood legends, Malcolm McDowell and Harvey Keitel form part of the cast. The Maltese actors are not side-lined into secondary roles but form part of the backbone of this movie.

The music is written by Maltese composer Alexey Shor. Blood on the Crown would have never been made if it wasn’t for the support of Anamorphic Media, the Arts Council Malta, the European Foundation for Support of Culture, and Trilight Entertainment and Screen Malta. 

A singular thanks goes out to Albert Marshall and Mario Azzopardi, two stalwarts of culture, who have been instrumental in aiding this production and helping us shape its ambitious vision. Konstantin Ishkhanov was equally vital to the whole production. 

Johan Grech and his team at the Malta Film Commission deserve another special mention for their constant and heartfelt assistance.

Finally, the production team would also like to thank Minister Jose Herrera and Simon Abela for believing in this story.

The film, covid permitting, should open in Malta on the 5^th of June.

Words by Dr Jean Pierre Magro. 

Kulħadd kien qiegħed jaħdem mid-dar dak iż-żmien, u allura bdejt l-esperjenza tiegħi mal-kumpanija nazzjonali tat-teatru hekk ukoll, naħdem b’mod remot. Kont diġà ilni naħdem fis-settur kulturali għal madwar ħames snin u aktar, u ġejt milqugħa b’mod virtwali mill-kollegi tiegħi. Meta nħares lura jinħass qisu dan kollu ilu żmien twil li ġara, u mhux kwistjoni ta’ ftit inqas minn sena ilu, fejn kollettivament rajna d-dinja tagħna tinbidel mil-lejl għan-nhar.

Minħabba dan iż-żmien ta’ inċertezza, bħala Teatru Malta rajna kif nagħmlu biex naħsbu fl-artisti. F’April bħala Teatru Malta, ħriġna b’ inizjattiva bl-isem ta’ Theatre Depożit, fejn inkoraġġejna lill-artisti li jaħdmu fit-teatru f’pajjiżna biex japplikaw magħna bi proġett jew anka b’mod li jippreżentaw lilhom infushom, biex ikunu parteċipi fil-programmi tagħna tas-snin segwenti b’mod li nkomplu nkattru l-kreattività. Din kienet waħda mill-inizjattivi maġġuri tagħna waqt il-pandemija tal-COVID-19, bil-premessa li l-artisti jitħallsu waqt il-panedmija u jaħdmu aktar tard.

Kollox kien wieqaf u kien żmien pjuttost stramb, u kien żmien fejn konna qed nirrevedu l-programm tal-avvenimenti tagħna għat-tliet snin li ġejjin, u filfatt ibbażajna din l-inzijattiva fuq żmien usa’ bl-iskop li l-artist jaħseb magħna bil-quddiem.

Din l-inizjattiva ġiet deskritta bħala innovattiva u ġiet milqugħa ferm mill-prattikanti tal-industrija, għaliex għenet biex tikkontribwixxi għall-iżvilupp tal-komunità artistika tagħna b’mod li niżguraw xogħol fil-futur fejn pprovdejna dħul tant bżonnjuz għal dawn l-artisti fl-ewwel parti tal-2020, biex ngħinuhom jaħdmu aktar b’mod kreattiv u kif ukoll sabiex ninkoraġġixxu x-xena lokali biex inkomplu nsaħħu t-tessut kulturali tagħna, b’mod li ispirat metodi simili oħra biex dan ikompli jissaħħaħ.

Minkejja l-pandemija, id-dinja artistika xorta sabet mod, u għadha qed issib modi kif twassal il-messaġġ tagħha u tkompli trawwem il-kreattività u bħala Teatru Malta rajna li nkomplu nwasslu t-teatru b’modijiet oriġinali.

F’Ġunju pparteċipajna fil-Malta International Arts Festival permezz tal-Għanja ta’ Malta, proġett poetroniku fejn addattajna l-poeżija ta’ Oliver Friggieri bil-parteċipazzjoni ta’ 50 attur u li kien disponibbli online. Dan intwera wkoll wara l-funeral ta’ Oliver Friggieri li sfortunatament ħalliena s-sena l-oħra. Kien l-aħħar proġett li sar bil-kitba ta’ Friggieri qabel mewtu, u jkolli ngħid fuq nota personali hu proġett kemmxejn għal qalbi minħabba li għandi mħabba kbira lejn il-Malti, u fil-fatt kont studenta tiegħu fi żmien l-Università.

F’Novembru wkoll ħadna sehem f’ ŻiguŻajg b’Alice fl-Art Bla Meravilji – produzzjoni b’pakkett sħiħ ta’ Teatru DIY li tista’ titella’ kullimkien u jipparteċipaw fiha l-ispettaturi stess. Din il-pandemija ġabet bosta xkiel magħha, però nħoss li ġabet ukoll modijiet ġodda kif inkomplu nkunu kreattivi, b’mod li tinstiga l-intelliġenza u l-ħsieb tagħna biex naħsbu oltre mill-4 ħitan li mdorrijin naħsbu fihom. Din il-produzzjoni qanqlet bosta ħsibijiet speċjalment minħabba n-natura tas-suġġett tagħha u qegħdin naħdmu biex inkomplu nwassluha lil hinn.

Panto in the Dark kien sar appuntament annwali li ma kontx nitilfu – il-kunċett jinteressani mmens u l-fatt li qed tesperjenza t-teatru fid-dlam turi l-qawwa tal-arti u s-saħħa tagħha biex tilħaq lil dak li jkun. Din is-sena, ovvjament, kellha ssir b’mod differenti u morna fuq ir-radju – kunċett differenti, imma divertenti xorta waħda.

Id-dinja tagħna nbidlet, u jiġini l-ħsieb li qisna qegħdin bħal meta tkun qiegħed tara r-rifless tiegħek fil-baħar u tara li biċ-ċaqliq tal-ilma d-dehra tiegħek mhix korretta mija fil-mija, imma għadha hemm b’mod li tista’ tifhem li qiegħda hemm, u li x-xbiha tiegħek hija preżenti, għaliex għadek hemm. Għadek tista’ toħloq, tesprimi, tiddiskuti. Ġew ispirati bosta xogħlijiet artistiċi bil-pandemija. Tajna l-opportunità (fosthom anka aħna bħala Teatru Malta) biex bil-panedmija madwarna xorta rajna kif inwasslu l-vina artistika fid-djar tan-nies permezz ta’ spettakli live mxandra online jew fuq it-televixin, li nżuru mużewijiet b’mod virtwali, li nilqgħu f’darna d-dinja tal-arti mit-twieqi elettroniċi tagħna. U dak hu s-sabiħ tal-arti u l-kultura, li b’xi mod jew ieħor, dejjem se jkunu preżenti, għaliex għidli waħda din, x’inhi dinjietek mingħajrhom?

Words by Maria Angela Vassallo, Administration Manager at Teatru Malta. 

What does a conductor do? This is one of the most difficult questions for any conductor, because it forces us to reason in terms of “what” about Music. This would be almost a mistake. Music is not a ‘thing’ and probably cannot be reduced to an object of thought, in the sense that we cannot define it and contain it in our mind. On the contrary it is we, who are part of Music.

Let’s simplify. I look at Nature and Music as twin sisters, where one takes care of the part of the world that you see, the other of what you hear. Music, like Nature, is greater than we are. Indeed, man is part of it; we must not understand it, we must not interpret it, we must not even perform it.We just have to contemplate it.

No one could ever play a tree, no one could ever perform a starry sky, no one can fully understand the oceans in all the depths. So, who is the conductor if he can’t do any of this?
The conductor is just one person saying to someone else: “Come with me, I know a place. I have a map and I’ve been there, it’s beautiful.”

The conductor’s role has intimate implications that reflect a personal vision in the light of which the music is lived. The artistic director, on the other hand, has a more technical role.

He should create the conditions and trace the horizons within which the activity of the conductor and the choir moves.

In this sense it is a little easier for me to talk about it because I am convinced that the role of the artistic director is a public role. And I would go further: it is a also a ’political’ role.

I am always surprised when these words are given a negative or worn connotation. In reality, they are very high values: the artistic director must work for the ’Polis’, that is for his city and for his state, and he must do so with a public profile that is accessible and aimed at everyone.

I am deeply convinced that these two values are not an extra, or an optional for an artistic director. Indeed they constitute its foundation, because art and culture are by their very nature values that belong to a community. The community owns them without distinction and acquires greater value through their free sharing.

Here, too, I have an image in mind: that of the ‘cultural infrastructure’. A railway, for example, that connects several cities together and helps people to be closer, through trains open to all.

My ambition for KorMalta is this: to build this cultural railway that is beautiful and can be useful for everyone, and that belongs to everyone, that can withstand over time. One that can be useful to those who come from outside to admire the culture of Malta and useful for Malta to share its culture.

Finally, in both cases, both as chorus master and as artistic director, this job is definitely a journey.

I often think of Aristotle’s words: “in the journey of life, the secret to happiness is to do one’s job well.”

How wrong you are, dear Aristotle; it is precisely this job, which makes me happy.

Words by Riccardo Bianchi, Artistic Director at KorMalta. 

Photo by Darren Agius. 

Years ago, I remember indulging in thoughts around relevance, meaning and impact of the Arts on community and communities. Are we, as artistic beings, giving enough attention to the people on the receiving end, do we question what it means to them, do we actually care?

As a pianist I was doing what pianists seem to do – play. Follow scores, work hard at learning them as authentically as possible, depress the keys all as perfectly as possible. Then the penny dropped. I realized something that felt like a profound realization – I didn’t want to just ‘do’ to the piano, to make it work for me. I wanted to allow, entice, receive, accept the sound it offered, the most beautiful sound it was able to produce. And in return, I responded, and was led to allow for more. It was a two way relationship – a communion between this glorious instrument and myself. That’s when my world opened.  This realisation forms the basis of the approach of my practice as an artist, a therapist  and now consultant for this theatre; a commitment to explore the opportunity – to share, to facilitate, to relate, to engage, to listen, to create together – whether this is by respecting a director wishing to do a good job no matter how demanding, whether it is by reaching out to people working with NGOs so that the Arts can begin to play a part within ‘other’ communities, whether it is meeting locals to listen to their views on what the theatre means or could mean to them… Teatru Salesjan has urged me to really consider what it means to know communities, those closer and further afield.

At the point of my own entry, the theatre had no full-time employees or organisational structures in place. Of course, it had relied on the generosity of many volunteers that had contributed so much over the years. Now, the theatre had reached a point where it needed structures that would equip it with the human resources to run a full season of events, performances and community programmes.  This became one of the main intentions and direction for the theatre to continue to pursue the ethos that was set over a century ago.  These intentions, like seeds, sprouted, and thanks to the ICO Partnership with the Malta Arts Council, the theatre welcomed its first full timer – Francesca, our Events Administrator.  A few months later we welcomed Julienne, our Community Coordinator, this time thanks to Premju tal-President.  Teatru Salesjan was fortunate to continue to win the support of the ADRC Trust and BOVJCF – in order to continue with its work with children and young people.  We thank all partners, sponsors and personal donations made by the community. None of the theatre’s work would be possible without each and every contributor.

I think that in time, all this will really come together – performances created with communities, productions that serve the community, artists that collaborate with our communities, communities that seek the theatre – merging the Arts with society so that people that were once mere spectators can feel a sense of belonging within the theatre… A theatre in full bloom at the heart of its community. 

These are challenging times but exciting in some ways too. It is often through challenges that we become more aware, more responsive, more than just a theatre. This is an interesting place life has led me to and I can’t wait to see the story unfold.

Words by Rosetta Debattista, Artistic Consultant. 

I, as an administrator have somewhat gotten used to jumping out of bed and going straight to my computer at home to do my work. But our dancers have had to undertake ballet classes in their kitchens, and got one too many bruises from hitting their legs and arms against fridges, ovens and cupboards.

The dynamics of a professional dance company have very particular requirements. Dancers need a large space to work in, and continuous physical contact is part of the job. Take that away from them and they’ll probably feel like they’ve lost the soul of the art form. Although I’m the administrator of ŻfinMalta, Malta’s national dance company, I grew up dancing and still work as a performer, so I can relate to the dancers’ mental and emotional struggles that this pandemic is causing, apart from the physical of course.

When a lockdown was announced in March, the dance company undertook great adjustments. How does one go from premiering a new choreographic work every eight weeks, to trying to find ways to have dancers work from home? How does a dance company remain relevant, when it can’t do the one thing it’s meant to do? Moreover, for a company that constantly works with foreign artists, there was also an administrative and logistical quagmire. A small but very resilient, adaptive, creative and determined team is an absolute blessing in such circumstances. In a matter of a week or two the company launched a full blown online campaign, with podcasts, free online dance classes open to the general public, sharing of previous productions on social media, and videos from the company dancers. The company’s Artistic Director Paolo Mangiola, worked through full day video calls with the dancers to continue giving them classes but also to pass on choreographic tools and knowledge that will serve them not just presently in the studios, as dancers, but even in their futures when they might progress their careers into, choreographers, rehearsal directors, teachers, or the likes. 

One of the biggest fears that artists and art based companies, especially those in the performing arts, feared most during this pandemic, was losing their relevance. This gave us the determination to persevere and come up with unique ways of sharing our artform with our audiences. From the minute that we found out that we could start rehearsing in a studio again, Paolo and the dancers started creating a choreography for a dance film – a choreography made specifically for film and the camera, not for theatre and a live audience. To this day, I consider this one of ŻfinMalta’s greatest achievements in this pandemic. However, the admin team was also working full swing to prepare a full-fledged season, to start with a major premiere in October. 

I am very happy to share that our perseverance paid off. Not only did we manage one premiere, but seven in total so far; comprising six solos choreographed by seven local choreographers in November, together with Paolo Mangiola’s 21 Dances for the 21 Century, in October. We’re also in preparation to premiere another two works in about two weeks’ time, and have a full season planned until July. We have high hopes that we’ll be able to make it through our whole programme.

What surprised us was that what we feared most proved to be a complete myth. We thought we would be performing to empty theatres because people would be too scared to spend time in an enclosed venue. In fact it would seem that theatre goers are craving live performances more than ever. As the company’s administrator I feel responsible for providing a safe work environment for my colleagues, but also a safe environment for our audience and guest artists. We thought long and hard on what measures to take to ensure everyone’s health and safety. We’re lucky enough to have our dancers living in clusters, which is really helpful considering the close contact they’re constantly in, in their work environment. The company’s administrative team is limiting contact with the dancers, as much as possible, and artists who are invited to work with the company are asked to present negative COVID-19 results before entering the dancers’ bubble. We are also asking our dancers to take random tests every few weeks. These are the only ways we feel we can move forward.

Facing this pandemic has not been easy, but Malta’s national dance company has not only continued working, but has managed to: audition new dancers and launched a paid apprenticeship programme, hold online interviews for the artistic director role, gain a new artistic coordinator and an administrator, launch a full season, and was the first Public Cultural Organisation to have a performance inside a theatre, when theatres reopened. We feel privileged to have the possibility to keep operating under such dire circumstances, when we know that theatres around the world are shut down, and other arts companies are counting the days until they’ll be able to open their doors again. It is for this reason that we feel the need to do anything in our stride to promote the fact that the arts can survive the pandemic and that they offer a crucial contribution towards society’s mental and emotional wellbeing.

Whilst being grateful for every performance opportunity that we are currently getting, a dance company can’t help but hope to be able to focus its energy solely on creation of new work, rather than continuously enforcing health precautions into our daily routine. Stage performers crave the audience’s instantaneous feedback, which leads us to long for full theatres and unmasked faces. This masquerade ball has long-run its course.

Words by Rachel Vella, Agency Administrator at ŻfinMalta. 

Rehearsals for ŻfinMade, Photo by Neil Grech.

The programme aims to support young artists interested in art activism through intensive mentorship, a project grant, an interdisciplinary programme, and peer support from a growing community. Throughout the 18 months of the programme, both organizations strived to create a safe space for conversation. Our objective was for the artists to explore what Art Activism is and why it is crucial in the 21st century.

I caught up with the 2019/2020 Artivisti and discussed their experience and the impact the programme left on their practice. This post makes use of both English and Maltese languages, I believe this is the best way to represent and get to know the distinct characters of the current cohort.

The current Artivisti includes five artists Emma Fsadni, Gabriel Lia, Nathalie DeGabriele Ferrante, Rachelle Deguara, and Sheldon Saliba. For some, the programme was the first experience producing socially embedded artistic practice. Sheldon whose work revolves around personal experiences with objects and the environment decided to embark on the project Tiles of Occupation. Tiles of Occupation directly tackles the construction industry and its impact on the environment. “The intended outcome of the happenings (onsite actions) is to raise questions about the construction industry in the Maltese islands, which is frankly out of control… By building my structure in various locations, some of which are already threatened, I will ironically be playing my part in blocking the view and occupying the space,” Sheldon emphasized.

Emma’s aesthetic is very minimal and suggestive, she believes this enables her work to be socially embedded “it creates space to prompt elements of self-awareness, both for the viewers and myself”. Emma is determined to not limit herself to Artivism but explore different creative forms as she develops as an artist.  Rachelle whose work was already rooted within social practice took the opportunity to invest in her training and artistic development. Through her evolving relationship with mentor Annalisa Schembri Rachelle explored different art forms and voice techniques.

Ir-rabta ta ’Gabriel mal-Artivismu ddur mal-uman. “Bħala żagħżugħ nipprova nagħraf il-valur li jinsab f’kull persuna, għaliex kulħadd għandu l-istorja tiegħu għalaqstant ix-xogħlijiet kreattivi tiegħi jduru ħafna man-nies, id-drawwiet tagħhom u l-postijiet li fihom jabitaw. Tiżwiqa ta’ sempliċità komuni li jaf normalment lanqas biss tħares lejha darbtejn iżda jekk tieqaf u tħares lejha aktar mill-qrib tinnota ċertu eċċentriċità. Jiena nesprimi dan kollu bil-kitba u l-fotografija.”  Għall-programm Artivisti, Gabriel ħadem fuq ġabra ta’ kitbiet, poġġi. “Poġġi bilqiegħda. Poġġi lilek innifsek fiż-żarbun tagħhom. lt-tema ewlenija hija s-solitudni jew aħjar kif wieħed jħares lejha u jgħixha. Il-ħarsa hija aktar iffukata fuq l-anzjani. Dan kien proġett illi kien ilu jberren f’moħħi sa minn qabel il-pandemija iżda imbagħad fis-sena li għaddiet bdejt inħares lejh minn perspettiva ġdida. Jekk kwarantina għalik kienet diffiċli aħseb u ara perjodu ta’ kwarantina kostanti fil-ħajja tiegħek.”

Nathalie’s work focuses on two main elements, “creativity and the art of storytelling” creating “projects to help readers feel close to a parallel world of imagination and possibilities”. As part of her programme, Nathalie wrote a novel addressing preteens revolving around family. “Family: the ones we’re born into, and the ones choose for ourselves”.

Like most of us, the Artivisti faced numerous challenges brought about by the pandemic, however, the sense of community and the support of their respective mentors helped them embrace the changes and allow their projects to flourish in a new context. Nathalie says “COVID-19’s impact was subtle but very present”. Emma argues the pandemic also impacted the project positively “the following period of self-isolation worked in the project’s favour. It allowed time and space to analyse, reflect and create links upon all that was sourced”. Emma’s project starts off from several conversations that Emma had with people about conditioned comforts. These conversations will evolve and influence the body of work due to being exhibited at Spazju Kreattiv later this year. Sheldon’s project also saw numerous elements being shifted or modified to the new reality, having the support of his mentor Tom Van der Malderen Sheldon also solidified his plans into concrete structures, “Tom helped me think critically and build upon my initial concept”.

Gabriel ukoll iltaqa’ mad-diffikultajiet tiegħu. “Għal bidu ma kontx naf kif se nattwa l-proġett anke għaliex ma stajtx niltaqa’ mal-anzjani b’mod dirett iżda imbagħad grazzi għal għajnuna ta’ Glen Calleja li kien il-gwida tiegħi f’dan il-proġett għaraft kif nista’ niżviluppa metodi oħrajn ta’ kif nista’ nikkomunika mal-anzjani u niddokumenta l-esperjenza fit-totalità tagħha nkluż l-isfidi li din ġabet magħha. Fil-fatt il-ġabra tinkludi fost l-oħrajn, notamenti minn telefonati li kelli mal-anzjani u poeżiji tal-anzjani nnifishom lil hinn mill-anedotti tiegħi”.

Saqsejt liż-żagħżagħ x’fisser il-programm għalihom “Inħoss illi rċivejt ħafna għaliex kbirt fil-mod kif niżviluppa l-ideat tiegħi, kif għandi nippreżenthom u kemm huma kruċjali t-tqassim tal-ħin u l-perseveranza biex tirnexxi... Kuntent għaliex inħoss li dan għadu biss il-bidu ta’ dak li nixtieq nattwa kemm bħala artist kif ukoll bħala attivist. Qisha l-ewwel qabża f’baħar kiesaħ. Iżda imbagħad malajr tidrah u tibda titla’ biex taqbeż u terġa’ taqbeż. Nammetti, inħobbhom wisq il-metafori u anke l-baħar,” saħaq Gabriel.

Sheldon argues he benefitted from the programme on various accounts, he found the multidisciplinary programme particularly useful. This programme included various sessions such as pitching your project and marketing. Emma adds, “the aid that the programme offers through mentorship, workshops, and funds have also greatly helped in materialising such a project, which has less of commercial incentive. The programme’s short residency done with the other Artivisiti at the start of the experience, was also a positive opportunity to build new connections, get grounded with our creativity, and also familiarise ourselves with what taking on the role of an Artistivist individually meant to us”. The sense of community and interaction with like-minded people was also one of the highlights for Nathalie whose mentor Chris Grupetta also passed on in-depth knowledge about the publishing industry also brokering important connections for Nathalie’s artistic growth.

Emma’s interaction with her mentor Margerita Pule was a highlight of the experience, particularly the constant back and forth dialogue that allows Emma to get out of her head and clarify her thoughts. Rachelle argued “The development of the Artivisti project could not have been predicted at the beginning of the journey. There were many twists and turns which I could have never expected and I am very glad to have had Annalisa by my side which introduced me to many methodologies of how to deal with and manage many unexpected events not only in a project but also in life in general”.

Artivism will be discussed in more detail in the upcoming ACMlab session Let’s talk Artivism. Arts Council Malta and Agenzija ŻagħZagħ are also excited to be working on the third edition of the programme which will welcome new youths with new voices, perspectives, and projects in the coming months.

_{Għaddi: an experiential walk through Kalkara  – proġett tal-Assoċjazzjoni Wirt il-Kalkara, Esplora Interactive Science Centre u l-artista Kristina Borg, bil-kollaborazzjoni tal-grupp taż-żgħażagħ tal-Parroċċa tal-Kalkara u l-approvazzjoni tal-Kunsill  Lokali tal-Kalkara https://www.facebook.com/Ghaddikalkara/}

“Thinking about culture as if people mattered” Francois Matarasso, A Restless Art, How participation won, and why it matters (Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation 2019) 

Din l-inizjattiva tfisser li l-ħames reġjuni ta’ Malta u Għawdex għandhom, għall-ewwel darba, kull wieħed l-istrateġija tiegħu għat-tisħiħ tar-reġjun – permezz tal-ġid kulturali uniku tar-reġjun, pjanijiet meqjusa għal attività sostenibbli, ta’ stoffa u eqreb tal-komunità, u l-involviment ta’ kull bniedem fil-komunità skont l-interessi, il-ħiliet, il-ħtiġijiet u l-bagalji personali tiegħu. Kull waħda minn dawn l-istrateġiji tfasslu bl-akbar kura u reqqa mal-komunitajiet rispettivi tal-istess reġjun.

Dawn l-istrateġiji huma eżempju ħaj ta’ fidi sħiħa fit-tħabrik intersettorali u l-qsim tal-għarfien għall-ġid tal-komunità – f’dal-każ: bejn id-Dipartiment tal-Gvern Lokali u l-Kunsill Malti għall-Arti.

_{Creative Christmas Workshop for the Community – proġett tas-Soċjetà Mużikali Madonna tal-Ġilju (L-Imqabba), megħjun taħt il-programm Komunitajiet Kreattivi (ġestit mill-Kunsill Malti għal-Arti).}

Ma għadux żmien, jekk qatt kien, li noħolqu kalendarji ta’ attivitajiet immirati purament biex jiġbdu t-turiżmu u jiġġeneraw il-kummerċ. Dawn l-istrateġiji jixprunaw it-tlaqqigħ kreattiv ta’ dixxiplini varji sabiex niżguraw li jkollna, kontinwament, reġjuni ibaqbqu bil-ħajja. Dawn l-istrateġiji jagħrfu kemm ix-xjenzi, it-teknoloġija u l-oqsma tal-arti huma lkoll għejun li l-komunità jeħtiġilha tixrob minnhom biex tissaħħaħ, u kemm inkunu mqarrqa jekk naħsbu li xi qasam minnhom huwa aktar denju jew essenzjali mill-oħrajn.

Dawn l-istrateġiji jfittxu l-ftuħ għal ideat u esperjenzi differenti, il-kumdità bl-iskumdità, il-qsim u l-immasimizzar tar-riżorsi, l-edukazzjoni u l-iżvilupp, l-iskambju ta’ għarfien, il-ħsieb kritiku u matur, il-kollaborazzjoni mibnija fuq il-fiduċja u r-rispett reċiproku, l-umiltà, l-għożża għall-ambjent u l-wirt kulturali, l-ekonomija tal-esperjenza, l-ispazju fejn kulħadd iħossu ta’ ġewwa, it-trasferibbiltà tal-ħiliet, l-integrità u l-prattika tajba.

“The arts give us our identity as a community; they also draw new people, fresh visions, and renewable economic opportunity to our community” Gavin Newsom.

Kollox ma’ kollox, dawn l-istrateġiji tnisslu u ssawru fi żmien ta’ tiġdid sfiq u eċitanti għall-qasam kulturali f’pajjiżna – waqt li għaddejjin jinħmew, fost l-aktar għodod mistennija fil-qasam, il-Politika Kulturali l-ġdida, l-Istrateġija Kulturali l-ġdida, l-ewwel manwal ta’ prattika tajba u t-twettiq tad-drittijiet kulturali f’pajjiżna, tiġdid qawwi fil-mekkaniżmi ta’ għajnuna lill-individwi u l-organizzazzjonijiet impenjati fil-ħidma kulturali, il-ħolqien ta’ pjattaformi varji għall-konsultazzjoni, l-iskambju u l-kollaborazzjoni, u l-involviment fuq pjattaformi varji kemm lokalment kif ukoll fuq livell internazzjonali.

Fuq kollox, dawn l-istrateġiji sabuna maħkuma, aktar minn qatt qabel, minn għatx li ma bħalu biex niltaqgħu u nitħalltu u biex infittxu żvog u wens. Sabuna fi żmien li ssokta wriena kemm l-idjoma kreattiva hija imprezzabbli, kemm għall-kwalità tal-ħajja, il-moral u s-saħħa mentali tagħna, kif ukoll biex tgħinna nifhmu ’l xulxin u nimxu ’l quddiem. Qajla ħadd ifittixhom, postijiet bla ħajra, bla kulur, bla leħen u bla widen, bla enerġija, komunitajiet fjakki li la jafu ’mnejn ġejja u wisq anqas ’il fej’ sejra.

_{Collective Memories Collective Live – proġett ta’ The Critical Thinking Institute, megħjun taħt il-programm Komunitajiet Kreattivi (ġestit mill-Kunsill Malti għal-Arti).}

Dan hu l-valur tal-investiment fil-ħiliet kulturali u kreattivi fis-settur pubbliku, fil-konsultazzjoni u r-riċerka, u fis-sensitizzar u l-ispirazzjoni tal-komunitajiet tagħna. Dan hu l-valur – li, filwaqt li jagħti palata ġmielha lill-industrija, l-ekonomija, is-saħħa, l-edukazzjoni, il-ġustizzja, il-koeżjoni, id-dinjità, it-turiżmu, il-prosperità, il-kuntentizza fil-pajjiż, it-total tiegħu jisboq sew is-somma ta’ kull waħda mill-partijiet.

Taking up ACM’s invitation to share some thoughts on the subject of research in arts projects, I felt the need to take stock of how COVID-19 in Malta has impacted the arts scene. An interesting angle on the matter may to be gained by looking at how arts projects have taken on the pandemic through research.

Since my educational and practical formation has gravitated towards cultural policy for much of my adult life, my main interest in carrying out this assessment stems from a governance and policy perspective. This is true of most pieces of research, writing and also activities I tend to pursue. As a sort of bonus I seem to have benefited from, addressing the pandemic through the lens of cultural policy has been a way of grappling with the challenges we currently face.

A good friend of mine, poet and professor of Maltese literature Adrian Grima, often told me how metaphors may be ideal in helping us understand situations around us.^[2] One may argue that arts projects are living metaphors for social circumstance, and research is one important way of interpreting our living conditions thanks to our internal creative processes and work.

The Polish philosopher Zygmunt Bauman’s metaphor of life in the twenty-first century as one of being immersed in ‘liquid modernity’ has been commented on, among others, by the Italian sociologist Carlo Bordoni. Indeed, Bordoni seems to strike a chord with the ongoing uneasy climate when he notes that ‘the current condition of our world’ is one ‘in which insecurity, uncertainty, and individualism are the dominant players’.^[3]

However, one of the strengths of Bauman’s image is, quite aptly, its flexibility and malleability with which to effectively address different situations. Therefore, one may refer to quite a different interpretation of this idea when considering Roman Batko’s analysis of a liquid organisation in order to reflect on the engaging dynamic structure of contemporary society that encourages interaction, as well as the values that creative collaboration brings to daily practices in the arts and culture.^[4] Bauman’s compatriot, a professor of management who studied Polish literature, thus opens up positive possibilities for greater social wellbeing, in spite of the many challenges our communities come across.

In current contexts, one may refer to distancing and possibly a growing wariness to engage with other people in, say, closed environments. However, other challenges may be more traditional, and powerful, because already well established in our perception of others and how and why we related to one another.

The pervasive nature of neoliberal capitalism has arguably manifested itself further in society’s response to the difficulties posed by coronavirus in the way we deal with other people, groups as well as institutions, including theatres, gallery spaces, universities and public and/or private activities aimed at significant numbers of people, such as festivals, natural parks, heritage trails and amusement parks. There seems to exist a general mistrust of those actions for which motivations may not be clear and that may appear as threatening. The fear of the pandemic may have led many to expect more rigid levels of codification in relation to our behaviour towards each other. And arguably, the monetary value we assign to actions may appear to be the safest code, because based on a transactional and profitable nature. 

Arts processes seem to be responding to the challenges brought on by COVID-19 by applying their research faculties and resources to resist simply finding ways of resorting to pre-pandemic economic and social conventions that devalued much arts practice by ironically rendering it a mere activity or project that only made sense within the framework of the cultural and creative industries. Efforts towards achieving a balance between what worked, and what may generate novel interactions, may sustain yet more research to come.

^[1] https://www.sounddiplomacy.com/better-music-cities

^[2] https://adriangrima.org/about/english/

^[3] https://www.cairn.info/revue-internationale-de-philosophie-2016-3-page-281.htm#

^[4] https://bit.ly/356mYOL. In practical terms, like many of my peers, I have been fortunate to be part of a few such collectives. One global example is an informal network of young adults addressing UNESCO-inspired cultural diversity actions through networking projects http://u40net.org/who-we-are/about-us/; one Maltese one is founded by a group of female artist activists operating under the name Lab for Creative Disruption.

Words by Karsten Xuereb. 

Photo by Kixott. 

In creating a documentary, our job is to make the ordinary, extraordinary. To be able to ‘taste’ life, exploring culture is essential. Documentaries have the potential to transform lives, transcend borders and are strategic tools to validate and empower, those who are rarely seen or heard. As documentarians we strive for intimacy, immediacy and revelation of individual human psyche yet we need to be more capacious with great characters, stories that open boxes and fight for truth, for cultural identity. The death of George Floyd in May 2020 set off major social changes, through Documentary, are we finally able to chip away at the edifices confronting the colonial gaze on and off screen?

Documentaries can create campaigns, forge solidarity, give a sense of belonging and identify tribes. How do we expose the truth that explores the world and not exploits the subjects? We must ask difficult questions, traversing issues relevant to cultural enthusiasts globally, while also addressing the stereotypes. A more inclusive doc world will feature and employ more gender equality, people with disabilities and diverse backgrounds both in front of and behind the camera.

So how do we get to tell these stories? There is no prescriptive journey into filmmaking, it is an art-form based on curiosity. My father, a Chartered Accountant relished the day I would take over his practice. Instead, as a child, I had a natural propensity to immerse myself in his clients’ deeply personal stories when I was taken to meetings: Families from first wave economic migrant ice-cream van owners, celebrities, through to owners of stately homes, hearing their struggles, achievements. With my Indian heritage, growing up in the UK, holidaying in Europe, when Britain had just joined the EU, there was a rich tapestry of cultural diversity on my doorstep, it seemed natural for me to somehow fall deeply into factual storytelling.

Gaining access to pioneers of medicine advancements, from leading Heart Surgeons in the UK to hospitals in Ethiopia, Celebrity Psychics, victims of injustice, forensic patient offenders, all of whom entrusted me with their stories, leading the way to recently overseeing a number of Maltese series, as part of Kultura TV funding. Language is no barrier: a good story with fascinating and passionate contributors can be understood globally and this is what I ask of my teams: think into International Markets and how their films can reach out across the world.

As an alive, diverse, constantly evolving genre: one that cannot blossom without an audience. In an age of cancel culture, fast-moving digital platforms, screen size devices, there needs to be the ability to hold the concentration of the viewer. Forming a genuine connection with contributors, will lead to deeper, more reflective storytelling for a global market.

In Lockdown, we found solace in films that touched our souls, made us feel connected in a disconnected world and brought us into the present with loving kindness. Ironically, in the UK, the struggle to keep the Arts sector sustainable is a constant battle leaving us with job losses resulting in Content deficit. Strange to think my last “Normal” shoot was in March 2020, a pilot for Discovery US that required empathy, close contact between Contributors and Crew in confined spaces, now we need new approaches.

However, in the midst of all the tragedy, heartaches and hardships faced as a consequence of events, we have had glimpses of something new: shared solidarity in the Arts; learning new techniques through online training, funding avenues and coming up with strong ideas providing windows to thriving cultural scenes wherever we are. We might be social distancing; yet we can touch our audience through the power of pixels.

Ten years ago, Netflix just sent you DVDs through the post. Today they are one of the largest commissioners of long form documentary with Apple, Amazon and Disney snapping at their heels. Quibi and Snapchat are commissioning short form for 2021. Film Festivals are hungry for International content; Broadcasters need engaging, innovative, compelling approaches with social and cultural implications. By cross-fertilisation across the Creative Arts Sector, we have the power to make a difference and since we have always had to work with limitations of budgets and time. Now is our chance to strive.

Ri Chakraborty is an award-winning Executive Producer and Commissioning Editor working globally across Documentary and Film.

“Let’s call it a day” is what I often told myself over the past surreal months, endless aimless days indoors, unlike any other that came before them. Never before in living memory have our lives been shaped by the shared fear that despite our scientific and technological advances, we are fundamentally helpless before the natural world. For so long, that fear was the sole preserve of climate activists, frantically warning us of impending climate catastrophe, but for an all-too-brief moment before our coping mechanisms kicked in, we all momentarily experienced a shared sense of dread. We thought may be living in the end times after all, as Žižek once argued, although surely even he never expected them to be quite this outlandish.

As the pandemic spread throughout Europe, finally reaching Malta’s shores, we all prepared to batten down the hatches and adjust to a new way of life, one that promised to be more sedate, more caring, more egalitarian. We told ourselves that a virus, after all, knows no colour, class or creed. This would be the end of our divisions and conflicts, suddenly rendered so petty in the shadow of a global pandemic. We were wrong, of course, as we so often are.

We turned to our gaze inwards, in search of purpose and reassurance. We can finally be truly productive, we exclaimed – we can finish long-overdue projects, take up new hobbies, spend more time on the things we love.

I took to gardening, tending to my strawberry plants with a dedication that was both admirable and more than a little pitiful. The vaguest hint of a new leaf or berry met with unbridled joy, an unequivocal sign of the resilience of the human spirit. My professional life followed a similar pattern, thinking up new projects, planning the dissemination of a survey that had just been completed, developing new research studies. Local artists – as resourceful ever – were even more hopeful, responding to ACM’s funding calls with unprecedented enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, our old habits re-emerged as the pandemic faded into memory, only to return with renewed vigour shortly afterwards. By then, our old projects remained unfinished and our new hobbies were new no more, the strawberry plants dried up under the blazing August sun. What remained was that initial sense of dread, although perhaps no longer shared as widely as it once was.

A few nights ago I was visited in a dream by dear friend who passed away through illness when we were just eighteen, still children in all but name. In the dream we drove together through woodlands and coastlines, occasionally stopping to admire the views and bicker over what music to play (he argued for U2’s Discotheque, an old shared favourite of ours). Although we drove through endless winding roads, we never reached a destination, nor did we hope to.

When I awoke I felt an unexpected sense of comfort. Perhaps now is the time to stop to admire the view, not worry about the destination. Perhaps now is the time to revisit U2. Perhaps now is the time to go back to planting my strawberry plants.

After all, now is always the next best time.

Words by Neville Borg. 

I’m not sure I entirely agree with him on this one. However eerie the silence feels, I don’t miss the congested streets at rush hour, the honking, the traffic fumes.

At the supermarket, half of the shelves are bare. Olivier is not humming today. Olivier is one of the guys who work here. I’ve been shopping here for ten years and know most of the employees. I’m so thankful that the shop’s still open, that they’re all here. Something has changed, however. Their customary bonhomie has been replaced by weary, taut faces. Half are wearing masks. All look drained. They talk about people snapping at them or being downright aggressive. “I never thought there were so many jerks around,” says one, shaking his head.

I almost feel ashamed. I am one of the privileged. I can work from home, I don’t need to take public transport every day, I don’t have to deal with jerks day in day out. “I’m sorry,” I mumble, not knowing what else to say.

Walking back home, I decided to take a detour. My hour’s nearly up (we’re only allowed to go out one hour per day). I risk getting a fine if I happen upon a police officer who asks for my attestation. I’ll take the risk. I need some poetry. I find it on the corner of Rue Sisley / Rue du Premier-Film. Every few days the lady who lives here puts up poems on her windows.

Fast forward two weeks, same spot: I run across a doctor friend, notice how pale her face is. She tells me about the choices she’s had to make in the past days – too many patients, not enough ventilators. (I can’t help thinking about my friends in India – how will they cope when the pandemic reaches its peak?) My friend’s voice is calm, close to mechanical; her look distant. I realize the crying will have to wait, the physical and mental fatigue deferred. She has no time to dwell on too many thoughts. “At the hospital,” she says, “We all look forward to the 8 p.m. clapping. It feels like an embrace.”

My students’ faces on the laptop screen help brighten the day. Remote teaching hasn’t been all plain sailing, but it feels good to hear their voices (albeit somewhat altered), their laughter.

Later, my younger daughter shows me how to blow “the perfect soap bubble”. I smile at her precise instructions. I wonder what else she’ll have to teach me all over again when age will have lodged itself inside my bones and taken over my brain. I hope I’ll never become too heavy a burden for her or her sister.

We spend three evenings making face masks. My younger daughter gets to use the sewing machine for the very first time. Will this be one of the things she’ll tell her kids later on? What else will they say about 2020 when they’re grown-ups?

Every Wednesday evening, I get a text message – a street name, a time slot. This is how we’ve been procuring fruit and vegetables ever since open-air markets were closed. I don’t know whether it’s legal or not and frankly, I don’t care. Every time, the farmer gives us free extras to share with neighbours, relieved that his produce won’t go to waste.

I continue to do the shopping for two elderly neighbours, hoping that someone will do the same for my parents if worse comes to worst. After nearly 23 years away from my homeland, I’m only starting to understand what exile must feel like. I think about the millions of people displaced and count my blessings.

Poppies, roses and wisteria grow all over the place. The swallows are back.

I refuse to wear black, remind myself to look out the window every day.

Words by Nadia Mifsud. 

As we venture back out into the world, bleary-eyed and cautious, it’s easy to minimise what happened to us over the past few months – how lockdown changed our perceptions of who we are and who we thought we were.

Looking back – in admittedly an irritable state of mind – I wonder why I wasn’t more productive during that time; why I didn’t start that new project that had been on my mind, and why I didn’t do all that reading that had been piling up. The short-term pressures of meetings and project management had gone, and luckily, I didn’t have to worry too much about money, so why did I find myself sinking into a lockdown-induced torpor?

Slowly I realised that it wasn’t inherent and irrevocable laziness that doomed me to permanent inactivity.

I see now that what was gone from my life during that time, along with live events and in-the-flesh meetings, was my sense of my own identity – a sense of who I am as a person, and I suspect I wasn’t alone. That identity that each of us builds and maintains, every hour of every day through an infinitesimal series of actions, words, work, meetings and networks, is more important to us than we care to admit. We curate our identity consciously and unconsciously through our interests, friends, clothes, and beaten tracks to create something that represents who we’d like to be and how we’d like to be seen.

From being always-busy and always-planning-the-next-project, we were all thrown into a stillness that stripped us of our working identity, and I for one, was left adrift and bereft – going from (as I perceived it at least) curator, cultural manager, Maltese, mother, artist, Irish, mistrustful of authority, an active member of the cultural sector, to simply mother, home-school teacher, and maniacal podcast consumer – almost overnight our world shrank, and our sense of ourselves shrank with it.

You think you know who you are until you don’t.

And without that sense of identity, it was difficult for us all to carry on functioning as we had been. In that nebulous atmosphere, any sense of purpose floated away – particularly for those of us working in the arts, where, almost by definition, an audience is a necessary part of the artistic creative act, and the world around us provides the impetus for creative production.

In another artist-in-lockdown-anomaly, the role of the artist as outlier and disrupter came to feel slightly superfluous.  This wasn’t the time for pandemic-parodies or art-as-protest; to survive a pandemic, we were told, we had to stay at home, behave ourselves, and obey orders. All very sensible perhaps, but not exactly in line with the rebellious, critical artist’s identity.

In an interview given during this time, writer and activist George Monbiot spoke of the relief provided by the opportunity to admit that we are vulnerable, rather than constantly achieving. He was right – in particular when he said that this may be the perfect time to strengthen friendships and community bonds. But these changes don’t happen overnight – it takes time to reset our internal rhythms and our reasons for working; if I don’t know who I am, then how can I know what I’m here for?

So, what happens now? The world has started turning again, shops and cafés have reopened for business, and yet…. even now, as communities re-open, we question the act of returning to an earlier version of ourselves. We can’t go back to being who we were before, but how can we rebuild an identity that we now know can be so easily erased?

Words by Margerita Pule. 

This refers to acts of political resistance through artistic practice, which sometimes can be thought of as grand radical gestures that dramatise identities and events. I wish to take this lens to briefly reflect on the malleability of this ‘imagined audience’ as it manifests in the interrelationships between policymakers and artists, through even the most unnoticeable of political acts¹.

The debate over the dissonances between public policies and local communities rages on both transnationally and trans-sectorally. The tendency from the academic, artistic and journalistic perspective is to assume that a potential deficit lies solely in how policymakers imagine local spaces of social practice that might constitute an artistic community. This is of course understandable, given the dissimilar social expectations from each of these groups, where one is viewed as the entity holding some form of fixed power while the artistic community may be perceived as restricted to act in accordance to laws and dominant narratives that are set. As these depictions are embedded into how authorities are imagined as an ‘audience’ by artists and vice-versa, the messy elements of this inevitable relationship may be glossed over in favour of absolute categorisations that possibly make up for the incomplete foundations of the relational structure.

Widespread critique directed towards cultural and creative policy agendas has been on how the prevalence of economic development resulted in an arguably narrow conception of artistic practice. In turn the artist may be portrayed as a worker, a resource for innovation or an entrepreneur, understating independent and grassroots activity which may be implicitly considered to not fit within what is deemed as ‘professional’ and thereby economically viable. Similarly, a dichotomous categorisation of artists as either being supportive or opponents of policies, limits more nuanced understandings. Thus, it could be useful to policymakers to reassess their portrayals of artists shifting attention to the everyday practices thereby recognising less economically visible roles while seeking to involve them in governing processes. This could indeed be what is being aimed for by the artists imagined as being outright ‘resistant’. Policies are outcomes of multiple interests that can be conflicting, which is why it would still be reductive to imply that one underlying imaginary determines all levels of governance.

Artists, on the other hand, may imagine policy institutions as being homogeneous entities without differentiated understandings of creativity, for instance. It could be that only the policy rhetoric and documents are taken as the ultimate indicator of how policy understands artistic practice, which are only components of how policy is manifested. Thus, different departments, scales and actors may entail different understandings, with more nuanced conceptualisations of the value of artistic practice, than might be assumed. Given the multiplicity of voices involved, it is more likely that a range of rationales are maybe unwittingly drawn upon rather than a single story. In this sense, artists may seek ways in which they can create new spaces which if need be, involve policymakers which would be able to grasp better their aspirations and ways of doing things. This calls for close observations from the artistic community which might consider policymakers, as part of their ‘audience’, improving negotiation possibilities which, for better or worse, would not hurt.

It is then a reciprocal translation of assumptions and concerns that could take place in between these perceived gaps within spaces of cultural governance. Bridging this gap may enable an orientation, though not necessarily in a totality, towards shared understandings that might result in better tailored policies or more effective lobbying, increasing the possibility of being heard by the imagined audience, to return to the introductory question. While this might sound like an idealistic musing divorced from the cold hard truths that might inspire artistic acts of resistance, a closer look might indicate that what has been argued is indeed for a more empirical approach rather than reliance on preconceived notions. A word of caution though, narrowing this gap does not necessarily equate with coerced universal consensus as the objective, but rather taking sites of conflict as productive while acknowledging the common desirable futures. 

¹ See Hakan Topal (2017) ‘A Stage for Resistance: The Cultural Scene in Turkey’, in P. Dietachmair & P. Gielen (eds.) The Art of Civil Action: Political Space and Cultural Dissent. Valiz: Amsterdam. 

Photo credit: Renata Apanaviciene. 

Words by Adrian DeBattista, Head of Strategy at Arts Council Malta.

Today I will discuss the relevance of the word ‘imagine’ in children’s lives, both in formal and informal education.

Imagination is linked to creativity. Creativity relies on imagination, the conscious representation of what is not immediately present to the senses. This is important to young people’s development. Creativity can strengthen multiple skills such as critical thinking, problem solving and also increase child’s well-being and social awareness. These are important for successful citizens, and whereas our curriculum makes numerous references to critical thinking skills and creativity unfortunately this isn’t transferring to the classroom albeit through special projects such as ACM’s Kreattiv and initiatives like the STEAM School Malta. Unfortunately, most of these efforts are short-lived and contained, particularly as they involve a degree of disruption to the traditional way of teaching and school operations. One-off, time-constrained cultural events are more practical for schools however, these experiences are completely different and target the exposure of young people to creative activity. In order to truly have a future creative society students must be challenged, they must learn through real-life problems and through multidisciplinary frameworks. Creativity can help us achieve this.

Perhaps the pandemic will make us rethink our efforts in including creativity at all levels of education, from the very young to specialized tertiary education. Perhaps this pandemic has shown us how heavily we rely on the traditional classroom format, the funnel system of teaching. Perhaps it will reinforce the idea of the creative policymaker who works closely with all stakeholders, including children and students themselves to reimagine our education system.  A system in which a child aged five does not have to sit through a good two or three hours of homework every day after sitting for the best part of the day in class.  Perhaps it taught us that a white canvas and paint can teach so much more than ‘art’ it can teach a child to let go of perceived notions of what should be drawn, it can teach them about colours and the impact of light, the chemical reactions of paint and the textures they can create. Perhaps it can let a child be imaginative, smile and enjoy learning. Perhaps it will make us consider interdisciplinary project-based learning which is linked to higher engagement, especially with those subjects traditionally labelled as difficult such as sciences.

Through the Kreattiv partnerships I’ve seen physics taught through stained class, mathematics taught through the architecture of Cittadella, Robotics taught to students from challenging backgrounds and STEM taught through theatre, music and dance.  I’ve seen the faces of students excited about learning. Proud of their achievements. This is possible.

Creativity should also be nurtured through informal learning, and we are lucky enough to be surrounded by such opportunities for example; Esplora interactive science center, which engages children, parents and the community with science also through creativity, the children arts festival Żigużajg which exposes children and their families to high quality local and international arts projects, excellent projects by Toi Toi at Teatru Manoel such as the baby series, projects by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, and other organisations such as Teatru Malta and Zfin Malta who also work directly with schools offering students an insight into their work through hand-on projects.

During the pandemic and partial lockdown many of these platforms offered access to past performances or specifically produced new digital productions, however, I believe that especially for the younger children these will hardly replace the physical experience.  Young people engagement is challenging and those specializing in such work have a myriad of issues to think about to ensure safety of all whilst maintaining the magic of the experience and truly allow children and youth to ‘Imagine’.

Words by Christabel Catania. 

Photo by Malcolm Sammut.

Ftit noti mid-djarji tiegħi:

1. It-13 ta’ Marzu. F’temp ta’ ġimgħa, dulluvju t’aħbarijiet, twissijiet, spekulazzjonijiet dwar dal-virus li ħadd ma jaf mnejn ġie. Storbju sħiħ. L-iskejjel għalissa magħluqa. Ħriġna nota u għalaqna l-istudio. Hekk bdew id-distanzi.
   
2.  Dakinhar li għalaqna, ġbart ftit għodda essenzjali u għabbejt il-karozza b’karti, kartun u drappijiet. Forsi nkun nista’ nkompli nċekċek xi ħaġa mid-dar, irraġunajt. Fi żmien ġimgħatejn kelli nlesti ħames mitt ktieb għal klijenta. Kien se jkolli bżonn spazju ferm ikbar milli għandi d-dar. Inqbadt fuq sieq waħda.
   
3. Imbagħad bdew deħlin l-emails. Xogħlijiet li konna ilna x-xhur nippjanaw posposti għal żmien indefinit. Proġetti mħassra għax xi negozji oħra kienu diġà qed iħossu d-daqqa u għalissa kienu se jibżgħu għal flushom. Jiddispjaċini imma f’dal-ġenn, taf int. Kollha l-istess diska. Iwa, nifhem. Xi tridni ngħidilhom? 
   
4. Fl-aħħar ta’ Marzu, bidu t’April kellha żżurni l-ħabiba tiegħi Lori (Sauer). Kellna ningħalqu għal ġimgħa xogħol intensiv fl-istudio biex nispiċċaw ix-xogħol li għandna flimkien fuq il-proġett KIN, proġett ta’ pupi u stejjer. Kontra qalbna, ħassarna kollox. Il-pupi se jkollhom jibqgħu imsakkrin ġewwa u ma jiltaqgħu ma’ ħadd. Titwieled distanza oħra, dik bejn l-udjenza u x-xogħol ta’ jdejna.
   
5. Sa nofs April l-emails u t-telefonati mgħand klijenti naqsu sew. Xogħol ġdid baqa’ ma daħalx. Żdiedu mistoqsijiet bħal, kemm nistgħu insalvaw hekk? X’se nagħmlu jekk indumu xahar ieħor? Beda ġej sens ta’ telfa u telfien. L-inċertezza bħas-susa. Tinduna biha meta tkun diġà kielet minnek. Ta’ kuljum nistaqsi, kemm fadlilna sakemm naslu u nerġgħu insibu saqajna? Imma meta m’għandekx amment kemm hi twila t-triq, jibda jiġik id-dubju hix triq ċirkulari u waqt li tagħqad u tagħqad titlef kull sens ta’ żmien u distanza.
   
6. Kien hemm mumenti ta’ ottimiżmu fatalista, jekk qatt jista’ jeżisti xi ħaġa hekk. Kont nimmaġina li tant indumu msakkrin ġewwa li la nerġgħu noħorġu insibu dinja fejn l-ambjent naturali rebaħ fuq kollox. F’moħħi kienu jiġru xbihat ta’ liedna u bougainvilla ilibbsu kull bini u kull arblu tad-dawl,  toroq kannella bit-trabijiet u t-tajnijiet li nġemgħu maż-żmien u kullimkien flora u fawna ġdida li fin-nuqqas tagħna reġgħet ħadet postha fir-renju tal-ħolqien. Fil-fantasiji tiegħi, in-natura tirbaħ fuq il-bniedem u l-bniedem ikollu joqgħod. Forma ta’ Eden anti-uman. Eskejpiżmu bażwi misantropiku li kont inħallih iġorrni f’dinjiet ‘il bogħod bħal #naturetakesover jew #greeningbackgaia fuq Pinterest.
   
7. Zoom wara Zoom, gerrbu l-jiem u l-irjieħ t’iżolazzjoni tajjru fuqhom slogan nawżejanti wara l-ieħor. #inthistogether Ija? Liem biċċa tal-ma-nafx-fejn-sejjer-bin-negozju-tiegħi tixtieqni ntik sieħeb? Għal liem biċċa minn dil-problema tiegħi m’intx torqod int eżattament wara li tidħollok il-paga mit-taxxa tiegħi talli qed toqgħod id-dar ma tagħmel xejn?  Il-premju tal-iktar epifaniji patetiċi però intih lil dawk li fl-aħħar skoprew li forsi tajjeb li jixtru mgħand artiġġjana u produtturi lokali…taf int, għax anke dawn għandhom familja u jridu jgħixu. Qas tobsor hux?
   
8. Dawn l-islogans ċatti wisq għar-realtà. Fil-biċċa l-kbira nirreżisti l-mod kif jixħtu ‘l kulħadd fl-istess keffa daqslikieku l-impenn u r-riskju ta’ kull min hu fis-settur huma l-istess jew l-indaqs. L-istess l-għajta għall-għaqda li aċċennajt għaliha qabel. Bħal kull klixè, ma tantx tixraq lill-industriji kreattivi għax timmoralizza ferm iktar milli toffri xi qafas prattiku. Mhux qed nargumenta kontra l-alleanzi strateġiċi jew is-solidarjetà professjonali. Qed nargumenta favur l-appoġġ konkret, dinjituż – kelma li teskludi li wieħed jittallab u jitkarrab  – u finanzjarju, għal min bħali jinvesti ħajtu fis-settur u ta’ kuljum jisfida t-tentazzjoni li jżarma, li ta’ kuljum ikollu jikkonvinċi lilu nnifsu li dak li qed jagħmel għandu xi tip ta’ valur għalih innifsu u għal ħaddieħor. Dik l-aġenda tiegħi.
   
9. Id-dinja mhix se tispiċċa għalissa, naħseb. Allura, sa ġimgħa ilu kont għadni għaddej bis-saħħa fuq kollaborazzjoni li fil-qalba tagħha għandha ħafna distanzi u livelli ta’ diżorjentazzjoni. L-unika differenza mis-sens ta’ telfien vertiġinuż tal-iżolazzjoni sfurzatha hija li din diżorjentazzjoni mixtieqa. Fil-proġett Five Five kont qed naħdem mad-disinjaturi ta’ Solid Eye studio biex flimkien noħolqu għaxar dinjiet possibbli impoġġija f’ġejjien remot u ndefinit. Ix-xogħol li ħriġna bih ħadna ‘l bogħod fiż-żmien u kultant ‘il bogħod mil-liġijiet naturali u r-realtà li nafu, imma fl-ebda destinazzjoni ma sibna l-bniedem waħdu maqtugħ mill-bqija tal-ħolqien.

Ezra, The Kin dolls project, photo by Giola Cassar.

Words by Glen Calleja. 

Will the arts be allowed to be better too? I have been working professionally in the arts for the last 15 years and I can safely say that Covid-19 has surely been the most violent storm in our wuthering heights. Nonetheless, I am one that believes that the performing arts, and all the arts for that matter, will pull through; they always have, because of the savage necessity for artists to make art. I have no doubt that theatre will survive because it has survived many a pandemic, religious and political repression and much worse. However, it is the industry which is at stake here, or industries even. Years and years of work by people who have tried to bring our cultural sphere to the fore of economic policy. Years of risks and sweat by artists who have taken the leap to have their ethic meet their aesthetic and live off their art. According to the 2016 creative economy report update, the arts registered an average employment growth of 6% per annum between 2010 and 2015, and I believe that newer research will show further growth in the sector up until Covid-19.

The current situation in the performing arts reminds me of the first pages of Virginia Woolf’s To The Lighthouse. The mother says that the weather will be fine tomorrow, not the likeliest of presumptions in the Scottish Hebrides; so James, the youngest is doing handsprings because he will get to visit the lighthouse until, Woolf writes: “But,” said his father, stopping in front of the drawing-room window, “it won’t be fine.” To me, the mother here is the positive attitude of the government, James is our industry, and the current regulations are the father.

I’ll explain. Local and international research has shown that the performing arts have taken a huge hit. This hit has been significantly mitigated by the fact that government, as advocated by Arts Council Malta, has treated artists on par with other employers and employees that have been similarly hit and provided an emergency wage for freelancers and employees in the arts sector. That was wonderful news. As things developed, both restrictions and wages were lessened and major industries such as tourism have been given boosts and guided to restart with airport scheduled to reopen. The arts however were given a hedged promise. As we are seeing, it is extremely difficult for publicly funded theatres and cultural entities to create quality work because the process of making such work now has significant complications. Moreover, I believe the current regulations make it practically impossible for the private sector to get back to make theatre on their own steam. Now, this can create a dangerous environment if those who work in or for the public sector decide that the way forward is to use existing funding to fill that hole. It will be the nail in the coffin for our independent and alternative sector. As Artistic Directors of National Cultural entities, we want to choose from the best, we don’t want to decide who is the best. There is a big difference.  

The arts are a young industry on the island, and the live arts have been slowly growing into a strong community where the independent and alternative sector constantly strives for audiences and income. Entities such as ours, Teatru Malta, have made audience development their primary priority because we believe it is the current way forward for the industry’s sustainable growth. However, we have done so in collaboration with many freelancers and professionals, not alone.  The centre is only as strong as the periphery; if that dies we are all bound to suffer in the quality of the work we produce. 

We’ve been hearing that this pandemic is now an opportunity. It is, it must be. For local theatre, this can be an opportunity to focus on newer local work, to create smaller tourable projects, to decentralize better and give our larger venues time to re-structure and refurbish. The opportunities are there, that is why we need to urgently sit down together with the decision makers to make these opportunities possible. What I am proposing as a first step is that the people behind the restrictions meet us and make us part of these conversations. I’m sure these restrictions are written with the noblest of intentions, however we need some explanations. 

We need to sensitise the powers-that-be to the importance of closer consultation and collaboration with authorised spokespersons for the cultural sector: for ease of communication, the ideal entity with whom to consult is the Arts Council Malta that acts as an umbrella for no less that eleven Public Cultural Organisations besides funding independent artists and organisations. It is glaring that arts organisations were not part of these conversations. In fact, I sense that the whole sector feels that the current conditions do not really make sense. Do we really need to be practically 25 people in a 100-seat theatre, whilst seeing over a hundred people dancing in a club? Why can a 65-year-old person go to work in an office, but can’t share a stage with a fellow actor? Why is staff allowed to work together in a kitchen but our backstage staff needs to be 2 metres apart? It has just been announced that the 75 person limit on mass gatherings will also be lifted. Will this apply to theatres? Did it ever apply? These situations are heart-breaking for most of our theatre makers. At least, explain to us why these regulations are in place and how experts came up with them. Most of us experience risk assessments every week, we do this for a living. Directors dance around spatial restrictions, budgetary restrictions and all sorts of other restrictions. We know what we are doing and we will understand. Let us be part of the discussion so that we can do our best to make this work together. Just like bars and restaurants have their clientele, we have our audiences. We really want to bring back those who came to watch us and keep working to bring those who didn’t.

Theatres have opened in various countries around the world to varying degrees of restrictions. From Croatia to China, many have clear guidelines documents and funding plans in place for the industry. In Germany the government announced a package of support for the cultural sector worth approximately €1 billion; in the Netherlands the government issued an additional package of €300 million to support the arts and to invest in employment in the sector; and in New Zealand, Creative New Zealand has welcomed the biggest government investment in the arts for two decades following an announcement that the Government will inject an additional €14.4 million into Creative New Zealand’s funding to support artists, creative practitioners and arts organisations across the next two years. As the European Theatre Convention stated in their recent letter to the EU: Culture is not a luxury, but an integral part of our democratic societies; culture has social and economic importance to overcome the crisis and create the future of Europe. We all like to believe we’re generally more useful than an English Breakfast (or a Gin & Tonic) to the country’s wellbeing, that is why we want to be treated on par with these industries when it comes to the relaxation of regulations and the incentives to restart. We want to be aided to get back to making theatre, without fear of breaking the law, or breaking the bank. This is my second point; a further relaxation of the restrictions will not be enough. 

I honestly believe that there is a general anxiety in our sector because theatre makers are not sure whether they are being lazy by not doing anything, or insurgent if they do. It is just not clear if we’re incentivising the arts or whether we are still scared of them. The second step in my opinion is to further incentivise production. There was a strong argument by the government detailing how much money Maltese people spend abroad during a calendar year. The government therefore promised that it will do its best to incentivise the Maltese to spend the same amount in Malta this summer. However, when abroad, I doubt anyone spends their hard cash solely on accommodation and dining out. People watch theatre, musicals, circus shows and visit museums and cultural venues. It would make a lot of sense for these vouchers available for arts and culture too; If it is an issue as to which events should be accepted; I am sure Arts Council can help with that. Alas, I don’t think that will be enough. Following an overproduction of streamed, broadcasted and online projects, we need to go back to the live arts, slowly but surely.  It is up to us to regain the audience’s trust and interest. But it can only happen industrially if the sector is incentivised. With the right incentives and programming, we have seen attendance at bars & restaurants slowly increase, albeit with significant examples of non-conformity with the regulations. It seems that propensity to risk visiting such places increases when seeing others attend. So, even though people will most probably feel safest when a vaccine is available, it is also not true that people will not go to the theatre before there is one. This is why we also need direct funding and tax incentives for producers and freelancers to go back to making live performance right now. 

Besides the audiences, these same producers and freelancers need to train themselves and their staff to adhere to this post Covid-19 era. It is not as simple as disinfecting the space after use. From our front of house staff to our stage managers, there is a whole lot of insecurity and scepticism on how these systems will work in our public theatres, let alone our private theatres. Without the incentives and the opportunity to create at this point, professionals may lose the confidence and scope to create again if these restrictions remain in place. 

I read with great hope that the Ministry for National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government in collaboration with Arts Council Malta (ACM) is setting up a COVID-19 Transition Arts Advisory Group to support the lifting and adaptation of COVID-19 measures. I hope to see a presence of the private and freelance sector involved and that the discussions lead to much needed explanations, guidance, and assistance. These discussions between the public and private sector can also lead to coordinated planning to help avoid future chaotic cultural calendars post COVID-19. I fear we are already probably looking at an oversaturated, exhausting cultural calendar in 2021/2022 if we don’t. Even so, I really believe that the current restrictions for theatre-making should be re-thought as fast as possible:  every day that passes can mean less jobs, less energy, more anxiety for a sector that has been growing up courageously during the past years. They deserve better. Draconian rules and regulations without consultation and guidance processes do not help.

I think many of us feel there are currently too many weights and too many measures. We only want to be treated measure for measure; we need to be given the same security as other sectors, because as the Bard put it in that famous problem play: “Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” 

The moment I landed in Lisbon proved to be loaded with opportunity to sit with whatever came my way. The deep-seated sensation of ‘saudade’ hit within the first five minutes of walking around Graça. I was overcome with a feeling of bittersweet melancholy. I was on a break yet yearned for more moments like this – of nostalgic nothingness accompanied by complete staring around. Little did I know…

As I sat with ‘saudade’ and some ‘ginjinha’, I took a sweet flight to the island of São Miguel, the main island of the Azores. I specifically chose to travel during the low season as I’m not much of a social animal and not too keen on touristic raves. The empty streets of Ponta Delgada sang sweet satisfaction to my soul. I chatted with my travel companion on how ‘dead’ this all felt; how quiet, dormant, almost post-apocalyptic. I sat with it and wished for more such weary quiet when I got back home. Little did I know…

Whilst Sao Miguel felt like a drowsy social hub, its volcanic activity was very much alive. From steaming lakes sitting comfortably in the crater of a boiling volcano, to a bubbling sulphuric bath in which I swam and frolicked to my heart’s content. Waterfalls, hot springs, lush flora smelling of past colonial histories and meals cooked just by the talent of earth’s raging wrath. I sat with it, awestruck at mother nature’s unbeatable strength and stubbornness at pushing and manipulating the earth’s surface and the little people walking on it. Little did I know…

So many artistic and creative plans were hatched among all that quiet, desolate beauty. I was raging with energy to fly back and get the ball rolling – to get onto my second stage of my small business venture, to help even more people get over their fear of public speaking and to celebrate themselves in their full confidence; to mentor and train more performing artists especially in my beloved practice of solo performance; to get back to my creative practice performing and filming spurts of physical theatre in tiny spots of outdoor beauty; to get back to my students and lecture some more theatre passion…

Alas…the bittersweet nothingness of ‘saudade’, the post-apocalyptic vibe of Ponta Delgada, earth’s dictatorial nature. I landed back in Malta to find these three characters waiting for me a month down the line. And I sat with them…and marvelled, and coached a bit, and created a bit, and lectured a bit, and cried…and then I sat some more…

Words and Images by Dr Nicole Bugeja. 

The first time I had an inkling that Covid-19 might have an impact on my Valletta gallery space was on the 5th of March, just before the world changed forever. An artist who’s upcoming show was booked for the end of April entered the space for a meeting with a worried look on her face. “I’m not sure about going ahead with the exhibition,” she said. Puzzled, I asked whyever not? “The coronavirus has hit Italy really hard and I’m certain the pandemic is on its way to Malta. Can we postpone the show?” It’s only now that I understand how absurd my initial reaction was to what we now know to be the most valid of concerns. “Oh I wouldn’t worry so much about that,” I said, naively. “Think about it and we’ll catch up in a week’s time to let me know what you’ve decided.” I can now say I was a Pandemic Denier, as by the time the week was up, Malta was looking into going into partial lockdown as the first case of Coronavirus was reported.

Pulling down the old shutters and locking up the gallery for the foreseeable future was unexpected, and without any paintings to hang or opening night to plan I settled down to work from home for an indefinite time. Back in the early days, I was optimistic that all the projects I’ve ever dreamed of embarking on became a possibility, with all this free time on my hands. That teen novel I was going to write? Easy. The fashion label I’ve always fantasised about starting? Great, now was the time to get some sketches drawn up. But ten weeks later, my sketchbook lays blank, taunting me. The few measly paragraphs I’d feebly written up hyped on coffee in the wee hours, down to my tattered sleep schedule? They seemed soulless. Trying to write a story about “normal life” just wasn’t cutting it.

As a freelance culture writer, my articles which would have once been peppered with insightful interviews with upcoming local talent ground to a halt. How could I write of all the upcoming music events to get excited about? Or where to get the perfect salad at a pavement cafe in Valletta? What could I possibly write about? If I couldn’t make and do, I thought, the least I could fathom was to encourage others to do what I could not bring myself to get round to myself.

On the 27th of March, I put out a call for artists based in Malta and Gozo to create works from home inspired by social distancing, to be submitted for an exhibition at my gallery, Desko, called “Indoors – From Where I Am’, to be held later on in the year. The exhibition would be premiered at a future date when I could open up those gallery shutters once again. I figured, if I cannot create, I should hope that local artists cooped up at home who now had more time to practice their passion would have a space to air their lockdown works. Like an overenthusiastic armchair cheerleader, I kept the gallery Facebook page awash with fresh works from artists around the world who’d caught my eye on one of my many arty Instagram binges. The key was to inspire others, and the posts received positive engagement.

My writing also took a turn for the self-help— for others. Not having held a paintbrush or sewn as much as a stitch during my own time at home, I began to write about customising bland pieces in your wardrobe, about altering dresses and embellishing them with pom-pom trim. When we were given government guidelines to enter shops with a facemask, I figured many dusty sewing machines would be put to good use, so “why not whip up a ra-ra skirt while you’re at it?” I enthused. There were no ra-ra skirts to be seen on my dining room table. My own bog-standard facemask had been bought from a supermarket in an overpriced box of three. Slightly fraudulent? Perhaps, but my intentions were sincere.

Damien Cifelli, 2020

I have written no songs during this time but listened to back catalogues of musicians I’ve never heard of before. I’ve read biographies of playwrights and gleefully absorbed the works of new contemporary painters like a sponge. Whilst I may not have created myself, I’ve come round to the fact that that’s fine. I’m grateful for the art of others, and cannot wait to see what more gems have been produced throughout this strange old time in history.

Cover photo: Natalie Savage, 2020

By Nicole Parnis – Gallerist and writer.

This much has hardly changed post-COVID-19. Many writers will likely tell you as much: hur hur hur, I’ve been on lockdown since my career began. But just like writing is never quite about the act of hammering away at a laptop, so the pandemic can’t help but go by unnoticed as we continue to try and get some work done as the barrage of fresh fears and gingerly optimistic counterpoints assault our news feeds.

There’s a lot to be said about the creative arts during pandemic time, of course, and doing it all justice without resorting to cliche is a real risk. Just like zombies or vampires can become hackneyed symbols for either brainless consumerist society or repressed sexuality, so the pandemic becomes an all-too-easy stand-in for some of our deep-seated fears and inherent foolishness: our economic fallbacks going bust, being physically separated from our loved ones, rendered unable to travel beyond our (already constricted) shores and being reminded yet again that meddling too invasively and persistently with the natural world often leads to a steady torrent of tears. (That the UK’s National Theatre made its Benedict Cumberbatch/Johnny Lee Miller blockbuster stage adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein available on YouTube as part of its coronavirus fundraising drive feels pertinent, here).

That’s of course, the subtextual cliches in action. The situation is even more dire on the surface. The idea that we’re all ‘in this together’ is what made that risible celebrity singalong of ‘Imagine’ possible – I doubt Gal Gadot will have managed to wipe all the egg off her face once the cinemas reopen and ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ is finally allowed to run amok – and by now the injunctions to #stayhome and #staysafe have all but lost their immediacy.

So yes, our struggle as writers remains very much the same. Reclaim your words and make them mean something again. Pandemic or not, the combined forces of the churning neoliberal machine and the gamified morass of the social media landscape make our job all the more urgent, all the time.

While the second coffee of the morning is not a magical elixir by any stretch, on good days it does give me the pin-sharp focus necessary to look at the work at hand with a true sense of the present. Not with a view to past regrets or future anxieties, but truly the present. When I manage to convince my addled freelancing brain to stop worrying about where the next pay cheque is coming from and instead on making sure that the dialogue in the scene that I’m writing is true to the characters, and that their words are mostly subtext and not bland, dead-on-arrival text. On making sure that the narrative beats of that other screenplay I’ve just started working on are in the right place, and that everything is beautifully set up so the pay off can be an enjoyable whoop or a beautifully heartbreaking moment for both the audience and myself. On making sure that the argument of an article is crisp and sound. On making sure that a piece of content writing is both informative and slick (that’s where the pay cheque is coming from!).

Cutting through the clutter is a luxury most of us don’t have, but that degree of compromise-free focus is a bare-minimum requirement for any and all creatives who wish to produce something that will truly stand out.

Words by Teodor Reljić. 

So who will we remember?  Well… Whoever wins Leo’s offer to go on set will definitely remember the outing but I’m pretty sure that the Story of the Bolstering Filipino Nurse will be forever emblazoned in our Hearts.

Artists will not be remembered.  But Art will be. 

The truth is that I felt utterly useless for a while; as an actor, I couldn’t work in my elected Profession. Heading into our second week of lockdown, fear began to set in and I began to question my Drive. Then, after a few intense journaling sessions, I found myself uncannily productive but in an entirely new medium: Writing. My blinkers to the outside ‘nays’ may have been forcefully placed, but they were effective nonetheless.

And yet my artistic contribution was still made to feel utterly puny by the Voices telling me that the work in the new medium was of no benefit to anybody in the now and what they thought I should produce as an actor left me bereft of inspiration; battling ideals of standard and quality. As a result – the Nay-Sayers saw nothing and all work once again ground to a frightful halt. Furthermore, the hours battling the pressure to create something had me wasting precious time that could have otherwise been spent ensuring that my loved ones were taken care of.

So I audibly sighed when I heard other Artists express the same fears.

“Painting is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do.” – Edgar Degas.

Interchange ‘Painting’ with any Art form under the sun.

We’d all heard arguments from laypeople about how little they saw us do; how unworthy ‘I’ was of my status as ‘An Artist’ because I hadn’t taken to the streets to sing a jolly ditty; royalties aside…

But Art, sometimes, exists in a Different Timeline. Although an Artist’s language exists in the now it feeds on the past and challenges the future.

The benefits of the work we did last month or even a decade ago can still be reaped today.  To the Artist who shoulders the Burden of Not Being Enough in these times: allow yourself the permission to continued self-nourishment.

Courage.  Coeur. Curiosité.

It takes Heart and Courage to Create and I Create to Inspire, but that’s certainly not what drives me.  What drives me is that I am inspired first and that I am open and available to receive the Action, that I can then take on and pass on in whatever medium is available at that particular time.  In my case, not much will be seen of me as an Actor until all lockdown restrictions lift, nor will the projects I’ve been so driven by see the light of day, possibly for years to come, but without this period of self-reflection they may never have existed at all. 

And still, the fear wouldn’t abate; neither did the pressure from outsiders.

And then Kris Spiteri, one of Malta’s highly acclaimed Jazz pianists accepted The Djun Challenge to reinterpret their piece “Ħdejk”. He highlighted that he had used it as an exercise in re-harmonization and that it was far from a finished product; just another drill in his continued artistic exploration.

But I was slack-jawed and awed by his contribution.  That was Art in the Making, by an incredible Artist, daring to make ‘mistakes’ along the Journey of discovery.

So…I propose a Curiosity.  As you find yourself in these times of Conflict, where the weight of Action is upon your shoulders, ask yourself this:

Am I Creating for the Sake of Creating?

Must I be ‘challenged’ to work on my Art or am I allotting myself time to Explore?

This is NOT a challenge. It’s just a friendly curiosity about how you’ve kept yourself driven and your skills sharp during these times.

If you have felt stifled – Stop. Breathe. Or pick up some groceries for a family member in quarantine.  Your contributions in these times may not even be ‘Art’ related. And if you’re happy to let us in on the game, great!  But if not, know that even if I don’t see results today, if you continue working on what Drives you in the anonymity of your Home, I am already grateful for the work I will experience when the Curtains rise up again.

“A girl sings from her doorstep to entertain her neighbours watching from their Balconies during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Santa Venera Malta.

Photography by Mark Zammit Cordina.

Words by Erica Muscat.

At the time, my culture website – ramonadepares.com – was finally taking off, a project that I had dreamed of forever and worked on for the best part of the previous year. My idea for Malta to finally have a digital portal 100% dedicated to cultural journalism seemed to be turning into reality, and it was exhilarating and scary at the same time.

If you had asked me what my biggest fear was, my answer would have been likely to be: growing faster than I can cope with. Then COVID-19 hit. And suddenly, my dream was in danger of dying at an even faster rate than it had taken off.

By March, self-isolation became a reality for the majority of people around me, including artists. All events for the foreseeable future, including all those I had been working on, were cancelled. I embraced this new development in a flurry of activity – an oxymoron, I know, but hear me out. So determined was I not to let this unexpected hurdle stop my trajectory, that I decided that the only way to deal was by creating. I couldn’t let a pandemic stop my plans! Never mind that it had stopped the plans of millions around the world, I was determined that it would not happen to me.

Thus started what I now look back upon as my ‘hyper’ phase. During the first three weeks of isolation, if I was not working, I was writing or creating social media content. Poetry, motivational posts, videos… I viewed it as my own, personal #covidchallenge. I needed to create something every single day just to make me feel that I was not wasting my life.

It took me a while to recognize this flurry of activity for what it really was – a (thankfully minor) case of anxiety. Zero activities mean zero revenue for the entire arts community, although I was lucky enough to have another source of income. But what I had not realized before this, is that in reality the biggest worry is not about the loss of revenue. It about being forced to hit the pause button with respect to a major aspect of our very identity.

Artists and culture practitioners thrive on socializing. The arts community is very much about physical presence. From attending an average of five cultural or social events a week, I was suddenly facing the television set every night. I suspect I speak for most of us when I say that this enforced isolation was somehow even more frightening than the financial drought.

Being part of this community is about maintaining a strong presence.  It’s the only way we bond. What would happen to us now that we could only bond through Zoom, Skype or Facebook? Would our friendships shrivel and die? Would we all have to start rebuilding our professional lives from scratch, when things went back to normal? Would we be – shock, horror – forgotten?

Happily, now that a couple more weeks have passed I can see that this is not necessarily true. We are more resilient than we appear. The collective of quirky souls that is the arts community in Malta has somehow rallied and, in many ways, we are making a bigger effort to connect. Touching from a distance, as singer Ian Curtis would have put it. And yes, we are still creating, and taking those creations to cyberspace. As for me, I’ve decided to take a less furious approach. To enjoy the bouts of creativity when they knock, and to stop being so hard on myself when I’m just not feeling it.

Words by Ramona Depares. 

Il-ġmiel isalva d-dinja, jidwi Dostoesvky.

U, madwarna, jinbtu esperjenzi ġodda. Lussi ċkejkna jew xort’ oħra.

• Qari live, mill-awturi, fis-salott tiegħek. Kemm tieħu ħsieb l-inbid…
• Mużew wara l-ieħor. Jaqbżu qabża s’għandek kumdità tiegħek.
• Għana spirtu pront mill-gallariji mperrċa tad-djar
• Naxriet imlewna ta’ tpinġijiet ħelwa mit-twieqi
• Kotba li ilek għalihom min jaf kemm. Jaslulek, personalment, fuq l-għatba
• Pjattaformi ta’ films ta’ stoffa inkredibbli. Miftuħa beraħ–
• Performances u festivals diretti, bla tinqala’ minn darek
• Żvilupp kreattiv – minn fuq l-iskrivanija tiegħek stess
• Dibattiti mqanqla li qajla jafu fruntieri

It-tbatija u l-biża’, u l-monotonija u l-klawstrofobija u d-diqa għandhom ħabta jġegħluna nfittxu wens fil-ġmiel. L-urġenza li nagħmlu sens mill-istramberiji ta’ madwarna tissokta tkattar fina l-bżonn ta’ żvog. L-aħħar ma tmut, it-tama. F’qiegħ ruħna, nafu li l-ġmiel ifejjaq u jqawwi l-qalb – b’mod jew ieħor. U nixxennqu għall-ġmiel taħt seba’ u sebgħin sura : in-natura, l-arti, it-tjubija, is-sliem. Il-ġmiel, infinit.

 
Let the beauty we love be what we do – Rumi. 

Wiċċ imb wiċċ ma’ dawn ir-realtajiet strambi, l-ispazji tagħna jinxtorbu u jespandu fl-istess waqt. U tant prinċipji u ideat jieħdu xejriet u tifsiriet li ma bsarniex, mil-lejl għan-nhar. Ngħidu aħna:

• L-involviment u t-twessigħ tal-parteċipazzjoni
• It-twettiq tad-drittijiet kulturali
• Iz-zoni tal-kumdità u l-locus tal-kontroll
• Is-sostenibililta tal-espressjoni kreattiva
• Il-konfini tal-ispazju personali u ’l hinn
• L-espressjoni u l-iżvog kreattiv, u s-saħħa mentali

 
U donnu, aktar ma jikber il-bżonn ta’ tbegħid u għeluq, aktar tikber il-ħrara għall-qrubija, u l-umanità, u r-rabtiet esħeħ ma’ ta’ madwarna u ’l hinn.

Dahrek mal-ħajt. Imkien fej’ taħrab, ħlief fik innifsek – li, jista’ jkun, drajt issikket biex tissokta għaddejja. Imkien fej’ taħrab, ħlief fil-ġmiel li ilu jfittxek u ma jsibekx. Issib ruħek toħloq id-dinjiet tiegħek. Biex ma tifgax. Biex tissokta għaddejja. Biex, mix-xewk, tkabbar bl-għożża kollha : il-ward. Mhix ir-rebbiegħa li konna qed nistennew dis-sena. Aktar fietla. Imgerrxa u fietla.

What exists, exists so that it can be lost and become precious – Lisa Mueller, In Passing. 

Words by Dr Simone Inguanez.

The word “interesting” is obviously a misnomer; the whole phrase sounds like a blessing, yet was intended as a “fake curse” of sorts, almost reminiscent of Lewis Carroll’s much-abused quote: “curiouser and curiouser”, which Alice uttered in reaction to her deep consternation towards the radical changes in her physiognomy following the ingestion of labelled foods and liquids. 

As I sit in bed, cats curled around my feet, writing and researching, I can’t help but think of all those who have found themselves, or rather, been thrown into this situation. The forced isolation, or the hermitude as I’ve coined it, is not something any of us ever imagined. A chosen solitary life, is incompatible and incomparable to loneliness. This is perhaps why my thoughts always veer to the artists and creatives, who are still stereotypically pictured as individuals fervently and prolifically working in silo in bouts and spurts of mused expression.

Somehow Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s titles – 100 Years of Solitude, and Love in the Time of Cholera – have both been cited time and again over the past weeks, somewhat fortuitously. In fact, the title of this piece is a direct reference to Marquez and to a social media page which was created mere days after the first case in Malta made headlines.

The page was meant to “serve as a platform for streaming performances, stay-at-home sessions, showcasing exhibitions, pre-recordings and anything of an artistic nature. (source: LovinMalta). Strangely, that page has disappeared, yet since that initial incentive, countless initiatives have sprung across social media platforms. The Art in the Time of Corona page, seems to have been replaced by another, perhaps more pertinent, and practical platform, which can be found on Facebook, by the title: Creative and Cultural Community (Malta), linked here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4126545594025955. This group is especially useful to keep up to date with developments and opportunities relating to the sector and consequences of COVID-19, including any financial assistance or supplements. Pertinent events are also shared on the platform, such as webinars and online conferences.

Other initiatives include Teatru Malta’s TeatreDEPOZIT, which invites artists to propose projects for which they can get paid now (50% deposit), in order to work later. Link available here: https://teatrumalta.org.mt/theatre-depozit/. Arts Council Malta is also in the process of designing and churning out a series of online ACMlab sessions targeting the sector, and the ways and means of turning these trying times, into opportunities and creative, albeit mostly virtual means of engagement. ARC Research and Consultancy as well as Culture Venture, have separately conducted surveys and studies on the impact of COVID-19 on the artistic community, results of which are meant to shed light on the plights of the community as well as possibly pave the pave for new future measures. In addition, ACM is also preparing a special call for funds, which will have specific objectives and priorities. Being islanders, we are already plenty accustomed to the concept of borders, this call will target that, together with the use of New Media and Technologies in the design and implementation of projects. ACM has set up a specific section on its website for all things COVID-19 related: https://www.artscouncilmalta.org/pages/guidance-advice/covid-19/.

Despite the social distancing, this is an excellent time to build local and foreign networks as well as conduct proper research; people have more time to read, properly consider and assess their options, which could still lead to meaningful collaborations in the near or distant future. And in the meantime, whilst mulling over some project or other, artists / creatives can write to us, call us, or log into Skype or other platform of choice and get in touch. Despite being the guardians of the funds, which sounds somewhat ominous admittedly, we are very human, yes we have super administrative and project management powers, but other than that, the opportunity for us to share in your projects, even at embryonic stage, is always a privilege. So please reach out, get in touch and discuss your fantastical dreams and aspirations, maybe we can help to make one or more of them come true.

Edward Hopper once said that “a nation’s art is greatest when it most reflects the character of its people.” Artists and creatives have always been among the most resilient of individuals. This time will not prove otherwise.

Photo Captions:

^{Social distancing, by Ritty Tacsum
The Lovers I by Rene Magritte
Office in a Small City by Edward Hopper.}

Words by Lisa Gwen Andrews. 

Our neighbours in the Nordic countries, for example, are prioritising active pedagogies that highlight the participation of young children in creative processes. Creativity is being nurtured across age groups, both inside and outside official institutions. Malta is taking inspiration from this trend, and in my professional experience working with children, they often speak about their after-school activities and hobbies with electric enthusiasm.

Such initiatives, abroad and locally, are rooted in a common past. The concept of children’s culture has been a beneficiary of the late twentieth-century policy emphasis on cultural democracy. However, issues such as the prosocial extension of rights to children and the perceived ambiguity of global communications technologies have recently caused cultural policy agencies to redefine the role of the state in cultural policies for children. I was pleased to facilitate in the Arts Council Malta consultation with children for precisely this reason. Namely, to learn more about their current experiences of cultural participation, and how best our institutions can strengthen that access.

Above all, Malta’s national efforts must continue to draw inspiration from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This unique document, one of the most widely ratified human rights instruments in the world, lays out a blueprint for the healthy flourishing of children and their communities. For example, Article 31 explicitly provides for the child’s right to participate in cultural and artistic life, and Article 29 provides that the aims of education include the development of the child’s personality, talents and abilities to their fullest potential. Children are called to be creators and consumers of the arts and culture, as part of their democratic heritage.

To me, this idea of heritage carries resonance. It is the ‘gift’ that we transmit from one generation to the next, and in this case, it is the love and respect for cultural participation that defines a child’s cultural rights.

When I consider what this means in practical terms, the image that comes to mind is of the Medieval cathedral builders. No one can say who built the great cathedrals. We have no record of their names, and these builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices, fuelled by hope for the future generations who would make use of the magnificent structures.

There is the legend of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was still being built. He saw a labourer carving a tiny bird high up on a gargoyle’s wings, where nobody would ever see it. He was puzzled and asked the man, “Why are you spending so much time carving that bird when it can’t even be seen?” And the worker replied, “Because I know it is there, and so does God.”

Rather than simply a point about religious faith, this legend is a reminder that the good work we do within our societies need not be limited by our individual needs and concerns. The prosocial mission of striving for the common good is the heart of what it means to creatively engage with the world. For this reason, the cathedral builders are role models of what it means to create culture, share it freely, and invite participation in the most expansive sense possible.

When we support children to access their cultural rights, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be sure we are always doing it in the most correct or effective way, but we must persevere. Perhaps one day, it is possible that the world will not only recognise what we have built, but that the world may be transformed by the beauty that has been added to it by the participation of children in the world of culture.

Words by Dr Ruth Farrugia.

However, in order to ensure its sustainability, ACM also constantly seeks to invest in its workforce to guarantee that it is equipped with the necessary skills and expertise to deliver its mission, i.e. that of investing in the cultural and creative sectors to achieve higher levels of excellence and develop Malta’s creative ecology.

In 2018 ACM was awarded 1 million Euros through the European Social Fund (ESF) to implement a three-year project with the aim of strengthening the role and capacity of the cultural public administration, with a view to improving the efficiency of its service delivery on a local, regional and national level.

The ESF.04.0079 project, Create 2020: Investing in cultural and creative capacity skills in Malta’s public sector, provides specialised training programmes for an estimated 260 public employees from Arts Council Malta, the Culture Directorate, Public Cultural Organisations as well as the Local Government Division. Three main training activities in total shall be delivered over its 36-month lifespan: (i) the Development and Implementation of 5 Regional Cultural Strategies; (ii) Specialised Skills Training Programmes; and (iii) Cultural Leadership for Middle and Senior Management.

The project is already halfway through its implementation and several training activities have been successfully delivered. In fact, last year 46 employees attended the training in Cultural Management, receiving specialised training addressing cultural entrepreneurship, project management, intellectual property rights, marketing, community development and international collaboration, further enhancing their skills through tailor-made modules that fit the sector’s specific needs. As a result, these employees are now in a better position to provide an improved and more efficient service to the cultural entities they work for and the public they work with.

Another specialised training programme successfully delivered last year was the training in physical and psychological wellbeing, aimed at the 60 musicians of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra in order to help them optimally manage the occupational, musical, physical and psychological load and to better understand how to maintain health and well-being.

This project also offers public employees the possibility to attend short courses locally or abroad, where a total of 85 grants were awarded over the past year for the project partners’ employees to attend masterclasses, workshops, job shadowing, conferences or networking events.

Furthermore, work on the drafting of five regional cultural strategies in collaboration with the local councils is almost complete and will be launched in the coming months. These strategies will identify and present each region’s cultural priorities and particular competitive advantages in terms of unique cultural products that can be offered. All 68 local councils will be provided with dedicated training throughout 2020 such that they will be better equipped to implement these regional cultural strategies.

This year started with the launch of a new training programme in Cultural Production, where 25 public employees already enrolled to attend training in Marketing for Cultural Events, Cultural Events Planning and Management as well as Stage and Production Management. This training will be complemented by hands-on workshops later this year. We also plan to roll out the project’s final training programme in Cultural Leadership in the coming months.

This project is part-financed by the European Union under the European Social Fund – European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020.

Project Manager: Christopher Spiteri, EU Projects Associate.

Project Leader: Etienne Bonello, Director Corporate Affairs.

Words by Christopher Spiteri.

The creative vision of the Create2020 Strategy implemented through nine strategic tools which included:

• funding programmes supporting various projects in the creative industries;
• creative brokerage serving as the first point of reference for difficulties and assistance;
• educational and training initiatives focusing on artistic practice requirements;
• a community cultural exchange developing a rich and varied artistic and innovative life;
• nurturing of business development;
• promotion of the development of a sustainable creative economy;
• internationalisation placing Malta’s international cultural profile on global platforms beyond Europe;
• research providing a stronger knowledge base;
• communication allowing knowledge transfer with various stakeholders.

Throughout this past year in my role as Director of Funding and Strategy, it has been a great pleasure meeting a diverse range of people and understanding their needs through various processes such as focus groups, one-to-one or group meetings, workshops, networking or information sessions. In fact, gaining valuable first-hand information straight from the source is one of my favourite elements of the job. 2020 is a pivotal year for the creative sector and for Arts Council Malta, both internally and externally, an evaluation of the progress covered to date and consultation for the next strategy 2021-2025 will take place. 

It is forecasted that the new strategy will continue to place the arts and creativity at the heart of Malta’s future and making sure to engage a wider audience. Malta’s upcoming national cultural policy and the government’s electoral programme will be at the top of Arts Council Malta’s agenda.

Furthermore, it will keep strengthening internationalisation, education, and the community. Motivational sources will include UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goals which address quality of life and well-being, climate change and the environment, entrepreneurship and sustainability. More tangible ways of measuring the impacts and effects of the cultural sector to reflect EU-wide policies and visions.

To me, it is of utmost importance that we practice what we preach, hence why the strategy will not only be implemented externally but also internally at Arts Council Malta, with greener initiatives such as going paperless, a focus on sustainability and a greater sense of personal and professional well-being.

Words by Mary Ann Cauchi.

I find poetry is everywhere. In the nearly empty streets, on the crowded 5 pm bus, in the murmurs of the elderly couple sitting on the bench sipping coffee from a thermos flask, and also in a loud telephone ring in a hotel reception area, or even in the absence of it. I’m thinking about poetry or composing it (even without pen and paper) almost all the time. But what is poetry after all? And why all this obsession with it?

Throughout the ages, the definition of poetry has varied greatly according to socio-political context, author, style and the artistic climate of the day, and it is very probable that one will not find any common string threading all these differences and nuances together, except perhaps the diverse applications of metaphor. Some critics go to the extent of arguing that metaphor is the defining characteristic of poetry, while others give it slightly less importance but nonetheless believe it is one of the most central features of poetry.

In any case, for me poetry is all about metaphors and connections. When I am composing a poem, the early stages involve developing literary connections which attempt to build bridges between different parts of our world, be them physical or conceptual. Thus, for example, I ask myself how courage is relates to a lion, to speaking up on issues that concern you, or maybe even taking a bath. Some of these connections may seem most awkward, like the last one here, but placing it in the specific context of your personal thoughts leads to surprising insights and connections never made before, which arouse curiosity, reflection and sometimes even elation.

The idea behind my first Maltese poetry collection, ‘Ħlief Memorji u Dellijiet’ (‘But Memories and Shadows’), which has just been published by Klabb Kotba Maltin was to introduce, and maybe at times provoke readers to make such connections beyond our usual comfort zone of thought. I also believe the main two themes of this work are human relations and mental health awareness.

An immediate example of such a connection is the poem ‘MATEMATIKA’ (‘MATHEMATICS’). In this poem, there seems to be some link, as strange and remote as it may be, between mathematical discovery and a human relationship. Perhaps this connection may seem more evident if one where to think of Mathematics not merely as a problem-solution exercise but rather as a conversation with a problem to be solved which reveals itself gradually as if in a discussion between two people, making mathematical discovery seem more of a conversation rather than a one-sided task of abstract thought.

These angular, random, chaotic and often provocative mental connections, which we can call metaphors, are the drive behind my passion for poetry. The typical Maltese student often thinks of poetry as compulsory literature one must study to pass exams. But poetry is so much more than that! It opens doors to wider horizons of thought, gives joy and pleasure, and can sometimes maybe even teach. 

Photo Credit: Klabb Kotba Maltin.

Engaging with the international artistic scene through residency programmes might sound daunting, yet I find them a good context to challenge my artistic research and practice. But why travel all the way to Buenos Aires in Argentina? – one might ask.

Upon my arrival at the Ezeiza International Airport I was immediately confronted with the classic question, “Where is Malta?” It took the passport control officer quite some time to double-check and confirm that as a Maltese and EU citizen I needed no visa to enter the country. Such a question remained common throughout my four-week stay in Buenos Aires while I was artist-in-residence at the non-profit Fundación ‘ace para el Arte Contemporaneo.

I first learned about Fundación ‘ace a couple of years ago through some online platform. Since then I’ve been regularly following their Facebook page and receiving their newsletter. One aspect which attracted me to ‘ace was their specialisation and focus on printmaking – a medium for which I always had a keen interest, a medium which I try to include in my interdisciplinary projects, and a medium which I also love sharing with my students. Fundación ‘ace was included on my residency bucket-list for quite some time, but I wanted to make sure to have the right project in hand so as to make the experience as worthwhile as possible. 

At ‘ace I was welcomed by a professional, dedicated and hardworking team who provided me with project consultation and production assistance. My residency project was an extension to my long-term project No Man’s Land that deals specifically with the politics of land and sea in the central harbour areas of Malta, and which kicked off at The Island is What the Sea Surrounds exhibition. No Man’s Land incorporates a number of elements, namely an alternative visual map and a performative piece at sea that includes a narrative. The bilingual narrative is being published in book format, entitled Imkejjen u Rkejjen, this November, and this is precisely what I worked on at the residency. Using the photolitho printmaking technique – a technique I first experimented with at ‘ace – I worked on a number of prints that illustrate the narrative.

But why travel all the way to Buenos Aires?

With such a project that is so much related to a very specific context – a context I’ve been experiencing for the past thirty years or so, and researching in more depth for the past two years – initially it was quite challenging to review together with the team at ‘ace. However, the initial presentations and discussions about Malta’s geographical politics permitted us to overcome this limitation. The physical detachment from the context and the unbiased advice of the ‘ace team allowed me to develop a more objective perspective on the project.

Indeed, it was intriguing to listen to the visitors’ comments at the exhibition opening at the end of my residency. Just by looking at the prints the visitors grasped the ambience of the context, despite this being unknown to them. The project was well-received and generated many questions by the visitors who identified with similar situations in Buenos Aires. This has opened up new conversations and new contacts. And yes, I don’t exclude the possibility of returning to the city and start a project there in relation to my research thematic of urban politics.

I feel honoured to have been the first Maltese artist-in-residence at Fundación ‘ace and I believe that this could be just the first of a longer collaboration between Malta and Buenos Aires. Finally, a word of thanks to all the team at Fundación ‘ace for sharing their knowledge and advice, and to my sponsors Malta Tourism Authority and Arts Council Malta for their support in funding my travel to Buenos Aires.

Photo credit: Fundación ‘ace, by Cecilia Candiani

The fund has funded projects in three areas: creative documentaries, cultural content and drama.

The contribution of this funding has significantly affected both the quality of the content and the business practices of the production companies. Several producers have commented that documentaries on important Maltese cultural subjects would not have been possible without this support. These projects contribute to the celebration locally and education internationally of the Maltese language and culture. Projects funded of this type would include Mitkellma,  Il – Festa, Storja Animalta and the upcoming Stolen Saint.

With the expansion of platforms for episodic content internationally through providers such as Netflix and Amazon and with other players such as Apple, Google and Disney moving to expand in this landscape the opportunities for production companies to reach wider audiences are growing exponentially.

This particularly applies to drama content in any language in those genres attractive to international audiences and the funding of drama through KulturaTV offers particularly exciting possibilities to Maltese production companies.

Taking the production company Take 2 as an example, with their KulturaTV funded work Miraklu and the upcoming Merjen, we can see that there are Maltese companies that are becoming increasingly ambitious in their storytelling and acute in their understanding of the possibilities of the international marketplace.

This capacity for production companies to gain support to grow their ambition and capacity through KulturaTV has been exciting for me to see over the last few years and I believe will continue to contribute to both local cultural expression and celebration and in terms of taking the voices of Maltese storytellers out to a broader international audience.

I remember putting my notes together, re-reading and editing the curatorial narrative I wrote; at the centre of it, Malta and the Sea. How could it be different after all?  This was to be the Pavilion of the island that is situated in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and I myself, am also Mediterranean.

When I started writing Maleth, it was the wide blue sea that was in my mind and heart; this common tactile ‘land’ that unites all the lands that bathe in its waters.  Now that the Pavilion is all set up in the Venice Arsenale space, these deep dark blue waters still prevail when you enter the exhibition space.  The three featured artworks seem to emerge out of the darkness of the depths, reaching out through centuries of history and culture. Included by critics, in the top ten exhibits of this year’s Biennale edition, the Maltese pavilion succeeds in touching all. The feeling the narrative succeeds to convey through the curated artworks, spreads within, as the water of the Sea filling through the grains of sand; if you visit it, you cannot remain unmoved.

‘Like prolonged echoes which merge far away in an opaque, deep oneness, as vast as darkness and as vast as light, the perfumes, sounds, and colours answer each to each.’, IV Correspandances, Baudelaire, 1846.

Reading Beudelaire’s verse I think of Maleth, this island of intense beauty and the Sea that surrounds it; the intimate feelings it provokes within one’s inner psychic. The three artists, Trevor Borg, Vince Briffa, and Klitsa Antoniou, have taken the text I have written and created artworks that stand in space as votive stones in some sacred site in the Mediterranean Sea. Where? It was never important. the Sea is one and often helps us See beyond man-made boundaries.. it takes us beyond horizons.

The Sea itself and Maleth become a kind of primaeval compass-extraordinaire one holds out to be guided through and beyond the aspirations of everyday reality; mythology, history and contemporary visions merge in one evocative gesture.  An exhibit such as this possesses a unique quality that others lack; it stands out of reach. By definition heterotopias can only exist as such; escaping true perception but enduringly evoking imagination.

Pallasma in his work, Eyes of the Skin, writes that we behold, touch, listen and measure the world with our entire bodily existence, the experiential world becomes organised and articulated around the centre of the body. But this earthly body of ours can move and extend beyond the Sea, that hides semantic lands and sentiments unseen and still unfelt. To See Beyond the Sea; that is what Maleth feels for me.

Persisting in standing beyond space and out of time, never a part of others’ experiential world, others’ reality; certainly atopic and in my own words, deeply personal and evocatively heterotopic.

Maleth-Heterotopias of Evocation is the Maltese Pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale of 2019.

Maleth is your Pavilion. Maleth is your story and ours.

Dr Hesperia Iliadou Suppiej de Subplajo (Curator)

Sources:

Juhani Pallasmaa, The eyes of the skin; Architecture and the Senses, (London: John Wiley & Sons, 1999)

Francis Scarfe, Baudelaire- The Complete Verse, (London: Anvil Press Poetry, 1986)

These, to me, are facts and a good context to start this blog. Are you an artist, are you a creative? The definition of that can be whatever you want. However, whatever that decision is, it needs someone to experience your expression, or your art. For your art to make a difference in one way or another, be it hated, be it loved – it needs a spectator, it needs someone else. So, today, arts should really be at the heart of our communities, no?

Are they? Whilst there has been a rise in artists working in communities, I think we do not have nearly enough of such instances. There is huge potential, but I believe artists are immediately looking for centralized public spaces and safer projects. We are using the same old models.

I believe artists could, not only test their art in their communities before they go out to central institutions, but also create quality work for their communities. The better artists, who want to work with larger resources, can then either move on to perform or participate in the central institutions; or even just decide to keep making a difference in their communities because they have an audience to sustain them. This is not an age issue, or a status issue. Henri Rousseau was a Sunday painter who became a full-time artist at 49. It does not even make a difference whether you are professional or amateur.  We need to professionalise the sector, but not at the expense of losing touch with the communities. Today, not only in Malta, many amateur artists are doing work at a professional level. In policy and strategy, locally we have constantly tried to polarize the amateur from the professional. However, this is not true for the island, where some of our best musicians, visual artists, and actors, have an amateur status but are professional on a quality level.

The point is another one. Is there an issue in the community? Why isn’t an artist making art about it with the community? Do artists know their communities anymore? Do communities know their artists? Why are our creative graduates and upcoming artists immediately looking at centralised, national cultural venues but have no idea who the people in their local council are? How many artists are commissioned by their local council?

One can quote the problem with space; but do we fund-raise to fix our village theatres and arts spaces? Or do we only fund-raise for our planċieri? How do we fund-raise? A simple carwash? Or should we have our creatives come up with some out of this world participatory session?  Arts Council has funding in place for spaces, but we cannot start by pressing the central funding button immediately, that should come once there is a plan, a lobby, once there is clear potential. Our community spaces need to become relevant again for them to be refurbished in the correct manner. The days of Giuseppe Cali or Emvin Cremona colouring or designing village theatres seem to be over.

But it’s not just about theatres, in the days of the internet and blockchain; why are our meeting places in our societies still modelled in the same ways? Are our każini used for creative meet-ups or just for the odd beer? When will our każini re-invent their use in society, making sure their youngsters have reasons to meet up there, rather than stay at home behind the social media mask?

Is it such a radical question to ask why are our local clubs still ”soċjetajiet mużikali”? Why are they not soċjetajiet artistiċi and present exhibitions, performance art, circus arts and more? I, for one, believe that each Band Club should have an Artistic Director along with the traditional Surmast. Besides the religious element; festas and social clubs have a far deeper role in our society. As do local councils on a governance level, yet last I checked there were no artistic directors collaborating there. There are funding opportunities for support for such collaborations, but I find that many a time, we miss the wood for the trees and end up with just another concert, or just another production instead of a long-term vision or collaboration.

Maybe we need to produce less, and think more. Community Art is not just about more accessible projects or arts therapy, it is also about great artists working towards improving the wellbeing of their community. Audience development in local central institutions is a challenging situation, whether we like it, or not. Improving arts in the community would challenge the autonomy of the cultural institutions in such a way that it would empower them to be better. The centre can only be stronger than its periphery. If the periphery is strong, the central institutions are bound to be stronger.

Community Art needs this comeback.

As an organisation that focuses on issues related to social justice, sustainable development and migration, Kopin uses the arts as a means, rather than engaging in cultural and art activities for their own sake:  for awareness raising, education and inclusion, applying a human rights and children’s rights lens.

Bodyless, for example, focused on the moral obligation to retell African immigration stories, collaborating with a young Somali refugee and various local artists and using innovative ways to engage our audiences in critical reflections about a topic which, in Malta and elsewhere, is laden with misconceptions, stereotypes and often underlying fears of the Other. Befriending, a one-on-one mentorship programme that brought together Maltese and foreign individuals, used the arts to stimulate a reflection of the participants about common identities.  Little Book Makers allowed children to come together through art, providing crafts workshops to both refugee and Maltese children and, thus, a space for interpersonal encounters, for mutual learning and for having fun together.  We also used arts and crafts activities when conducting non-clinical assessments of potentially traumatised migrant children in 2016, as a means for them to express their feelings in non-verbal, creative ways that could then be analysed by our psycho-social experts.

Undoubtedly, the arts can break down barriers between people, through interaction and engagement which deconstructs false perceptions and angst.  The arts can bring people together who, due to their diverse backgrounds and experiences, might not have encountered one another otherwise.  Embedding arts in educational activities can foster critical thinking and reflection, even self-reflection. 

All of the above are condiciones sine quibus non for migrant inclusion.  The latter does not mean tolerance, it mustn’t be laissez-faire.  Inclusion requires forms of confrontation that lead to a better understanding of both opportunities and challenges of inclusion and a discourse about how we can make it work.

At a personal level, inclusion demands a sense of belonging which first requires and then produces positive experiences.  Inclusion calls for the active involvement of every one in order to work.  This, perhaps, is its greatest distinctive feature when compared to integration processes.

Migrant inclusion is a key feature of Maltese policy making of recent years, be it Malta’s strategy Integration = Belonging, educational efforts made by the Migrant Learners’ Unit in Maltese state schools or the work of the Arts Council, which in recent months has been engaging in active consultation processes in this regard.

Promoting inclusion within the arts field is indeed a win-win for all: it contributes to making Malta’s rich cultural scene and heritage accessible for all; it provides new, foreign perspectives and approaches for the arts in Malta; and it offers new, creative spaces for encounters that may not happen otherwise.

Walking through the pavilions in the early pre-view days, I am silenced by the heavy flow of human procession, all seeking to take in and harvest the displays. Stranger upon stranger, transient encounters and chaotic intersections become a ritualistic performance by the audience itself. As routes take shape, patterns of movement form and my thoughts slowly displace allowing gut reactions to simmer to the surface. Initially, curiosity and a child-like wonder emerge only to be replaced by a deeper, lasting emotion that sticks like glue to the fabric of my being.

Eyes are everywhere; caressing, invading, transmitting, mirroring, questioning…I ride this wave of human consumption. A subliminal conversation erupts in the crowded spaces of the main pavilion in the Giardini. I escape under the heavy curtain into a blackened space. My claustrophobia intensifies as I grope about to find an exit out into the air, underneath the sky. This grand narrative sits on my chest and a sense of estrangement creeps in. How can it be? How can I witness all this without reacting in one way or another? I too, with my acquiescent silence, am participant in this human drama.

I remember the rushing, the losing oneself and being overwhelmed at this manifestation of humanity. I sit in a post-biennale stupor trying to digest this representation of life processes, this call to activism and to the pressing demands of ecological disasters, climate change and species extinction; to the anger, love, hidden sexuality, rejection that creates divisions; to the plight of so many displaced, so many pulled apart, to all their sorrows and losses.  Is it real or imaginary? Is it just a collective dreamscape projected onto the screens and walls of the Biennale, manifested in multi-media installations, artwork, modulation of space and felt in all the ridges, textures, sculptures, contractions and voids that span the narratives presented?

Remembering home, I think of Malta’s Pavilion. The familiarity of form, smell and sound stay with me. The flow of the sea, reflected in the water pooling in new saltpan designs and the smell of seaweed packed tightly in thick walls obstructing and directing passages over projected migratory routes of the Mediterranean Sea are still fresh in my mind. The immaculately white and fantastical bones arranged in an archaeological find display stand out luminescent against the video projections. The sound, a hissing and magical incantation, is reminiscent of the susurration and supplication of the elderly in church.

At the opening of the pavilion, I come across many familiar faces. Dr. Hesperia Iliadou de Subplajo-Suppie, the curator, talks of the patrida, a shared homeland. However, this homeland is more of a collective attunement rather than a physical place. It is a metaphorical, mythical space born out of a need to find commonalities in a time of dislocation, displacement and dispersion.  This presents a dissonance, a fracture in the comfort of feeling at home and of being understood. This continuous threat to personal safety and security feels like seismic plates grinding each other leading to foreboding, unease and disease.

How does one reconcile this with our actual homeland? How does one represent this ache, this longing for the actuality and intensity of Malta as homeland, always in a relative flux within the containing Mediterranean?  The curator and the artists, Professor Vince Briffa, Dr. Trevor Borg and Klitsa Antoniou together with the architect Matthew Casha and production manager George Lazoglou, come together with a shared vision named Maleth/Haven/Port – Heterotopias of Evocation. This is a quest for the new patrida, a heterotopic rather than utopic vision.

In the opening speech, Vince Briffa asks what it means to be human and how to redefine ourselves in relation to others, how to negotiate our notion of home and enter into dialogue not only with the land itself, but also with the water that surrounds it.  Hesperia Iliadou de Subplajo-Suppie reveals that this active struggle implicitly implies hope and that this hope is transcended and articulated through art.

This is the answer to my question. We can only transcend trauma, doubt and disillusion through active struggle. Humanity betrays itself and then in one creative twist, brings to light its visions, curiosities, injustices, hurts and sorrows. This is the function of the Biennale, one that the Malta Pavilion contributed wholeheartedly to.

Photos by Pamela Baldacchino. 

This article traces a brief history and identifies some achievements.

In 2006, the United Nations convention concluded that the rights of persons with disabilities should include the right to participate in cultural life. Malta’s accession to the EU introduced socio-political changes and presented opportunities for projects and networking. Working at St James’ Cavalier, Toni Attard applied for funding under the education and cultural arm of the European Union, the Grundtvig lifelong learning stream, for a project entitled Opening Doors: Developing learning disabled people’s participation in the arts across Europe, 2007-2009.

Lou Ghirlando was invited to collaborate as artistic director, responsible for setting up a theatre group of actors with intellectual disabilities and facilitating the creation of a performance at a festival to be hosted by the three successful partner countries: Belgium, UK and Malta. The second Grundtvig Learning Partnership, 2013-2015 was titled ART-is: Inclusion and Self-development of adults with learning disabilities through the ARTs. The aim of both projects was to create more opportunities for cultural and creative activities, offering a positive image of learning disability to audiences and raising the profile of the contribution group members can make to their communities. Criteria included the sharing of practice, mobility and dissemination. To this end, the theatre group of Opening Doors Malta held weekly workshops and annual performances in Valletta, occasionally touring to other European countries to share practice and perform, accompanied by parents/carers and selected artist practitioners.

By 2012, OD was formally established as a registered voluntary organisation (VO); an autonomous, non-governmental, not-for-profit association. It continues to work in collaboration with SJC and Teatru Salesjan, yet also provides training services at Day Centres, Agenzija Zghazagh, Wardija Young Adult Education and Resource Centre and Skola Sajf.

In the last six years, Opening Doors has hosted a European Disability Festival (June 2015)with Fondazzjoni Kreattitivà; initiated World Disability Day activities; developed two new groups for Dance and Music; signed a collaborative agreement with Teatru Salesjan;produced a number of integrated performances, and established a new Music group in Gozo. The organisation was awarded three-year Cultural Partnership funding in 2016 and has become a leading national organisation for the performing arts for adults (18+) with learning disabilities. Today we have seven Theatre, Dance and Music groups totalling 65+ members, led by Artistic Director Sandra Mifsud and facilitated by 13 Theatre, Dance and Music artists working as leaders or assistants.

2018 was an extremely busy 10^th birthday year for OD; we won Project in the Community award at ACM Premju għall-Arti for Aħdar id-Deżert, featuring 33 integrated performers. Summer performances were presented at Teatru Salesjan in April, and two Open Air Jams were held in May. A special Ensemble work for Valletta 2018, The Secret, was performed at a Disability festival in Leeds, with three performances at the VCT in Valletta. In addition, in October we shared a 10^th anniversary visit from 30 members of OD Belgium, and in December, published our first book, Opening Doors to the Performing Arts: Difference and Diversity.

In 2019 we celebrate 11 busy years with a new 20-minute documentary, a new Artistic Director and many more new initiatives. Come and see our Collective performances at Teatru Salesjan on the 4^th and 5^th May. Justin Spiteri is one of the members, taking part as an actor and a dancer, and in his role as an OD board member, he represented us at Premju għall Arti. As he said on the red carpet, ‘I am very proud I am part of a team and member of Opening Doors Malta’.

For more info on OD visit www.openingdoors.org.mt. 

Written by Prof Jo Butterworth, Opening Doors President.

Photo by Brian Slater. 

Malta emerged from hibernation mode in 2017, with Homo Melitensis: An Incomplete Inventory in 19 Chapters, an installation that timely questioned what it means to be Maltese.

This year, set up in the Arsenale, art historian Dr Hesperia Iliadou de Subplajo-Suppiej, is curating a new conceptual exhibition with a production team including George Lazoglou (multi-media design), Matthew Casha (architectural and special design) and three exhibitors; Klitsa Antoniou, Trevor Borg and Vince Briffa.  

A collaboration that will present intensely suggestive narratives focusing on the heterotopia, an uncomfortable space within a space. By compressing a multitude of stories, built layer upon layer as sediment in our own very fabric of existence, the work will resonate within our collective psyches, reflecting the tension in each individual.

Translated into unconscious needs, human duality becomes manifest in times of crises with migratory patterns: mass exodus, immigration, exile and refuge seeking. Maleth, a Semitic word for safety or shelter, is represented by the Port as Haven. The port as start and end to the long and eventful journey of mankind, tying back to the Odyssey. A journey inviting the audience to look within, within all that is disturbing, disquieting.

A series of artist and curator-led educational workshops with students have been sustaining the artistic research. The artists engage the participants in a semantic dialogue with an entrenched reality – man’s need to search for home and for freedom. With OUTLAND, video art, Vince Briffa traces the journey of a lover, as liberator-oppressor. This duality becomes a continuously shifting and anxious presence in a multi-media installation that mediates the relation between safety (familiar ties) and instability (freedom).

Longing, for liberation or for home also creates an undercurrent in Klitsa Antoniou’s ATLANTROPA X, another multi-media installation. Named after the 1920s radical project, by German architect Herman Sörgel, to partially drain the Mediterranean Sea and create a Eurafrican supercontinent, it aims to bridge the divide between utopic dreams, dystopias and reality. The installation challenges the condition of being human, of conflict and traumatic invasions on all fronts. Of wounds and scars as they sear through memory creating a fluid topography that maps separations, rejections, repressions and loss.

CAVE OF DARKNESS – PORT OF NO RETURN is a site-specific installation using a non-classificatory collection approach.  Trevor Borg re-imagines the remains of long lost creatures and artefacts as he manipulates memory and journeys into the collective abyss within the haven. With a newly fabricated pre-historic narrative, he explores entrapment and concealment, the real and the imagined.  

The works will present a timeless story, pulling us forward and backwards, defining ancient and contemporary ways of being and living in an ever changing world, an ever moving earth.

Who are the local stakeholders of the European Capitals of Culture programme in Malta? What is the legacy of the programme from their point of view, and how can they access, influence and carry on this legacy? How can they participate fully to shape this legacy?

In recent years, there has been a growing interest to involve cultural operators and local communities in cultural programmes and policymaking. Collectively, all these approaches are labelled as participation.

Accordingly, when we try to understand what participation means in relation to the European Capitals of Culture (ECOC) programme, we encounter a wide variety of definitions and practices under the collective term. In a recent paper Tommarchi, Hansen and Bianchini listed four altering concepts of ‘participation’ in relation to ECOCs in research: participation as a tool of audience engagement; volunteer participation; co-creation and participation in the overall process.

Most of the participatory and community projects I have encountered in the framework of Valletta 2018 fall under co-creation category, where citizens take part as co-creators of cultural content. Some of these programmes were locality-based such as Altofest, Subjective Maps, Bodies in Urban Spaces, Ġewwa Barra and Design4DCity; while others were focusing on various subcultures and age-groups, such as Exiled Homes, KantaKantun, Playspace and Deep Shelter. 

Nevertheless, in a wider understanding participation can also be applied for the overall process: for the planning, implementation and evaluation of the programme.¹ In my research and praxis in the framework of Local Operators’ Platform (LOCOP), I follow this understanding, where participation in its most general form means the adoption of an open approach. In these processes the communities – who will be affected by a given programme, project or planning process – become participants not only as an audience, but they also actively participate in the planning, implementation and evaluation of the given programmes and projects.^{2 3}

To address participation in this widest understanding, we have organised a series of workshops under the title Policy Making Through Participation, in collaboration with the Research Department of Valletta 2018 Foundation and the Valletta Design Cluster. The workshops were held four times between April and October 2018, the main outcomes were presented at the Sharing the Legacy Conference.

On the one hand, the aim of the workshops was to identify topics that local operators – people active in the local cultural and social field – would like to address in a participatory, collaborative, action-oriented manner.

On the other hand, we aimed to create an opportunity for informal discussions between participants from various backgrounds – artists, cultural practitioners, researchers, and activists – over a longer period of time.

The first workshops were held in April 2018, and the participants were organised into three focus groups, addressing three topics: Culture, Politics and Capital in Urban Transformation; Renewal of the City and The Unintentional Legacy.⁴ During these focus group sessions, we have followed a focus group format based on participatory action research methodology to address the topics and to form action-oriented groups.

Below I will focus on the main issues which emerged from The Unintentional Legacy focus group, as I contributed to this group as a moderator. Throughout the four focus group sessions, we have developed our main approach around the Empowerment of Self-Organised Groups.

To address the issue of how to (self)empower grassroot organisations and collectives, the participants identified the lack of collective representation for cultural workers as one of the central issues of the local cultural field. Leading to this problem, we have identified three main sources:

• Lack of collaboration

The origins of this issue were recognised in the perceived lack of initiative and engagement from the artistic community and the wider civil society.

• Lack of collective term/terminology

The lack of collective term/terminology for local operators they could identify with, and also the lack of collective identity as a group was identified as another issue. This was further discussed in relation to the problem, that the collectives are generally associated with discourses of national identity building or political parties.

• Lack of support and legal structures

Next to the lack of intrinsic motivations and approaches, there were some extrinsic problems to note, such as the lack of institutional support structures, and the lack of legal structure for alternative enterprises.

The identification of these issues leads to our central problem: the lack of collective representation for the cultural workers. With this central case in place, we could name further interlinked problems, such as the temporality of collaborations, lack of shared resources and the lack of full-time devotion, to name a few. Altogether, the above-mentioned problems are leading to the constant insecurity and precarious situation of the cultural field in Malta.

As the problems were mainly focused around collective and systemic issues, we have addressed them with different approaches:

• Systemic solutions

The suggested solutions for the lack of support- and legal structures were mainly focusing on a wish for better strategic support for artists and cultural workers, in terms of logistical supports, affordable consultancy (accounting, legal issues, etc.), resource centres and long-term funding strategies. These solutions were expected to arrive from an official institute or organisation.

• Collective solutions

Establishing a collective was recognised as a long-term strategy. The positive, supportive strengths of a collective/collectives were recognised in the possibility of sharing work and responsibilities; sharing resources/ expenses and equipment; stronger representation and lobby activity as a group and the cross-fertilisation and knowledge production capacities of groups. Nevertheless, the actual steps towards forming collectives at this stage were rather blocked by the recognised lack of engagement, lack of initiative and lack of a collective term.

• Bridging collective and systemic solutions

A solution to bridge this gap between systemic and collective solutions was recognised in two actions.

These included the establishment of temporary collectives for intermediate aims, such as claiming a site for cultural projects/ works. A cultural/ art space could have the gravity to bring together a community; it can provide security and stability both physical and support group sense; it could provide consistency; therefore it could be a good solution against the fragmentations of the cultural field.

On a pragmatic level, it could help with time-management; logistical and legal support; and could offer diversified facilities. All in all, a cultural place, that would be based on self-leadership of the group, and clear, independent leasing terms, could provide plannability and sustainability for the collective while providing a physical space and a think-tank for collaboratives.

The group also recognised the strength of smaller, micro-collectives around various topics. This suggestion was further explored in an open workshop about Collective Action and Sharing Economy, in collaboration with Valletta Design Cluster. The event was organised as a community think-tank to discuss various community-based sharing economy initiatives and to map needs and resources – tools, knowledge sharing, emotional needs, etc. – on the local level. The overall aim was to increase participation, self-reliance, and community resilience.

These micro-scale group-forming actions continued in various directions based on the mapped needs and resources in the form of The Hatchery Initiative.  The initiative is a local action/ social innovation support system, with the aim to inspire and gather seeds of initiative that reside within the communities.

These actions can grow to strengthen the incentives to take initiatives and engagement with local issues, but also to take and share responsibility to be the initiators of the changes within the local cultural scene. Furthermore, a transforming cultural scene – that constantly renews itself to address cultural, economic, social and political challenges – can be the context in which cooperation supersedes competition. 

Szilvia Nagy is a cultural researcher, project manager and curator from Budapest, Hungary and Essen, Germany and a founder of Local Operators’ Platform (LOCOP), a network and research platform to facilitate dialogues between researchers, local operators and cultural practitioners. LOCOP’s overall aim is to highlight the importance of collaboration, participation and evaluation for a sustainable long-term development of the European Capitals of Culture (ECoC) programme.

She is a PhD Candidate in Film, Media and Contemporary Culture Studies at the Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest and holds an MA in Cultural and Visual Anthropology and an MA in Political Science.

¹ Turnhout, E., S. Van Bommel, and N. Aarts (2010) ‘How participation creates citizens: participatory governance as performative practice’. Ecology and Society 15(4): 26. Available from: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol15/iss4/art26/ 

² Tommarchi, E., Hansen, L.E., Bianchini, F. (2018) ‘Problematising the question of participation in Capitals of Culture’. Participations. Journal of Audience & Reception Studies15(2)Available from: http://www.participations.org/Volume%2015/Issue%202/10.pdf

³ Nagy, S. (2018) ‘Framing culture: Participatory governance in the European Capitals of Culture programme’. Participations. Journal of Audience & Reception Studies 15(2) Available from: http://www.participations.org/Volume%2015/Issue%202/15.pdf 

⁴ The three action-oriented groups were initiated by the lead of Graziella Vella and the Research Department of Valletta 2018 Foundation, and developed further during the focus-group sessions. Michael Deguara, Neville Borg and Jonas Büchel worked with the group of Changing Communities with a focus on Hamrun and the periphery of the Grand Harbour; Raffaella Zammit, Xabier Polledo Arrizabalaga and Rafael Pascual-Leone collaborated with the Pedestrianisation And Green Spaces focus group; and Caldon Mercieca, Rafael Pascual-Leone and Aidan Celeste cooperated with Szilvia Nagy on the sessions, actions and future plans of the Collective Action & Sharing Economy focus group.

‘I decided to have a go.  I shut off my head and just went with how I felt … I did not know what I would draw, but I found myself drawing a door… After the door, I drew a tiny figure (me) and a large figure (the father). I noticed that I had drawn his hands very large and claw-like. I felt physically sick but carried on drawing. I began to hurt from the hands and scribbled them out very firmly. I actually felt the hands doing things to me that I hate. At the top of the paper, I drew two large figures of almost equal size.  I was very, very careful to get them the same size. It was to represent me and him, and the equality I feel I am now looking for.’  (McClelland, Ann and Pat, 1993, p.119)

This is an excerpt from Pat’s published reflection on her experience with art therapist Sheila McClelland. Through art therapy and within the therapeutic relationship with a trained art therapist, Pat was able to connect with, revisit and process less conscious traumatic memories. Whilst this can be a potentially cathartic experience, her engagment with art also allowed her to experience a degree of control which seems to have been absent when she was a child. Pat could experiment with and communicate how she desired to be within her present relationship.

Within the creative arts therapies, artistic expression functions as a bridging, transitional space between awareness and experience, conscious and unconscious spaces, me and you. Artistic expression offers the possibility of changing the manner in which we relate to our experiences and hence their impact on our present life and relationships. Moreover, the use of the artistic medium allows us to process past experiences in a distanced manner. This may contribute to a sense of safety and control.

The creative arts therapies include dramatherapy, music therapy, dance movement therapy and art therapy. The Creative Arts Therapies Society in Malta (catsmalta.org) defines the arts therapies as ‘psychotherapeutic practices in which the creative arts and the therapeutic relationship (between client and therapist) are central to a process of awareness, development, transformation and healing.’ Artistic expression may take various forms, such as improvised painting, role play, story work, play, musical exchanges between therapist and client or movement pieces witnessed by supportive others within group therapy.

Arts therapists need to be qualified at a Masters level and all local practitioners were trained at European institutions. Though no local training is available, arts therapists can apply for state registration under the 2018 Psychotherapy Profession Act.

Some local applications of creative arts therapies include work with persons facing the challenges of eating disorders, dramatherapy with the elderly population, therapeutic work with children living in out of home care, work with adults seeking self-development and dealing with loss and work with children facing learning difficulties. Recently dramatherapy has also been used to offer a voice to children who received inpatient psychiatric treatment, especially in terms of sensitising professionals to their needs.

As we brace ourselves for the end of a very busy year for culture and the arts many are those asking what will happen after 2018? The work done when it comes to policy-making and public investment has been substantial – resulting amongst others in the introduction of more catered artists development programmes, creation of new arts organisations and continued improvement on available resources.

Arts Council Malta’s commitment to invest more in education schemes in partnership with the Ministry for Education is commendable, while public cultural organisations are now more geared towards developing outreach initiatives which cater for the different communities. Case in point, season initiatives such as Teatru Manoel’s Toi Toi, MPO’s youth programme and Spazju Kreattiv’s development strand are a good way to develop interest and engagement. Also funding opportunities like CulturePass and Kreattiv remain of the essence for students and educators to engage more directly in creativity.

ŻiguŻajg has been a very important player in all this by setting the bar high both when it comes to presenting critically-acclaimed productions from around the world but, most importantly, ensuring the local sector has the expertise and resources to develop good quality productions.

Year after year audiences are presented with a wide range of projects to choose from while creatives are given the platform to attend tailored professional development and networking sessions with peers in the creative arts. As a result, we can now count on a strong repertoire which can tour internationally while the Festival’s reputation as a go-to event has also reached other countries.

However there’s still a lot to be done and one thing which makes the coming years pivotal to the development of the local creative sector is the continued investment in professionalisation and the implementation of targeted audience development initiatives. Thorough attention needs to be given to this aspect to ensure more people and specifically upcoming generations grow in a society which truly values the arts and their impact on social well-being. Various studies have shown those exposed to arts have a higher propensity for creative thinking, improved academic performance as well as greater level confidence and perseverance. The time is ripe to be more direct in advocating such and have the arts as an integral part of our education framework.

Now that the national arts strategy is set and a lot of investment has been made, there needs to be a fully endorsed national plan that provides children from a tender age with the chance to engage in the arts regularly as well as holistic calendar of events agreed by public and private stakeholders that gives children and youths full exposure to quality events. In the same way, creatives need not only be given the means to finetune their skills and present one-off projects but also the business incentives to specialise in work that caters for specific communities and audiences.

In so doing, the legacy of Valletta 2018 and valuable work done by all those within the creative sector will bear fruit, by putting the arts truly at the core of Malta’s socio-cultural ecology.

^{Children waiting for a performance to begin, ŻiguŻajg 2018, photo by Edward Degabriele} 

The status of the artist as a professional, the centrality of arts education and the need for internationalisation are some of the key issues raised during meetings held with stakeholders to help shape the new cultural policy.

The policy will set out to lay the foundations for all initiatives, strategies and decisions in the cultural and creative sectors within the public sphere in Malta between 2020 and 2025. Its beliefs will provide the basis for other documents, such as Arts Council Malta’s strategy for 2020-2025 as well as other public cultural organisations’ strategy documents.

Published in 2011, the previous cultural policy set out as its central vision the transformation of cultural and creative activity into the most dynamic facet of Malta’s socio-economic life in the 21st century. To it can be traced back the roots of the creative economy strategy launched in 2012, the Cultural Participation Survey published in 2012, Valletta’s bid for the European Capital of Culture as well as the restructuring of Arts Council Malta.

Almost a decade later, the cultural sector has been transformed. New public cultural organisations have been set up, Malta has returned to the Venice Biennale after an absence of 17 years, new funding programmes have been designed and investment in the cultural sector has increased steadily. Valletta becoming European Capital of Culture throughout this year is only the climax of the momentum that has been generated in recent years.

The need was felt for a policy document which would encompass this new scenario while also taking into account recent developments in the creation of policy documents. So while the first document focused on laying out the broad values, this one will aim to draw from the lessons learnt in the past few years and to take into account the greater body of research that has been accumulated since the publication of the first policy.

For the first time in fact, the working group tasked with the drafting of the policy includes cultural policy researchers that will provide a much-needed evidence-based approach. It is also made up of government officials as well as representatives from heritage, band clubs, media, youth studies and education, the arts sector and local communities, aiming for as broad a representation as possible.

The new policy will also in fact aim to give people a greater say, through a participatory model of decision-making, allowing the general public to provide insights and ideas. This was done through a series of 10 themed meetings held earlier this year as well as through an online survey to be completed by members of the public.

The result, as least so far, has been a bringing to the fore of aspects of themes which previously tended to be glossed over in favour of the broader principles at work. So, apart from key themes in the arts, the new document also encompasses other aspects such as digitalisation, well-being and the environment.

Arts education and the key role played by the arts in a holistic education was one of the themes discussed in the meetings. The cultural policy has to support the framework for formal, informal and non-formal learning in arts, media and culture, including measures that support both learners and trainers.

Cultural Heritage and sustainable development were also discussed. The rapid transformation of the Maltese landscape has brought about numerous challenges for the preservation and management of cultural heritage. This has to be safeguarded, protected and promoted. We need to ask ourselves whether governance structures in this sector need to be further strengthened or developed.

The meetings also discussed cultural communities, taking into account the role of NGOs, volunteers and traditional practice. What is the role of cultural policy in encouraging different cultural NGOs and cultural communities to develop further their capacity to contribute to local, social and cultural wellbeing?  How can traditional and new cultural communities be empowered to act as important partners in cultural development?

It also included an emphasis on international cultural cooperation: how, for instance, can cultural policy encourage further mobility of artists and facilitate the mobility of works of art?

Young people and their practice and participation were also addressed, particularly ways for ensuring access for all youth as well as to obtain knowledge on their priorities in cultural practice and participation. Artistic practice by young people and cultural participation by youths are recognised as cultural rights in an equitable culture that provides for active citizenship, critical thinking and empowerment. The policy will look into bringing a long-term synergy between cultural policy, youth organisations and youth workers.

Diversity and social inclusion was another topic discussed during the meetings. How do we ensure that people from diverse communities and all walks of life become active participants in culture and the arts? A new policy should ensure that people from diverse communities and all walks of life become active participants in culture and the arts.  Doors need to be open for different minority groups for their active participation.

This time round, a greater emphasis was placed on regional cultural development in Malta and Gozo as a key theme in the policy. In recent years, regions and local councils have become active players in regional cultural development. From numerous yearly festivals to ongoing initiatives for communities, local government has become an important stakeholder in culture and the arts. In order to be sustainable, new frameworks may be proposed that support stronger collaborations in cultural planning by regions and local councils in Malta and Gozo.

The policy will also include a focus on innovation in Cultural and Creative Practices. Malta’s creative economy is driven by thousands of cultural and creative practitioners who through their skill, talent and entrepreneurial drive are shaping the growth of the sector.  The policy has to recommend tools to sustain this growth, leverage access to finance, support new business models and facilitate inter-industry cooperation.

The Professional Status of the Cultural and Creative Workers was also discussed. The majority of professionals in the cultural and creative sectors operate through small enterprises, often in an individual capacity as a freelancer, shifting between numerous projects, different roles and different sectors. There any specific challenges that are limiting the professionalisation of the cultural and creative workers which need to be addressed and the cultural policy can serve as an instrument to address the status of the artist and cultural professionals to achieve sustainable activity that produces the highest levels of quality.  

You too can contribute to the new cultural policy by taking the online survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/kultura2025eng

Teatru Malta cannot be the alpha and omega of theatre in Malta all by itself. There’s a whole sector of companies, educational, amateur and professional entities that we could work with. That’s why we started out with countless collaborations: we listened, we talked, we argued, we discussed. We proposed some projects ourselves, we created projects together, we listened to the artists and programmed what they created. This is quite a melting pot of different flavours, but they all go well together, like a serving of good old Maltese balbuljata, enhanced with new and unexpected flavours.  

That’s why we can now speak of collaborations with over 30 entities, we can speak about a budget that’s more than double that stipulated by the government budget, we can now speak of 20 international collaborations and of several exciting projects. I believe that the future is in co-productions – and that’s why we have a lot of them. We’re putting up work on beaches, theatres, band clubs, sports centres, spaces in sub-urban areas and many other interesting spaces. We’re interacting with band clubs, with passion play enthusiasts, with għana singers, with bird trappers, with contemporary artists, with conservative artists.

Teatru Malta is making shows for everyone; people of all sorts of ages and from all walks of life, in theatres and outside them, in streets, schools, piazzas and band clubs. The very first show? Il-Qarċilla, l-Għarusa Karfusa which will tour Malta and Gozo’s streets during the colourful Carnival season; the very first Qarċilla written by a woman since its inception in 1760! Teatru Malta will then take you straight to the stage of a world-renowned Commedia dell’Arte master, in Il-Klassi tas-Surmast: Claudia Contin Arlecchino where a masterclass workshop and performance will ensue in honour of UNESCO’s World Day for Commedia dell’Arte.

If you prefer a good old boxing match between rivals, then Raymond ‘Fight’ Beck is exactly the show for you this March. Did you say something? Well so did the Għannejja many moons ago in Ilħna Mitlufa. From the most maddening depths of Pinter’s Hothouse, to the revival of Francis Ebejer’s Boulevard; operettas for feast enthusiasts in Il-Madonna Tiegħi aħjar minn Tiegħek, to touring operas for children with the coolest cats in town in Il-Qtates ta’ max-Xatt; a Game with a British writer and a Unifaun at the National Stadium after a World Cup match, to the recollections of bird songs from the son of a bird trapper’s childhood in Nassaba – Song of a Bird and Christmas Pantomimes in the Dark. Get to know more by following us around.

We are also always ready to listen and I would like to pass on this message to artists and creators of theatre: come see us, talk to us, complain, propose, criticise, praise – but do come. Teatru Malta wouldn’t be worthy of its name unless you come. We might have a range of productions and a different approach to each, but the aim remains the same – to be a National Theatre. To me, ‘national’ doesn’t mean that there is only one audience, like some ideal audience, one with the same tastes, or that one audience is better than another because it’s bigger – there are several audiences, and we must seek them out and leave our mark on them. There are those who reminisce of the teatrin in their village, those who like theatre that provokes reflection, uneasiness and protest. There are those who like theatre which makes you laugh and forget, and those who love the sort of theatre which is not obvious, almost absurd or abstract, those who like it in Maltese, in English, non-verbal, classic but fresh, and many others of course, since it’s not possible to mention them all here.

I hope that with this first programme, audiences will start to increase and that more and more people will fall madly in love with theatre, because life should be enjoyed even through extraordinary moments of imagination that we share between us in the theatre. However, despite all this planning, we must stay flexible and urgent to be truly relevant – that’s why you should always keep updated – because we will vary, change and keep coming up with things. Stay with us.

In the meantime, check out our website – www.teatrumalta.org.mt – which is available in Maltese and in English and tells you what we’re up to and how to keep in touch.

The rebranding of the Festivals Directorate as Festivals Malta is one of the key actions (Action 11) in Arts Council Malta’s Strategy2020. Launched in December 2015, Strategy2020 proposed the establishment of Festivals Malta, including the Carnival Experience, as part of the Valletta 2018 legacy programme.

The hiving off of Festivals Malta from its ‘mother entity’, Arts Council Malta is a strategic attempt to facilitate the growth of more than 158 separate activities across eight festivals and five national events, leveraging a team of 20 talented, passionate and dedicated professionals along with eight artistic directors, who shape the current festivals directorate responsible for the programme of Arts Council Malta.

Festivals Malta will drive for greater focus on excellence in the execution of festivals and will create a unique brand identity around this sector. It will also be the organisation responsible for the implementation and running of the EU-funded Carnival Experience project, a tremendous opportunity to create a ‘year-round’ carnival experience… as well as the implementation of the Rock Hub which will be an incubator for emerging musicians and bands.

Furthermore, Festivals Malta will enable cooperation between events and festivals, regardless of their source, to promote artistic expression, cultural excellence and democratic expression, and this same cooperation will be tapped into to create economies of scale between festivals.

Festivals Malta will also be a focal point for outreach to other international festivals, providing opportunities for local talent while also bringing new and innovative ideas to Malta.

Festivals Malta will create Malta’s global brand as that of a ‘festival island’, building on our authenticity and hospitality – a place where people travel to enjoy their favourite performing art.

The key objectives for Festivals Malta up to 2020 are to:

• Provide the right international orientated platform to sustain growth and development, as part of the Valletta 2018 legacy.
• Focus Festivals Malta on having the highest standard events and festivals, benchmarked against top international festivals.
• Implement the first phase of the Festival and Event Strategy in collaboration with public cultural organisations in order to reach excellence and innovation in the implementation of festivals and artistic events in Malta.
• Continue to build on the current portfolio of festivals and events, bringing in new ideas and innovation.
• Establish a strong network of affiliations with festival organisations, which will also include regional festival partnerships.
• Drive further brand recognition for the Festivals Malta product.
• Leverage synergies and optimise costs across the various organisations wherever possible.
• Provide the right tools and enablers including the introduction of an integrating ticketing system that works across festivals, events and public cultural organisations.
• Drive participation locally with more focussed and effective marketing tailored to each festival.
• Engage with schools and communities on all levels to encourage participation in the arts.
• Nurture tradition, emerging talent and identity through the Malta Carnival Experience and the Rock Hub.
• Enable a national arts and culture calendar, offering a consolidated programme and driving greater synergies, impact and alignment across public and private cultural organisations
• Work closely with the Maltese travel industry to grow Malta’s image and brand internationally as an expanding niche in cultural tourism.

Having been given the opportunity to intern at the Malta Pavilion, commissioned by Arts Council Malta, during the 57th edition of the International Art Biennale in Venice, as part of an Erasmus+ placement, no number of meetings, starter packs or articles could have prepared me for what Venice had in store for me.

I spent two summer months in Venice, July and August, when the streets are crowded with distracted, generally well-dressed tourists taking images of themselves on the numerous bridges over the canals. Even more crowded than the streets were the multitude of grand palaces, and all other exhibiting spaces for that matter, overflowing with art from every span of time and corner of the globe. The greatest, most compact collection of international artwork was in fact within the main Biennale areas, the Arsenale and the Giardini.

Walking into the Maltese Pavilion at the Arsenale, the first stunner was the stark difference when comparing it to the neighbouring Pavilions; with its history museum-like set-up – along with object tags and all – contrasting with the grandiose, unified installations generally opted for. The second was the loud swearing coming from a digital artwork in the corner, like a naughty child, which had me looking around expecting shocked faces, realising that no one understood a thing. That, along with an assortment of around 200 objects of every nature and artworks by 13 artists – also beautifully varied and individual – made it feel like there was a wholesome chunk of Malta transported into this converted shipbuilding warehouse.

The question most commonly confronted though was: what aspect of Malta was being portrayed? At face value, some visitors passing through seemed uninterested, perhaps feeling that the history museum, archival-like display was not worth their time. A few shifts at the Pavilion indicated that it was just that aspect of time and curiosity that certain visitors were missing. Reading the context behind the interplay of items and artworks displayed, led to layers upon layers of charming, revealing details. Additionally, discussing these details with visitors who were eager to know more about the Pavilion only led to deeper insights, based on these individuals’ experiences. These characters and their stories undoubtedly ended up being highlights of the experience. Like a book one stumbles on, skims through and is fascinated by… how dull the days might have been without meeting with the ex-art student who went into anthropology, or the 70-plus year old journalist who, having been to Malta, found certain religious views that came across in the Pavilion rather striking.

_{Interacting with work by Erwin Wurm, Austrian Pavilion}

This excavation of information became a personal methodology when in Venice, especially with regards to visiting collateral events. At some point towards the end of the two months, with over 200 exhibitions available apart from the multitude of Palazzos, it crossed my mind that I had seen enough, but was proven wrong again and again, as my curiosity drew me into the next Palazzo or installation. Indeed right up until the very end, I was in awe of the grand, elaborate, colourful frescoes on the walls of Ca’ Rezzonico, shocked to stumble in on a ‘University of Disaster’- portraying a number of blunt interpretations on the horrors that surround us and without a doubt, intrigued when I coincidentally turned into a small printing studio where I ended up learning an innovative printing technique thanks to a very curious character.

In addition to this being an extremely mind-opening experience, getting to know an array of beautiful characters, their insights, their stories, their quirks – especially thanks to the permanent site officers at the Maltese Pavilion – resulted in a successful two-month stay with sufficient material to keep me fuelled for the scholastic year ahead and enough wanderlust to have me looking for another travel opportunity soon after I landed back in Malta.

Martina Camilleri carried out an Erasmus+ placement with Arts Council Malta at the 57th edition of the Venice International Art Biennale from 3 July 2017 to 30 August 2017.

When I started conducting research in policies for the Maltese cultural and creative sectors, Malta had no cultural policy, Valletta 2018 was not even a concept let alone an organisation and open public funding programmes for the arts were inconceivable. 12 years later, Malta registers an unprecedented 1.6% public investment in the cultural and creative sectors, with a portfolio of 10 public funding programmes based on a restructured Arts Council set on a five-year strategy, a cultural policy and a creative economy strategy.

As I reflect on this journey shared with five different Ministers for Culture and numerous colleagues in different public and private institutions in Malta and abroad, the developments in culture are due to stronger advocacy over the years by the cultural sector and the political will of different administrations to commit to the arts.

The public sector is blessed to have dedicated people with technical expertise and knowledge that adds value to the delivery of programmes and initiatives. This expertise should not be underestimated because human capital is the most important asset for better policies and programmes. The next generation of Maltese cultural policy should embrace this together with the challenges of cultural governance and cultural infrastructure that continue to be flagged up as the weakest aspects of our creative ecology.

In recent years we have also seen a stronger shift towards the independent sector as a driver of culture, in partnership with the public sector. This needs to be sustained to create a balanced and healthy sector. Ultimately, a stable and competitive creative economy cannot be monopolized by the public sector both in economic and creative terms.

As I am about to embark on my own private venture focusing on arts advisory, production and management, I would like to thank the Chairman and the Board members of the Council for their unstinting support and the other two directorates for sharing our vision. I am indebted to the amazing team I had the privilege to work with in the development and implementation of the first strategy for Arts Council Malta.

The team is the only technical expert team currently working in the strategic development of the cultural and creative sectors in Malta – it provides the necessary intelligence for evidence-based policymaking; it fosters European and international connections for artists; it positions cultural diversity and communities at the heart of its work; it ensures that children and young people enjoy their right to access culture; it instills creative entrepreneurship in the process of professionalisation; it manages and develops grants and investments so that Malta’s cultural and creative sectors continue to thrive.

Working closely with the team was both an honour and an exceptional learning experience. Trusted with its leadership for a three-year period helped me consolidate a way forward with like-minded people that have the arts at heart and a strategic cap in hand.

As I now continue to advocate for culture from outside the public sector, the invitation remains open for artists and arts organisations and Arts Council Malta to keep an open dialogue that guarantees the ongoing quality service and transparent funding processes. I am confident that the Create2020 vision to place the arts and creativity at the heart of Malta’s future and the 70-action plan, implemented by the team and my successor, will continue to leave a positive impact towards the generation of the post-2020 cultural policy.

All markets are composed of a mass of endlessly diverse individuals who engage with organisations and brands for different reasons, driven by different needs. While it is too simplistic to approach the market as if it were one homogenous mass – one size does not fit all – it is equally impractical to expect to treat every single member of the audience individually. Therefore, in order to understand the Maltese cultural market in a useful and practical way, we wanted to look at the different segments in this market and how they might most successfully be engaged in the national cultural offer.

Audience Atlas Malta answers the big questions: How big is the market? How much additional potential remains? Which art forms have room for growth? The data is collected with robust samples and is carefully weighted using local census data to ensure accuracy.

Included within this is Culture Segments, the international standard market segmentation for the arts, culture, heritage and leisure sectors. It defines the current and potential market segments by their needs, wants, attitudes and motivations, providing the tools to answer the most important questions: How do we reach that potential? What should we say to them when we do? What parts of our offer should we target at which segments? Ultimately, how can we reach more people and engage them more deeply?

Audience Atlas Malta reveals that more than three quarters of the Maltese adult population have attended some kind of cultural event in the past three years and nine out of 10 are in the market to do so; that is, they have either visited or, if they haven’t, are interested in doing so. This has huge ramifications in terms of the potential for audience development strategies. Furthermore, this culture market has a very similar age profile to the population overall – younger people are as likely as their older counterparts to be open to persuasion when it comes to arts and culture.

What is clear is that, whichever art form you are presenting, there is significant potential within the Maltese market. The most popular artform – film or cinema – has seen 55% of the market attend within the past three years, while there remains a further 30% who can be considered potential visitors. Similarly, 43% of the culture market have been to an art gallery in the past three years, and a further 29% would be interested in doing so. Among the less frequently attended artforms, such as classical music, ballet, contemporary dance and opera, the potential for growth is even more significant. Around twice as many people are in the potential market than within the current audience.

In order to tap into these huge potential markets we need to take a more targeted approach and look at which segments are most open to which artforms.

Meet the Culture Segments

The eight Culture Segments in the market for arts, culture, heritage and leisure are named to reflect what they hope to get out of engaging with the arts. Culture Segments is based on people’s core cultural values, giving insight into why each segment would like art in their lives; what benefits they perceive it to offer; how they feel their lives will be improved by it.

The largest segment in Malta (24%) is the Expression segment. They are in tune with their spiritual side accommodating a range of interests, from culture and learning to community and nature. Expression index significantly above average for current attendance of mainstream artforms, such as historical sites and museums, but less so when it comes to artforms considered specialist such as music or dance.

8% of the Malta market is in the Essence segment. These are highly active cultural consumers across a wide range of artforms. They are leaders rather than followers and are confident in their own tastes. Essence are dedicated to arts and culture; indexing above average in terms of attendance in a variety  of artforms from art galleries to musicals and literature events.

The Stimulation segment (8%) is an active group who live life to the full, looking for new experiences and challenges. They are open to a wide range of experiences, from culture to sports and music, but like to be at the cutting-edge of everything they do. Those in the Stimulation segment are avid cultural attenders, demonstrating a particular inclination to live music and comedy, but typically engaged across the spectrum.

Also accounting for 8% of the market is the Affirmation segment, who tend to see cultural engagement as allowing for both enjoyment and their development. The Affirmation segment demonstrates significant current engagement with many artforms in the culture market, from intellectual trips to a historical site or museum, to more fun days out at the cinema.

Those in the Enrichment segment (14%) typically have a mature outlook on life and like spending their leisure time close to the home. They have established tastes and enjoy culture that links into their own interests and more traditional forms. This segment tends to under-index within current artform audiences, particularly those such as rock or pop music, and may require significant persuasion to encourage visits.

The Perspective segment (12%) is settled, fulfilled and home-oriented. A self-sufficient segment with personal passions, they are not looking to others – or institutions – for fulfilment. Although those in the Perspective segment can, and have, engaged with artforms in the past, they are often ambivalent towards much of the sector. This is reflected in low current attendance across a breadth of artforms, notably with film and rock or pop music, while it may also be difficult to directly influence their visit behaviour.

21% of the market is in the Entertainment segment. This tends to be conventional and contemporary, a group for whom the arts are on the periphery of their lives. Their low tolerance towards ‘culture’ compared to mainstream leisure activities make them a tough segment to attract.

Malta’s smallest segment is Release (5%). This segment tend to have busy lives and while they used to enjoy arts and culture, other priorities have taken over. Consequently, they feel they have limited time and resources to enjoy arts and culture, although they claim they would like to do more.

Exploiting the Potential

With nearly one in four of the Maltese culture market in the Expression segment, there is huge potential to be gained from optimising messaging – and indeed experiences – for this segment. This segment dominates the current audience for many artforms – including museums, galleries, comedy, musicals, classical music, traditional Maltese music and opera, as well as featuring in several potential markets. Expression prize inclusivity and shared experiences and will favour organisations who demonstrate the same values and demonstrate a warm welcome for all. To fulfil your potential and reach further into the Expression market requires an organisation to consider things from their perspective and be willing to change to accommodate their needs. As well as sharing experiences, Expression welcome the chance to discuss and exchange reactions to the work they’ve seen – to hear from the artists what the performance meant to them – but also between fellow audience members. Getting behind the scenes, the chance to see costume displays or even turn their own hand to creativity will all be welcomed.

While 21% of the market is Entertainment, this segment may not reflect such high return on investment as a target. Cultural institutions are only likely to successfully target the Entertainment segment when they have big title, star cast productions. They are more likely to be found in the market for cinema than other presentation forms – even comedy and musicals do not hold big sway for this segment in Malta. Any marketing needs to compete on a commercial playing field alongside that for their other leisure pursuits.

Although Stimulation and Essence make up smaller proportions of the market, they are very engaged, interested and adventurous segments making up significantly greater number of visits than their relative sizes represent. Stimulation are driven to experience the new and the novel and are searching to add surprise and variety to their lives. They have an appetite for new ideas and are innately curious. Consider unusual settings or juxtapositions and promote things as the best-kept secret or next big thing so they can enjoy being ahead of the curve. Essence consider themselves experienced and fully equipped for most arts experiences – as long as they are of the highest quality and have integrity to them. This confidence in their own tastes means they don’t like feeling sold to with overt marketing pitches. Rather, they need assurance of high quality and simple information to help them select what they would personally find the most rewarding. These two segments make a strong choice for targeting. Less well penetrated markets – especially contemporary dance – also see significant room for growth in these segments.

Meanwhile the Affirmation and Enrichment segments both need some coaxing to visit, although for different reasons. Affirmation are looking to marketing to help with this conscientious decision-making. Reviews and star ratings will play a significant role in assuring them they have picked the best option. Enrichment report an interest in the more traditional and more commonly seen in the potential markets including literature, museums, historic sites and plays than as current attenders. They are far less willing to consider experimenting with jazz, contemporary dance or opera. Opportunities to try before they buy, details to help them plan their itinerary and evidence of experience and traditional roots will indicate to Enrichment that this is for them.

Audience Atlas Malta contains full details how each segment engages with each artform as well as pen portraits to give full and rich understanding of the segments’ preferences, motivations and needs – and how to reach and develop them. Culture Segments is in 17 countries where, as well as fuelling strategies with powerful insights, it provides a common language for talking about audiences that can put them at the heart of our conversations and make them central to our planning.

www.mhminsight.com

This blog is based on the essay in Perspectives on Cultural Participation in Malta published by Arts Council Malta.

– “Where are you from?” they ask.
– “I’m a citizen of the world,” she replies. 

For these past few years I’ve been having this constant dream of being able to answer the question ‘Where are you from?’ with ‘I’m a citizen of the world’, where states, nations or borders do not really matter. A utopian dream, one might say, but I’m glad to have had the possibility of experiencing this situation, albeit in the short term, at the Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Innovators IV (YCI) which was held between 14 and 19 October at the idyllic Schloss Leopoldskron, or what is more commonly known as ‘The Sound of Music’ palace.

Not really knowing what to expect, in spite of all the prior preparations, I made sure to equip myself with three basic tools: an open mind, an open heart and an open soul, which turned out to be collective tools embraced by every participant. The forum brought together 50 young people – coming from different parts of the globe: Athens, Tirana, Salzburg, Baltimore, Detroit, Memphis, New Orleans, Canada, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Nairobi, Manila, Seoul, Vietnam, Tokyo, and us, Malta – who are all using the arts and culture to catalyse economic, social and urban transformation in their local communities. This provided an appropriate break from the daily routine while guaranteeing a safe space to reflect, discuss, exchange ideas and share one’s worries and challenges.

Most of our sessions revolved around leaving one’s comfort zone in order to face and challenge social issues, such as imbalances in power. We discussed the courage this entails, how to best adopt bottom-up approaches, and thus engage with one’s communities where accountability becomes a norm and a practice that everyone commits to seek and offer in return. Discussions were intense and can be summarised in the shortest poem ever written, the two-word poem by Muhammed Ali Me-We which was proposed to us by the YCI Forum Facilitators Peter Jenkinson and Shelagh Wright during the introductory session. Me-We served a good baseline throughout the forum as it expresses a sense of community and an appreciation for support, collaboration and togetherness.

At this stage in my career such themes were really needed; I might not have answers as yet, but it did refresh my vision that, yes, the arts can be a means to trigger social change and I look forward to test the acquired skills and share them with other local practitioners. There is however one takeaway I must specifically mention: the passion of every YCI. This was clearly manifested in ‘The Schloss is Alive’ event, a showcase of talents put up and organised by a group of us in less than 24 hours. It was satisfying to be part of this group of creatives and to exchange some genuine feedback.

Finally, a word of thanks to all the organisers and faculty members who with great care, motivation and humility shared their experiences and provided us with the right tips and skills while also seeking our feedback. I would like to extend my gratitude to Arts Council Malta in partnership with the US Embassy in Malta for their support in making this experience possible. Last but not least, thanks to all the fellow YCIs in whom I found new friends, new colleagues and future collaborators.

_{Photo credit: Salzburg Global Seminar/Herman Seidl}

The recently launched cultural participation survey commissioned by Arts Council Malta reveals that young people (16-24) showed the highest rate of attendance to cultural sites and cultural events from all age groups across all domains. A total 81 per cent of young people went to the cinema in 2016 and 54 per cent went to a live music performance. The most popular folk event in terms of attendance was the parish feast, with 67 per cent of those aged 16-24 claiming to attend at least one every year.

In recent years, we have witnessed unprecedented increased public investment in the arts with new programmes and initiatives for the cultural and creative sectors. With more artist-led spaces emerging across Malta and Gozo and new national arts events led by independent arts organisations on the rise, we can mark the shift from a dominant public-led cultural sector to a more equitable and diverse cultural ecology.

Festivals such as the Valletta Film Festival, the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival and another nine organisations receive public funds as partners to produce cultural events that reflect the principles outlined in our cultural strategy. We are also committed to this investment because we firmly believe that through such partnerships we can secure a democratic space for the diversity of creative expression.

These festivals and cultural events add value to our well-being and secure a safe space for young people to engage in voluntary activity. It is encouraging to note that 13 per cent of the 16-24 age group volunteered in arts and culture in 2016, and there is definitely scope to incentivise further volunteerism among young people.

The key to building a sustainable future in the arts lies in making young artists a priority today

The success of the Tal-Kultura volunteer programme developed by the Valletta 2018 Foundation is a legacy project that should permeate all arts organisations.

In my first days as minister for culture in the new legislature, I set out three key objectives that will shape our priorities for the next five years.

The first objective addresses the need to increase cultural access and develop audience development strategies.

The second objective focuses on further professionalisation of the cultural and creative sectors, and the third objective is to develop further the creative economy and generate employment.

In 2015, the cultural and creative sectors accounted for six per cent of full- time and part-time gainful employment in Malta.

Job creation in the sectors almost tripled in the latter five-year period, and culture created 2,800 new jobs between 2010 and 2015, compared to an increase of 1,100 new jobs between 2005 and 2010.

These objectives are set against a backdrop of strategies developed in recent years, such as the Arts Council Malta’s Create 2020 Strategy and the manifesto of the new government.

The key to building a sustainable future in the arts lies in making young artists a priority today.

Statistics reveal that young people are the most likely to consider themselves to be artists from all age groups. As at 2015, Malta had the highest proportion of young people aged 15-29 working in the cultural sector from all EU Member States at 31 per cent, followed by the UK with 22 per cent.

It is surely no coincidence that the first initiatives launched for culture in the past weeks focused on young people.

A new programme called Artivisti, developed by Arts Council Malta with Aġenzija Żgħażagħ and supported by 89.7 Bay radio will identify some of the best young talent across the arts and provide them with the necessary training, mentoring and networking in order to develop further their creative potential.

Selected artists will be awarded a package of benefits and opportunities for a year.

In another initiative, Arts Council Malta is partnering with the Salzburg Global Forum to provide young people from Malta the opportunity to join 50 of the world’s most dynamic, young, creative change-makers and help form the “Malta Young Cultural Innovators Hub” as part of the forum’s global network.

The public funding portfolio of Arts Council Malta is also registering an increase in the success rate of young artists applying for funding in areas of research, professionalisation, project development and mobility.

Judging from the improvement in public programmes for arts and culture, our cultural strategy and the outstanding levels of skill, commitment, motivation, creativity and courage that I see among young artists, I am confident in stating that the future for the arts looks bright.

Owen Bonnici is Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Government.

This article was published on The Times of Malta on the 5th of August 2017

Anyone can think up a new product or service; few however can build a business. Delivering on a clearly defined and researched hypothesis often separates the few winners from the many losers.

Entrepreneurial spirit is characterized by risk-taking and innovation but the objective of planning is to minimise risk; in my extensive experience, this is often misunderstood, poorly executed and often poorly taught as an interrelated subject. Too often I witness plans which lack market research and its importance in underpinning every facet of the business planning process, in defining the value proposition and the disjointed way in which business plans are developed.

Of those that do start a business, survival rates are low and evidence from the UK and USA indicates that 70% fail within just threeyears, the majority after 18-24 months and 90% fail to make it to their tenth year. It’s rarely one reason that causes failure but there is a common theme:  they don’t do their homework.

Key reasons for failure

1. with a business idea, it’s important to identify the assumptions on which it is derived and validate them before and during development. Properly constructed market research through questionnaires and surveys is critically important as results underpin every aspect of a marketing and consequently a business plan. Often, this is misunderstood as a key influencer throughout an integrated planning exercise; a complete understanding of your customer is imperative.

Testing a questionnaire will identify issues which need to be considered before extensive research takes place. Research should identify, not only whether prospective customers like your idea but which ones will buy your service or product.

It also requires an understanding of your competitors and what’s working for them. However, market research is not a one off exercise; you need to constantly be aware of your prospective market and competitive threats. This will allow you to assess the risks, opportunities and timing objectively and in scaling an investment accordingly.

Often, the first product that a new business brings to market doesn’t meet market need. Market research will identify what revisions, to get the product/market fit right or whether a complete re-think, are required. This indicates that validating ideas with customers before, and during, development did not take place or was poorly executed.

2. A key and interrelated issue is clarity of a compelling and sufficient value proposition to cause the buyer to actually commit to purchasing. It is important to define the true value you bring to the table which is unique and different than others in the marketplace. Research will clarify these and in a crowded marketplace, you need to stand out.

3. Excessive optimism is a common cause of failure by entrepreneurs about how easy it will be to acquire its first 100 customers; after that, it rapidly becomes an expensive task to attract and win customers, and in many cases the cost of acquiring the customer may be higher than their lifetime value.

Many entrepreneurs pay inadequate attention to identifying the realistic cost of customer acquisition. It is essential to find a scalable way to acquire customers. Often the link between research and promotions is not explored and validated and this can carry through to poorly thought through go-to-market strategies.

4. another very common problem that causes start-ups to fail is weak management skills which lead to mistakes in multiple areas. Starting a new business requires a host of skills for the multitude of decisions which need to be taken, including strategy and implementation.

It is a common failure for entrepreneurs to identify and overcome gaps in skills and knowledge. Those who succeed often spend time with personal development. Those with weak skills often build weak teams below them resulting in weak business and poor execution will be rampant.

5. Finally, running out of cash starts well before financial collapse. This is a reflection of other problems such as market need, poor product market fit, weak marketing communications and spending money beyond the essentials on growing the business-hiring sales staff, expensive marketing, perfecting the product, leasing offices, etc.- before ensuring the product/market fit. One needs to be lean and mean directing cash to the best return.

Cash needs to be managed in a way that will carry it to a milestone which can lead to a successful financing or to cash flow positive.

It is how you plan which matters.

Louis Naudi is the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ambassador for Malta, an Honorary Professor and Fellow Chartered Institute of Marketing. He has started 5 very successful businesses and today lectures in Entrepreneurship and is a judge in Malta’s best entrepreneur awards.

Why did you choose the Edinburgh Festival Fringe?

Malcolm: It’s the biggest festival of its kind in the world. Ideally, before taking a show to the Edinburgh Fringe, it’s recommended that you take it to one or more of the many other smaller theatre festivals so as to test it, accumulate a number of positive reviews, and hopefully gain some traction. In our case, we’ve been performing this particular show to Maltese schoolchildren ever since we developed it for the 2013 edition of the ŻiguŻajg Fesitval although this will be its first international outing. We would have like to work our way up to the Edinburgh Fringe by attending a number of smaller festivals first but it wouldn’t have been very practical for us. Joseph Zammit (who also stars in the show) and I tend to have pretty full theatre seasons and it’s quite tricky to find a time when we’re both available at the same time for more than a week or so. Since the Edinburgh Fringe is in August, when theatre in Malta is usually at a lull, it was the perfect time for us to take the show abroad for a full month.

Steve:  It is the third time I am performing there (second time I am doing a full run, and first time I am doing a solo show) and the opportunities to network, meet incredible artists, see other creative shows, improve your skills and actually test yourself with an international audience is second to none!

How will you be promoting the show?

Malcolm: Our venue has actually been very helpful in this regard. Apart from giving us a free upgrade to a larger theatre, they have also given us a long list of UK media contacts to get in touch with. Apart from that they will also be displaying our poster and flyers at all their outlets. Additionally, we’ve also taken out a couple of adverts on the popular magazine The List. However I suspect that the bulk of our audiences will be drawn by our flyering and through word of mouth if the show is received well. We’ll also be getting a dedicated company to help us distribute flyers to families. This is my first experience marketing a show at the Edinburgh Fringe and I’ll certainly be looking out to forge relationships with media contacts and learn from any mistakes I’ll almost certainly be making in this regard.

Steve: Posters and flyering are big things in Edinburgh. And because there is so much competition you need to have a “hook”. Mine is the lasagne! Also as a comedian I have an advantage in that I have already been invited to take part in numerous showcases and compilation shows. These are shows where each act is asked to do 10 minutes of material as a taster for audiences. They are ideal for promoting your shows.

A typical day in your life as a performer at the festival may look like this…

Malcolm: Since children’s shows are usually scheduled early, we’ll have an early start. However since we will also be dabbling in stand-up comedy, we’ll also have a lot of late nights. A typical day would have us handing out flyers to passing families at 10am before performing our show at 11:15am. Then we’ll hand out flyers to families exiting from similar shows before stopping for a late lunch. After that we’d spend the rest of the day watching shows, networking, and attending seminars and workshops. We also have a number of stand-up comedy slots booked on various days between 4pm and 11pm and we’d be on the lookout for more.

Steve: There is no typical day as such. I do try to get a bit of “me time” in the morning, because otherwise the festival can just engulf you. And I try to get any work that needs to be done – checking of emails etc – out of the way before leaving the house but apart from that, anything can happen! My show starts at 4 in the afternoon, but I will be doing compilation shows all day at very different times – including a few late-night ones that are always fun. Also, I intend to try to catch as many shows as I can. And then there is the networking. Comedians and artists tend to congregate in certain bars and these can be ideal places for new projects to come into existence. I toured Eastern Europe a couple of years ago thanks to a chat I had in an Edinburgh bar! As well as all this there seems to be a lot of Maltese people coming up this year, so I want to see as many of their shows as I can, but I hope we also get a bit of time to hang out.

What are the 5 essential things you will be packing to survive the Edinburgh Fringe?

Malcolm: A light coat and a solid pair of shoes: it’s hard to imagine in the middle of a Maltese summer that Edinburgh could be so wet and chilly during the same time of year – but it totally is. I’ll also have my trusty Fringe guide which always starts out pristine at the beginning of the festival but ends up full of rips, stains and personality by the end of it. Naturally I’ll have a laptop with Skype so I can sort of see my family during a long month away from them, and last but not least I’ll be taking my A-Game.

Steve:

1. My pillow. (I have never been a heavy sleeper, but I recently found the perfect pillow! Amazing)
2. My swimming trunks – Sometimes you need to escape the madness, even if it is just for a couple of hours and I found a great swimming pool last year.
3. Extra phone charger. Because I will definitely lose one.
4. A good book. Again sometimes you need to escape into a bubble. I might even take “State of the Nation” with me. I know the author. He is really funny.
5. Umbrella. Because, Scotland.

You top tip for other artists who have not yet ventured into presenting work on international platforms.

Malcolm: Firstly you need to create a show that is easy and inexpensive to travel with as regards set, props and cast. I can’t stress how important this is if you want to travel with your show or just plain want it to be sustainable. Equally importantly you need to know your turf. Unless you’ve been specifically invited, you shouldn’t take a show to a festival unless you’re very familiar with it. Attend as a spectator first, and then go up with your show once you know what you’re getting yourself into so as to minimise the risk of making unnecessary mistakes.

Steve: Go for it. Make sure your product is something you are proud of. And try to make it as good as it can be. But don’t hide behind any excuses. Just do it. Also, always make sure you have enough undies or access to a launderette. Being chaffed is never fun.

http://www.moreorlesstheatre.com/

https://www.stevehili.com

Although I am no expert in electoral methodologies, I find it symbolically significant that, before being given the opportunity to work on a national platform, politicians must be elected by a small number of people living in the same area. It is as if they have to prove themselves in a delineated area, before being able to represent that district in parliament. While this is done for various reasons – such as protecting the country from extremist or dangerous minorities – I see it also as a way of taking the grand stage, by first having to convince a smaller stage. 

Recently we launched Spazji Teatrali, a catalogue of theatre spaces around the islands. It was a long and winding road to collect the data, but it was worth visiting these spaces and even more worth it to meet the people involved. The catalogue showed that each region has a good number of theatres – whether public, private or church-owned. Most are beautiful spaces – and we met some very interesting people who remember them in their heyday, when they also used to collaborate with other spaces in their area. Each space had its own story and seemed to lead to yet another. In fact, if we had to work on the second edition, the spaces would probably increase from 78 to significantly over 100. The aim of the catalogue was to create awareness – but is that sufficient?

_{Photos from Spazji Teatrali: A Catalogue of Theatres in Malta and Gozo. Photos by Sean Mallia}

Many of these theatres boasted large spaces surrounding the main stage, mainly because these spaces are also used for other activities such as meetings, lessons and conferences. The multipurpose factor is an advantage – but it can also come at a cost. Recently I was asked a question by two prominent actors: how would you market a performance in spaces such as these? They are branded as parish halls, oratories, school auditoriums. Perhaps this is one of the issues where these spaces need input from artists. Could it be that we forgot what these spaces were primarily built for, that is, cultural spaces for the community? Artists can help prioritise these spaces for creativity, culture and art. I have already discussed changing the spaces’ name to theatre – rather than hall – with many of the administrators. Most of them are, in fact, theatres with a multi-purpose hall in the auditorium.

Speaking of politics, these spaces are in fact utilised at such a time. From coffee mornings to tombola to political rally activities and a myriad of other events. They are used because candidates feel that these are community spaces and that they bring them closer to the electorate. So how can artists use them? How can these spaces become multi-purpose cultural hubs? Of course we need funds and investments – but if, through our work, we can show that there is a need for such spaces to become performance hubs and creative spaces and, if with present structures we can already expose their potential, I am sure that many other opportunities will arise.

Such examples have been present all over Europe. Teatro San Ferdinando would not have started without Edoardo de Fillippo. Tadeusz Kantor and Cricot 2 would not have toured all of Poland without the availability of the theatres hosting them. In fact, history shows that many prominent theatre-makers found greater fulfilment in creating troupes touring most of their country rather than performing inside a national building. Troupes are in fact a direct result of having many spaces where one can perform in, without having to start from scratch in each space. Some artists might be interested in performing inside a ‘home’ space while others will prefer to perform around the island in spaces their fellow artists helped prepare. It becomes a cultural eco-system which, in my opinion, can positively impact a country’s well-being.

On this note, we are currently visiting theatres in every region, our theatrical districts, as it were. The first visit was a success. Over 20 artists and enthusiasts visited very interesting spaces and met the people behind them, while discussing projects with us. Tour Teatru Tazza Te is a series of these tours to discover these spaces and also an opportunity to talk with Teatru Malta or Arts Council Malta representatives about anything really, but mostly theatre.

In the midst of this political hullabaloo and beyond, artists can be inspired to create beauty, or to protest or just to get away from it all, research and train.

Our districts are there. The spaces are there. Let’s make sure we use them. 

The next Tour Teatru Tazza Te will visit the South-Eastern region on 27 May.

I am incredibly honoured to have been given the opportunity to join this fantastic company as its artistic director. Having worked in Malta before and having had the chance to engage with the local sector, I was thrilled to know that I could also make my contribution to the island, becoming an active player in the development of the Maltese cultural scene.

I am originally from the south of Italy, not that far from Malta, and even though I have always worked abroad, I share a deep connection with our Mediterranean roots. Therefore, our vision is to keep nurturing a culture for contemporary dance in Malta within our interconnected world and developing the identity of the company through our Mediterranean values and philosophy.

How can we make this happen?
We will do that through a whole lot of activities, starting with exciting new productions, designed to allow first and foremost our local audience to engage more with their company. 

ŻfinMalta primarily belongs to the Maltese citizens, and I will strive to allow them to become proud audience members and, over time, to become not only appreciative of the art form, but also active advocates of the company and proud ambassadors of ŻfinMalta. 

I will provide the opportunity for our local emerging artists to research and develop their craft, offering a platform to grow and, with time, export this talent and celebrate the Maltese spirit around the globe. 

There are already planned professional development activities for our in-house dancers, creating a lateral path allowing them to cultivate skills within the dance sector, eventually injecting more expertise into the territory. 

There is a beautiful and strong network ready to work with the company to connect not only with Europe but also with our neighbours in the Mediterranean region.

And above all there is trust in all the institutions that will support this journey.

My promise is to use my passion, my work and my experience to serve the vision of the company, operating as an extension of the policies that, together with Arts Council Malta, we will develop. We will do everything to make this happen and more, and I would like to send an invitation to all the Maltese: our vision is an ambitious and challenging one, and we can make it happen if we all participate together. So, don’t hesitate, please come and join us in this amazing journey! 

A month before the grand opening of the Malta Pavilion at this year’s Biennale di Venezia (13 May until 26 November), a group of five international journalists were invited to take a cultural tour of Malta at the start of the Easter celebrations. As one of the party promoting Malta at La Biennale I was included, and discovered a broader and historical context for future communications.

The motivating factor behind this sharing of culture is that 2017 marks the return of Malta to this highly lauded and internationally revered art event after a 17-year absence. During this lengthy hiatus contemporary Maltese art has blossomed, but without a great deal of attention locally and overseas. Journalists who attended this cultural tour will be sharing their experiences to readers via USA, UK, China and Italian publications and reaching far wider online. 

Our visit to Malta began on the day of processions for Our Lady of Sorrows. Over the following three days we walked around Valletta, Vittoriosa and Gozo, taking in, among other buildings, the new Parliament Building, Casa Rocca Piccola, St John’s co-Cathedral and the new arts space Blitz as we went. This juxtaposition of the past with the present was especially interesting to the group, as the contemporary complemented the stunning historical churches and palaces.

With Malta currently holding the title of Presidency of the Council of the European Union and next year seeing Valletta as the European Capital of Culture, Maltese cultural identity is under the world’s spotlight. It is also the premise of the exhibition at the Biennale di Venezia with: Homo Melitensis: An Incomplete Inventory in 19 Chapters. Over 200 items of historic artefacts and ephemera will be exhibited in the Malta Pavilion, alongside works by 13 Maltese contemporary artists whose work includes sculpture, photography, painting and film. The Pavilion brings together examples of what is fascinating and fantastical, imaginative and inspiring about Maltese culture and places contemporary art at the heart of it.                  

Tourists that we saw shared our eagerness to absorb the history of Malta, but what they may not be aware of are the recent developments in the contemporary Maltese art scene and the internationalisation of it. Our group had the privilege of meeting some of the artists whose work will be featured in Venice, gain a first-hand experience of what inspires them, visit their studios and leave with a contextual understanding of why they create what they do. It feels that their work, and that of their peers, is integral to the progression of Maltese art and how it is appreciated on a competitive, worldwide platform. The forthcoming biennale is going to be the start of a new era for the nation’s art and culture.

_{Photo: Austin Camilleri, one of the artists participating in the Malta Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia 2017,
explaining his work to the press}

I had the pleasure of being part of ŻiguŻajg Festival in November 2016. My company Peut-Être Theatre performed in the festival with our show Shh…Bang!

We were excited to meet very enthusiastic audiences of schools and family who were all so positive about the festival’s work and programme. 

As part of our visit in Valletta I was asked to speak at the ACMlab on “Inspiring Young Audiences” to discuss my work and especially focus on how to create an original repertoire and produce relevant resource pack. 

I spoke about Peut-Être’s mission to create unforgettable early theatrical experiences for young audiences and how we aim for our shows to effectively combine the visual, the physical and the musical for the enjoyment and inspiration of children and families. Therefore we are working with artists from diverse backgrounds and trainings, combining the disciplines of dance, theatre, circus, mime, music and live projections. This broad diversity is forging an idiosyncratic physical style, which constitutes the company’s signature. 

A key point I discussed was how we tend to include a development period where children are invited to contribute their ideas to the creative process.

I also discussed how we collaborate with organisations and individuals outside of the arts sector. For example, University we collaborated with the Oxford Natural History Museum, The Institute of Sound and Vibration,  Great Ormond Street Hospital and The RSPB. These collaborations usually impact the research and the delivery hugely by opening the creative team to new information and ways of thinking. 

Another key point I discussed was our ethos is to make our work accessible to children of all abilities and backgrounds, providing relaxed and audio described shows. Many times children with special educational needs  and their families lack the opportunity to enjoy engagement with theatre and arts. I discussed how as a company we aim to bridge that gap and create shows that are highly visual and physical, to bridge the language barrier and communicate on a more sensory level. 

Regarding resource materials, we usually produce an in-depth resource pack to share with teachers and carers which includes background information, further activities in the classroom and curriculum links. We also aim to provide a free programme to family audiences so children and their families can continue engaging with the work after the show. 

I found the visit to Valletta really inspiring and loved seeing how fast the theatre sector is growing and how keen everyone was to soak up new influences from all the visiting companies.

We are all excited about our next visit to ŻiguŻajg and about seeing more high-quality Maltese work for children!

Culture Pass 2017

By Alex Vella Gregory, Freelance Musician and Teacher

So the Project Development Workshop for Band Clubs, organised by Arts Council Malta (ACM) at the Archbishop’s Seminary in Rabat earlier this month, was crucial in fostering dialogue across different sectors. The seminar was aimed specifically at band clubs looking to explore the Creative Communities Fund. Although a few band clubs have already benefitted from the fund, there are still many who have not yet approached the fund or else have done so, but been unsuccessful.

The seminar helped to bridge the gap between two very different realities; that of the band club operating at a very grassroots level and resting mostly on voluntary work, and that of artists and cultural institutions working in a predominantly professional environment. The seminar not only addressed community projects from an institutional point of view, but also gave the opportunity for the band clubs themselves to voice their concerns and pitch in their ideas.

I was invited by ACM to speak about submitting innovative projects for band clubs both in my capacity as a freelance musician who has worked with band clubs as well as someone who has been an evaluator on several funding boards. I was thus able to look at projects from both sides of the equation.

A key principle in submitting good proposals is understanding the nature of your organisation. Unlike a lot of voluntary organisations, band clubs have a long and illustrious history that has shaped their role within the community. Very often they forget that they are not just about festas or band marches, but about an important cultural landmark within their community that has the power to bring together all sorts of people. Band clubs are not accessible only to musicians, but also to a host of other individuals, whether they are carrying out an alternative cultural activity or simply for leisure.

This puts band clubs in an advantageous position when it comes to community projects, a position that perhaps they themselves often do not realise. That was in fact the starting point of my presentation: understanding the nature of band clubs and the contemporary cultural landscape in which they operate. Indeed creating a project that simply fulfils the aims of the fund would be a simplistic approach, and would yield few benefits.

The focus of the Fund is ultimately not the end product, but an inclusive process that seeks to engage as many participants as possible. Such processes open up new possibilities and foster a dialogue that can only enrich band clubs’ cultural heritage. The Creative Communities Fund is there to help finance projects but, most importantly, it is there to help organisations connect with the community. Some have already started that dialogue, and I am certain that many more will follow suit.

By June 2017 around 1,000 artists, both established and new in the industry, students and professionals, would have left our islands to represent Malta through their artistic works and without a doubt the response has been fruitful, at times even more than expected.

Following the recent developments with the European Union and Brexit, the Presidency opted for rEUnion A Citizen’s Europe as the tagline for the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The Cultural Programme was kickstarted on 11 January with the Official Opening in Malta with a first-time collaboration between the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and ŻfinMalta to produce the work entitled BAĦR.

The three Cultural Programmes are the Local Programme, the Brussels Programme and the External Programme (implemented and managed by the Malta Foreign Affairs).

The External Programme will tour a majority of countries around the world, both inside and outside the European Union, where Malta holds a Diplomatic Representation. All in all, the External Programme includes around 23 different projects in 30 different countries, ranging from visual art exhibitions, dance, music and literature. The majority of the projects chosen are from the 2016-2017 Malta Showcase Edition, which was launched specifically through an open call for the Presidency Cultural Programme. Apart from these, a project entitled In Transit, a digital arts project, will also tour in two different countries: Leeuwarden in the Netherlands and Dusseldorf in Germany.

The Cultural Programme in Brussels is more of a European-institution-based project hosting a majority of exhibitions. This excludes projects at the BOZAR, the venue for two of the major events: the official opening ceremony which was held in January and the exhibition Malta. Land of Sea. It also excludes Neumunster Abbeye in Luxembourg, a venue which will hold a vast array of artistic projects throughout March to celebrate the Maltese Presidency. Two interesting projects based in Brussels are Ilma u Melħ and the Citizen Journalists Project at the Justus Lipsius. Citizen Journalists will be conversing with citizens about the European Union and their relationship and thoughts about the European Union.

Planning for the local programme took a different turn as the present festivals happening from January to June provided the skeleton programme for the EU Presidency Cultural Programme. The artistic director of the EU Presidency Cultural Programme worked hand in hand with the artistic directors of all the relevant local festivals in order to produce an event directly linked with the Presidency agenda and still in line with the vision of the respective festivals. The citizen project Ode to Joy A Citizen’s Orchestra is expected to be one of the highlights of the local programme, where citizens from all backgrounds will join together to produce an unrepeatable performance of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. Apart from all the present festivals, the programme is also merged with the Valletta 2018 events programme.

The Cultural Programme for the Maltese Presidency was devised by the Presidency Working Group which included representatives from the Presidency Unit, Arts Council Malta, Malta Foreign Affairs, Heritage Malta and the artistic director Airan Berg.

The pic shows ‘BAHR’ by ŻfinMalta.

_{Photo by Mario Casha.}

Internationally, in fact, these platforms have been used to fund everything from the restoration of historical sites in Italy to the creation of a Sailor Moon documentary.

Closer to home, crowdfunding through ZAAR.com.mt is being used by various people and entities within the art and cultural sphere to help create and distribute art – in its various shapes, forms and sizes. Many have been successful, including one by the Graphic Novels Malta Library, which sought to bring the graphic novel to the Central Public Library in Floriana, another by Derby for the short film Adina, and a further one by H’16 Trick or Treat, which raised over €1,000 to better the special effects of their annual Halloween walking tour in aid of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

More recently, Rebecca Cremona, the director of Simshar: The Film, Malta’s biggest and most internationally-successful full-length movie to date, chose ZAAR as the platform of choice to crowdfund the launch of the official DVD for the film. Raising over €4,000, the project showed how established brands within the art scene can use crowdfunding to help raise enough cash to turn a vision into reality while also ensuring that a loss isn’t made if the project is unsuccessful.

“As I’m sure many creatives would agree, bringing one’s vision to life isn’t always easy or cheap,” says Rebecca. “By opting to crowdfund the launch of the DVD rather than simply release it in the traditional manner, we were able to give fans of the movie the DVD they had long asked for but in higher-quality and with more benefits.

“In fact, we used ZAAR.com.mt to not only pre-sell the Simshar DVD but to also connect with fans from all over the world, to get the cast and crew to meet people who enjoyed the movie, and to even put the original movie poster (created by Jordan Rapa Manche) in the spotlight.”

The opportunities are endless and, along with Rebecca, other creatives chose to use ZAAR to turn their goals into reality, including fellow moviemaker Shirley Spiteri Mintoff, who crowdfunded the Anthony Mintoff-written short film Alicia through the site.

“On top of the time and the human element, creating a short film can be quite an expensive feat,” Shirley, who is the director of Motion Blur Ltd, explains. “Between props, equipment, costumes, and so on, the bill goes up and up; but we always believed that people would support a project that was purely artistic and looked to tell a story. And they did by helping us raise over €5,000 to create it!”

With the help of great rewards for those who back these projects and a keen eye for what audiences would enjoy, art and cultural entities can fund various projects. And it doesn’t have to stop at films, movies or music; it can be theatre, poetry, comedy or fashion. The sky really is the limit!

Arts Council Malta is supporting the running of the ZAAR platform and is actively promoting crowdfunding through its funding as an alternative means of funding projects in the Creative and Cultural Industries.

2016 was a busy year. Busy and inspiring.

Following the launch of the Create2020 strategy, the Funding and Brokerage team immediately embarked on a busy journey, addressing an average of 478 queries in 2016, receiving and coordinating the evaluation for 433 applications. Of these, 150 applications were selected for funding.

Numbers are certainly relevant, but not as significant as the content. Throughout the year we have accompanied the path of many an artist who has created, travelled, collaborated and explored new horizons thanks to the support of one of our eight funding programmes. 

This year’s funding publication, to be issued at the beginning of the year, as well as the new Oħlom Oħloq campaign, aim at presenting precisely this: a tiny sample of the different narratives of some of the funds’ beneficiaries, explaining how the fund has helped the realisation of their idea. Creatives such as Austin Camilleri, Immanuel Mifsud, Pierre Portelli, Shadeena, Oliver Mallia and Anvil Studios will be featured together with various other initiatives supported by instrumental funds such as Il-Premju tal-President and the Creative Communities fund, which have  touched our hearts and greatly benefitted the communities involved.

2017 promises to be just as hectic and eventful. As one of our major initiatives, next year will see the introduction of the new online application procedure which will give a new dimension to our funding application process. This main milestone is no mean feat for us as a team – but we are all geared and ready to face the challenge. Hand in hand with our developers, we are currently working hard to ensure that the new system effectively leads to a better, quicker and more efficient way to apply for our funding programmes. This update will certainly bring about a major difference in the current system and that is why we intend to introduce the update gradually and to offer as much support as possible in order to make the transition a smooth one.

We will also be introducing other minor changes to our funding procedure. Unlike previous years, this year there will be set dates for the opening of calls for the funding programmes. This way we hope to ensure a more structured schedule as well as more targeted and intensive brokerage for those funds which would be currently open. This will also allow us to better communicate the updates which we intend to implement for the different funds as part of our effort to continuously update the programmes according to the feedback we receive both from applicants and evaluators throughout the year.

We are also looking forward to the introduction of two new major funding programmes which will address very specific and important needs in the sector. One of these is the National Fund for Excellence, which will be divided into three strands focusing on professional training and development, young emerging artists and arts awards. All three programmes aim at promoting excellence, good practice  and development in the creative sector.

The other major programme to be introduced this year will be addressing creative start-ups as a three-year support programme for newly-formed companies. More information about these two programmes will be available in the first few months of the year. We are happy to be collaborating with a number of new partners for these funds as well as consolidating our relationship with current partners such as the Office of the President, the National Book Council, the Valletta2018 Foundation, Agenzija Żgħażagħ, ZAAR crowdfunding as well as the University of Malta TAKEOFF Business Incubator.

Besides our regular funding activity, the team has also prepared a busy brokerage schedule which will primarily target young creative professionals, emerging artists, students as well as local communities and which also includes regular visits to Gozo. Apart from small and targeted information sessions, the team will organise a number of specific sessions such as project development workshops targeting creatives and the local band clubs, information sessions in the different regions as well as assisting the Strategy Team in our regular ACMlab sessions which, in line with last year’s programme, will be covering a wide range of engaging topics this year. The team will also be very focused on supporting the sector to make the transition towards the online application system an easy and effective one. Therefore we are making ourselves fully available to assist and explain the process further where necessary.

And therefore after considerable preparation,  we are ready to move on. We look forward to a year of consolidation, updates as well as new funds and projects. Feel free to contact us on fundinfo@artscouncilmalta.org or 2339 7020 if you have any query or need further clarification. We are very happy to meet you or talk via phone and discuss further. May we also take the opportunity to remind you that if you would like to join our ever-growing team of external evaluators, feel free to send your application. More information is available here – http://www.artscouncilmalta.org/opportunities/2.

We wish you all a very happy Christmas and a creative new year ahead!

It was early December, I’d just arrived in Malta and it felt like I’d stumbled into the second act of a play. The scene was a library in the University of Malta and the characters were all arts critics, deep in discussion around a long table. For two hours I tried to figure out what was going on.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t follow the conversation; that was straight-forward enough, although some off-stage characters and historical incidents passed me by. No, what was hard was to understand the context.

Who were these people? What was their professional standing? Did they have an agenda? What was the pecking order? Who were allies? Who were foes? Was there a subtext? What exactly did I miss in the first act?

It was an impossible task. Not least, as it turned out, because this was the first time Malta’s critics had ever met for an informal chat. They knew this with some certainty because among their number was Dr Paul Xuereb, the former critic of the Times of Malta, who’d been writing about theatre since 1963. If he didn’t remember a meeting like this, then it didn’t happen.

As a result, they had a lot to get off their chests – and a lot for me to get my head around. Much of it was directed at Ramona Depares whose editorial role at the Sunday Times of Malta meant she had, in theory at least, a touch more influence than the assembled freelance writers. Gamely, she said she was used to being attacked and defended her corner in good spirits.

The conversation veered in every direction, lacking shape or resolution, but it felt like the air was being cleared.

The motivation for the meeting came from Arts Council Malta, who had approached the University of Malta’s department of English a few months ago. Working with the Department, Arts Council Malta is on a mission to raise the country’s standards of arts criticism. I’d been invited as the author of How to Write About Theatre (http://www.howtowriteabouttheatre.com), a book about the craft of reviewing, with the aim of generating a discussion among artists and critics.

Coming from Scotland, I’d imagined I’d find common ground with others working in a small arts community. To an extent I did – but only to an extent. In Malta, I recognised a scene where the closeness of artists and critics can, at best, be culturally supportive and, at worst, lead to favouritism, blandness and bias.

But I also underestimated the difference it would make to be working in Scotland, with its population of five million, and Malta, with its 420,000 inhabitants. Critical independence is so much harder when everyone knows each other.

Add to that the decline in print media that is affecting criticism all over the world and I can understand why people in Malta are especially concerned about the health of the cultural conversation. It’s hard to talk about standards when publication, let alone payment, is in jeopardy.

Yet my visit to Malta gave me heart. For one thing, close to 30 students voluntarily turned up to the mini-course I led at the university. Not only were there a lot of them, but their writing was intelligent, informed and engaged. Before the week was through, one of them, Isaac Azzopardi, even set up his own blog (https://artsieve.wordpress.com). If the future of arts criticism is in their hands, Malta has nothing to fear.

Additionally, the public discussion on 7 December at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta on the subject of Reviewing the Arts demonstrated that artists, critics and audiences are equally committed to a future of vigorous critical debate. The conversation was opinionated but civilised, impassioned but constructive. If only a little of that energy could be channelled into creating a forum that broadens and deepens the critical discussion about Maltese art, then there’s every reason it should go on to flourish.

I’ve put some further thoughts on this subject in a vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo7RBcsRcls

Mark Fisher was in Malta to deliver a three-day mini course to University of Malta students between 5-7 December 2016. He also held an informal discussion with several local arts critics on arts criticism in Malta and beyond as well as leading a public debate on Reviewing the Arts: A Conversation between Critics and Artists on 7 December.

In the minds of many people, ‘criticism’ is something negative and undesirable. Nobody likes being criticised and even so-called ‘constructive criticism’ can seem to strike a censorious and therefore unwelcome note.

Much, however, depends on what one means by ‛criticism’. In the context of the arts – visual art, performance, music, literature, film etc. – criticism, far from being considered negative and unwelcome, is understood to be vitally important.

Arts criticism can take different forms. For instance, there is the more scholarly arts criticism, which is written predominantly for an academic readership. There are also more popular types of criticism, often published in the form of ‘reviews’ that appear in newspapers, magazines and blogs.

At its best, criticism, in whatever form, provides considered and expert appreciation, analysis and evaluation. For artists, writers and performers, this serves as crucial feedback, helping them to better understand their work and its position in the wider context, which in turn helps them refine and improve their craft.

Criticism also has the potential to educate the public, deepening and enriching the experience of the arts. Because of these various benefits, it is generally recognised that a lively critical culture in the arts goes hand in hand with the production and development of high quality art.

Criticism also has a more general importance that goes beyond the artworld. It is valuable also for culture more generally, providing the space and the tools for culture to reflect on itself and challenge itself in a way that can lead to change and improvement.

Given this importance of criticism and of a reviewing culture, it is perhaps surprising that there is very little formal provision for training critics, and, indeed, very little criticism of criticism that would allow a culture of criticism to develop deliberately and self-reflexively.

It is in this context that Arts Council Malta and the University of Malta’s Department of English have announced an initiative that recognises the importance of arts criticism and the need to help people with an interest in culture and the arts find and develop their own critical voice.

To mark the first stage of this initiative there will be a series of events this December. On 5–7 December there will be a mini-course called ‛How to Write about the Arts’. This will be open to all University of Malta students and will be delivered by leading UK theatre critic, Mark Fisher (http://www.um.edu.mt/newspoint/events/uomevents/2016/11/howtowriteaboutthearts). Mr Fisher will also be meeting established Maltese critics and reviewers to exchange ideas and expertise related to the craft of criticism. Then, on the evening of 7 December, Mr Fisher and a panel of local experts and stakeholders will be leading a public discussion at the Spazju Kreattiv theatre in an event called ‛Reviewing the Arts’.

The 7 December public talk will also include questions and discussion from the floor, followed by a wine reception. Those interested in attending should email fundinfo@artscouncilmalta.org. Places will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis.

_{Photo shows Mark Fisher; credit Lotte Fisher}

Artistic and creative professionals, especially those operating through not-for-profit organisations, are experiencing increasing pressure to become more business-minded and economically sustainable.

On the downside, many professionals from the artistic field believe that increased attention to financial performance might negatively affect the implementation of artistic activities. However, regardless of the various opinions around, the reality is that arts and cultural organisations need to balance the generation of value with their mission if they want to continue existing.

On the plus side, business models are not about complex financial formulas and overwhelming strategic theories, and financial feasibility does not necessarily have to create conflict with the fulfilment of an artistic and/or social mission. The core of most business models is quite straightforward: if an organisation has a way to create, deliver and capture value, it has a business model. And the most important characteristic of a successful business model is that it is viable and sustainable. Therefore the choice of setting up a not-for-profit versus a for-profit organisation should never depend on the cringing feeling we get when mixing the terms ‘arts’ and ‘culture’ with ‘business’ – but rather on a clear vision of why am I doing this?

Let us take a look at the options…

What are the main similarities and differences between for-profit and not-for-profit organisations?

Whether an organisation operates through a not-for-profit or for-profit setup is a choice made voluntarily by its founders. In either case, both setups need to provide their users with valuable services and products and at the same time be accountable to their funders, be it customers, benefactors or government.  

The biggest difference between a not-for-profit and a for-profit organisation is that the former has prioritised a mission while the latter is driven by profit maximisation. Both need to generate income in order to continue operating successfully, yet the main economical difference is what happens to the surplus generated. While not-for-profits are obliged to reinvest their profits in the mission and activities of the organisation, for-profits distribute this surplus income among owners and shareholders. 

However, the lines separating for-profit and not-for-profit organisations are becoming increasingly blurred and in both cases a business model is required in order to deliver products and services in a sustainable way – ‘sustainable’ meaning the vision to survive over time and continue providing value successfully.

So once I decide whether I want operate in a for-profit or not-for-profit setup, what are my options?

Not-for-profit organisations can either operate unregistered or enrol with the Commissioner Voluntary Organisations. It is however beneficial for an organisation to enrol in order to qualify for certain privileges. If a voluntary organisation does not enrol, it cannot make public collections without the permission of the Commissioner of Police, it cannot receive grants or enter into co-operation contracts with the Government of Malta and it will not be able to avail itself of the support of the Office of the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations or be a beneficiary of the positive policies which government entities are bound to provide in favour of enrolled voluntary organisations. A non-enrolled voluntary organisation will also not be able to use the VO status in its name or on its logos and letterheads.

Enrolment details, requirements and obligations are detailed in the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector website.

For-profit setups have a few more options to choose from.  If you are an individual still testing out an idea or concept you may want to opt for registering as a self-employed first, by registering for a VAT number and carrying out your economic activity under that VAT number. If, on the other hand, you are a group of individuals in a similar situation, a Civil Partnership should be set up by way of a public deed or in writing signed by all the parties and a notary public. A Civil Partnership will also require a VAT number in order to carry out any economic activity.

A Commercial Partnership is another option and there are two types to choose from:

A Partnership en nom collectif may be formed by two or more partners, operate under a partnership name and have its obligations guaranteed by the unlimited and joint and several liability of all the partners. It needs to have a registered office in Malta; and should be transparent for tax purposes i.e. the partners declare their share of profit in their personal tax returns with the tax chargeable according to the applicable personal tax rates.

A partnership en commandite (or limited partnership) also operates under a partnership name, must have a registered office in Malta and has its obligations guaranteed by the unlimited and joint and several liability of one or more partners. However, the capital of such a partnership may be divided into shares and the tax due is treated like that of a limited liability company and is therefore charged at a flat rate of 35%. The Malta Financial Services Authority provides a step-by-step guide on setting up a Partnership here.

The last option is a Limited Liability Company which comes with substantially more requirements and obligations, including having:

• a different name to any other registered with the Registrar of Companies (MFSA)
• capital requirements – a minimum Share Capital of €1,200
• a registered office in Malta
• at least one shareholder
• at least one director
• duties of Good Faith (bound with duty of care and diligence)
• Company Secretary

In addition the company has to be responsible for General Governance of the Company and its administration, management and the general supervision of company’s affairs. Incorporation of a limited liability involves a number of costs, which although relatively small have to be incurred, including an incorporation fee when registering a new limited liability company with MFSA, the submission of further documents as required, annual returns and finally audited financial statements on annual basis where professional audit fees apply. The Malta Financial Services Authority provides a step-by-step guide to company registrations here.

Further information on how to set up your business may be found on the Business First website. Business First can also help you through the process of setting up.

_{Image (cropped) shows ŻfinMalta by Joe Smith}

We often discuss great artists and their work. We also praise the efficiency of cultural managers and eulogise the success of cultural entrepreneurs. But we rarely reflect on cultural leaders that have unceremoniously or otherwise, acted as influential agents of cultural change or any other form of development in our communities, cities, regions or countries.

The 7^th World Summit on Arts and Culture will focus on cultural leadership with delegates from across the globe invited to reflect on global perspectives and leadership at the crossroads of economic, social and cultural change. This is a unique opportunity for Maltese cultural practitioners to open up conversations about cultural leadership and how this impacts the sector on home ground.

Whether we view a ‘cultural leader’ as a cultural ‘super hero’ or as a cultural ‘misfit’ depends on the approach individuals take to lead the change they want to see. Their approach may be from within the sector or even outside. They may be from within institutions or in the form of actions taken by individual artists. In whatever context they are operating from, cultural leaders thrive in risk and transform it into opportunities.  

We live in a creative age where the cultural and creative sectors merge into one fluid and dynamic interdisciplinary sector of inspiring individuals across the arts, heritage, design, technology and even science. We live in a generation where most people choose where they want to live and create the work they want to do. As suggested by Richard Florida, talent, technology and tolerance are determining factors towards the successful growth of creative cities. As much as creative nations need great artists and creative professionals to succeed, they need inspiring cultural leaders to collectively build a dynamic creative ecology.

There is no magic wand to create better or new cultural leaders – everyone has the potential to create something that positively impacts the internal and external cultural environment. Great or poor leadership, be it cultural or otherwise will leave a remarkable impact on our future.

A global conversation about cultural leadership in Malta is very significant to the global cultural community. Issues such as the environment, economy, health and security feature prominently as global concerns. Yet, although there is global consensus that culture is the soul of any nation, community and individual, the global community is not actively transforming conversations on culture into global action. Although there is a global understanding that no development can be sustainable without culture, culture is referenced explicitly in only four of the 169 targets which make up the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

If we all agree that culture matters on a global level just like the environment, the economy, health and international security shouldn’t we expect to see a global cultural leadership movement equivalent to Davos or the G20?

I am not convinced that the cultural and creative sectors need such a permanent platform or even want it, because it needs more than the usual suspects to succeed. Cultural leadership is strengthened when independent artists, curators civil society, academics, politicians, creative entrepreneurs, artists, designers and members of various communities, network to share knowledge and collaborate. We are all cultural activists in our own way.

There are no optimal conditions for cultural leadership and no matter how small the budget is, how great the artist can be, how sophisticated the cultural ecology can be, positive change can occur everywhere and across all levels.

The concern is whether we are empowering ourselves, and those around us, to be the change we want to see and lead. People who make great culture happen may not be very good at making it matter. And by making it matter, I here refer to making it heard or relevant. Creative activity is enclosed within its own world: an artist within the studio, a dancer within the confines of a sprung floor, a designer within software programmes, a curator within the collection. A cultural leader looks beyond. Even though cultural leaders can also be creative practitioners, cultural leaders are concerned with the bigger picture. One does not exclude the other. They can lead through their own practice. They can lead by working closely with those who practice.

As Mediterranean islanders, passion and emotion form part of our integrated identity package. Culture leadership too requires passion and emotion as impulses for vision and action.

Ben Okri, a Booker prize-winning novelist, remarks that, ‘every child that becomes an adult wants to live in a world that breathes courage, imagination and beautiful dreams’. As we welcome delegates from 70 countries and continue to build a global cultural leadership movement in Malta, let us make these conversations matter to shape our own nation into a better and more dynamic space for culture.

Visit http://www.artsummit.org/en/ for more information about the 7th World Summit on Arts and Culture.

On my recent visit to Malta I was fortunate enough to spend three days working with representatives of those organisations that have been selected to become Arts Council Malta’s strategic partners during the years 2017-19.

Such a focus on strategy is important, for while the relative security that three years of guaranteed funding offers is evidently welcome, such funding inevitably comes with the expectation that it will be used effectively to support creative practice and cultural participation in Malta. In turn, any organisation receiving funding must inevitably grapple with the question of what is the best way for them to achieve these goals. Should they use the money to invest in their programme, pay artists a living wage, and continue to provide their offer for free to all that are interested? Or should they seek to professionalise their activities, employ an artistic director and seek to diversify revenue streams? Likewise, such funding might allow an organisation to turn its attention to international activity, supporting the export and exchange of cultural production across Europe and beyond. Or alternatively, organisations might choose to focus more on their immediate community through developing new projects that seek to remove barriers to participation for those that face them.

These are not easy questions, there are no standard answers, and it is certainly not a binary choice. However they are ultimately questions of strategy and in reflecting on such questions it is fundamental that the leaders of any organisation are clear about what types of value it is that they are seeking to generate, how they see the relationship between these values, and what they believe are the best actions to maximise the value that they seek to create.

For what are commonly referred to as commercial organisations, this value is economic and can be extracted through dividends. However for organisations like those who I was working with, it is cultural or social value that they primarily seek to generate and sustain. Yet economic, social and cultural values are inevitably interconnected, as the generation of one is often needed in order to facilitate its exchange into another. The formation of a strategy is the process by which the members of an organisation make clear their beliefs about how this exchange happens, and in making it explicit increase the likelihood of its occurrence.

Each of the Cultural Partner Organisations is different, and how they choose to use the opportunity offered by three years of guaranteed funding will inevitably vary. However I urge each and every team to be clear about what value they seek to generate and to develop a strategic plan that will leave them better placed to continue to generate such value at the end of the strategic partnership. This is how they can build the legacy of this programme, ensure others can follow in their footsteps, and ensure creative practice and cultural participation remains central to the civic life of Malta.   

I am writing this piece on my way back from New York where I had the pleasure and honour to accompany what is perhaps one of the top paintings in the National Museum of Fine Arts collection. Judith and Holfernes’ , by the 17^th century master Valentin de Boulogne, will be the centrepiece of a major exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the first ever dedicated entirely to the artist’s oeuvre and repertoire. The painting has not been on display abroad since 1973 when it  featured in a major exhibition in Rome and Paris dedicated to the French followers of Caravaggio. The collection was then in transit to its new seat on South Street, then known as Admiralty House, where it has been for the last 42 years.

They say history repeats itself. I have no doubt that it does.       

The painting is the first to move out of the building as it slowly continues to be vacated. The place is a receptacle of memories for many and it will be hard for us all as we hold our last event. It feels very much like an old jumper which you’ve worn for so long, day after day, month after month… Then you suddenly realise you’ve grown out of it and have to let go.

Way back in 1974, the new National Museum of Fine Arts was Malta’s one-stop-shop for the visual arts.  Malta had no art galleries and creativity centres, much less funding for creativity and innovation in the arts. Almost half a century later, the sector has evolved and developed into something which is no match to what it was half a century earlier. 

Progress is impossible without change they say. This is a case in point. 

Closing the main door for one last time is much more than a simple, necessary gesture. This shall hopefully not just be a change in venue but more about a culture change waiting to happen, thanks to a new tool named MUŻA, a national community art museum. Closing the doors at South Street is also one other milestone in a series yet to come as we move forward with the necessary restoration works on building and collection and all the infrastructure necessary and required for a 21^st century museum. There is much that has been done so far, but much more that needs to be seen to… an endless list of to-dos which we hope to tackle day by day, week by week as we move forward with the project.    

On to the next milestone…

The term ‘brokerage’ – already used in the creative industries context – is aptly loaned to reflect the dynamics of this important role within Arts Council Malta (ACM). The role was created following the restructuring of the Council and the creation of the Funding and Brokerage team within the Strategy Department.

Being fully aware of the importance of networking in the creative industries – both between the public cultural institutions/organisations and the creative sector as well as between the creatives themselves – the Council felt the need to engage the Creative Brokers to facilitate and promote communication whilst engaging in continuous conversation with the sector and offering creative solutions for development.

Having experienced a significant increase in a diverse range of funding programmes, the brokers therefore became an important asset to the Council, serving as a contact point for artists requesting information about the workings of the ACM funding programmes.

Their remit, however, goes beyond information about the funds. The Brokers act as intermediaries between the creative sector and the various opportunities offered, not only by the Council but also by the various cultural organisations on the island.

A typical day as a broker would therefore range from answering phone calls and emails about funding programmes and initiatives to meeting artists and providing further information about the Council and its funds. The Brokers also organise the ACMlab sessions which focus on various topics relevant to the creative sector as well as information sessions focusing on specific funds and/or schemes.

Thanks to the work of the Brokers, this past year the Council has managed to significantly increase its presence outside our premises in Valletta and  has organised information sessions addressing students at the University of Malta and MCAST, young musicians at the Malta Youth Orchestra as well as project development workshops and regional information sessions, to mention but a few. The latter was co-organised with the Parliamentary Secretariat for Local Government as well as the regional coordinators at the Valletta2018 Foundation.

During the past year the Brokers have also covered the very important task of guiding organisations to apply for the Cultural Partnership Agreements – the Council’s three-year funding programme for festivals/events and/or organisations. This was one of four new programmes introduced this year, forming part of the nine existing funding programmes by the Council. In all, they have so far addressed an average of 519 individuals through the 21 events organised.

Our two Creative Brokers, Joseph Lia and Christopher Spiteri, both hail from the classical music world. Joseph is a classically-trained baritone vocalist and founder of the Malta International Organ Festival and Chris is a musician by profession who has trained at the Conservatorio di Musica “Giuseppe Verdi” in Milan and performed with several renowned orchestras. At the Council their role is different – but complements their practice and knowledge of the sector.

Christopher and Joseph are available to answer any of your queries between Monday and Friday from 09:00 till 17:00. You can send them an email on fundinfo@artscouncilmalta.org or call them on 2339 7020.

^{Photo by Darrin Zammit Lupi}

Last week I attended and participated in the ACM lab session, organised by Arts Council Malta at BLITZ Art Gallery in Valletta, which was about aiding artists when addressing the media. It was very interesting to hear, amongst many other things, from Ramona Depares on the timelines to take into consideration for various types of print publications; from Antonia Micallef on the realities of getting footage for TV coverage; and from Giuliana Barbaro-Sant on the ins and outs of different social media platforms. Although undeniably useful, listening to these speakers confirmed the qualms I had when thinking about my own intervention. I was the fourth speaker, presenting the media interaction of Simshar with local and international press as a case study. 

Whilst thinking through the trajectory we had when dealing with the press throughout the years, I was reminded of the ‘entrepreneurial’ aspect of the Simshar experience. An aspect which more often than not I felt competed with the ‘purer’ artistic nature of the project. However, if we were to be honest, a lot of what artists need to do today does tap into this ‘entrepreneurial’ aspect; be it researching and applying for grants, seeking private financing, pitching to the press, and countless other things necessary to get a project up and running – and as importantly – out there to the public.

This is certainly not only a local phenomenon. In my opinion, it would seem that the democratisation of the arts which came about with the digital era, also means that one needs to devote more attention to getting artistic expressions out there in an attractive way, and avoid drowning in the mass of work which is in circulation. Attention which one might feel takes away from attentions due elsewhere, attention which might make one wonder whether it entails ‘selling out’…

When I was formulating my contribution for the ACM lab, I boiled it down to the fact that I strongly believe that unless the message – or more effectively, the story – put forward through the press about your work is genuine, it can never really strike a chord. Yet, if your message doesn’t appeal to the journalist or the public, it has very little chance of coming across. So how can these two truths be reconciled? 

In our case, we decided to tackle it through research. We looked into the contexts we were presenting the film in – the different markets, festivals, countries; we studied the different platforms available to us; and we were aware of who we were speaking to – whether they were individual journalists or a certain demographic of the public. Once we had this information at hand, we deciphered where the points we were passionate about intersected with what the country, journalist and/or public seemed to be interested in. And it was that meeting point which we took as the entry point to convey what we felt was important… 

As the Simshar journey comes to an end of sorts with the DVD release this week, it is inevitable to reminisce over what was achieved, what was learnt, what could have been done differently and everything in between. And at the risk of sounding boring, I think that the age old adage that ‘balance’ is always a good thing is more relevant than we would like to think. Not a particularly easy thing, when arguably some of the best work comes out of imbalance of various types!

_{Bettina Hutschek and Raphael Vella will curate the Malta Pavilion at the 57th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. Photo by Alexandra Pace}

Last October I was asked to co-ordinate the initial meetings with the organisers of the Biennale di Venezia, to set up Malta’s participation in the 57^th International Art Exhibition in 2017. A few emails, phonecalls and coffees later, we were sitting in one of the grand boardrooms of the Biennale’s historical headquarters next to San Marco, at Ca Giustiniani, a palazzo in the Dorsoduro district in Venice. There we started our discussions with the organisers, architects and lawyers of the Biennale di Venezia. The following morning we met up with one of the Biennale’s architects, who showed us around the pavilions at the Arsenale. After viewing several spaces, we decided to choose the space which hosted the Tuvalu National Pavilion in 2015.  After an absence of 17 years, Malta will be returning to the Biennale di Venezia with its National Pavilion located in a central location in the Arsenale.

Fast forward a few months later and, after co-ordinating an open call for curatorial proposals at the Arts Council Malta offices in Valletta, a jury composed of a mixture of local and international curators selected the Malta based artist-curators Bettina Hutschek and Raphael Vella to curate the Malta Pavilion at the 57th International Art Exhibition, which will be running from the 13 May to 26 November 2017. Their winning proposal – entitled Homo Melitensis: An incomplete inventory in 19 chapters – described how a poetic compilation of unique objects will supposedly define the imaginary of the Maltese identity.

Venice transformedEvery two years, Venice is transformed into a floating festival of contemporary art, bringing together curators, artists and critics from over 80 countries around the world, at the International Art exhibition during the Biennale di Venezia. During the event’s six months, the city becomes a sprawling celebration of contemporary art, hosting themed art shows and performances, while providing access to some of the city’s most historic and sometimes off-limits buildings.

International curators compete in showcasing their artistic concepts, while artists work with different media, addressing issues such as nationhood, politics, the plight of refugees, immigrants, poverty, democracy, sustainability, social media, technology, impermanence and so on. During the 2011 Biennale di Venezia, freedom of expression was the subject through which the Chinese contemporary artist and activist Ai Weiwei became a symbol.

La Biennale di Venezia’s past
Ever since the Biennale di Venezia was launched in 1895, countries from all over the world have offered the opportunity for curators and artists to showcase their ideas in National Pavilions. Various well-known artists had their works displayed at the Biennale along the years. In 1910 there was a room dedicated to Gustav Klimt, a one-man show for Renoir, and a retrospective of Courbet. In the 1930s new festivals were also born: Music, Cinema and Theatre. The 1940s saw the works of various well-known contemporary artists, including by Chagall, Klee, Braque, Picasso and Magritte. Abstract Expressionism was introduced in the 1950s. And it was in 1958 that the Biennale hosted a special exhibition of seven Maltese artists, namely Antoine Camilleri, Carmenu Mangion, Frank Portelli, Emvin Cremona, Hugo Carbonaro, Josef Kalleya and Oliver Agius.

The Biennale di Venezia is also credited with importing pop art into the canon of art history by awarding the top prize to the American artist Robert Rauschenberg in 1964. In 1980 the first International Architecture Exhibition took place and, in 1999, dance made its debut at the Biennale di Venezia. That same year, 1999, was the last time Malta commissioned its National Pavilion, curated by the late Adrian Bartolo who, at the time was one of the curators of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta. The chosen participating artists were the postmodernists Vince Briffa, Norbert Attard, and Ray Pitre – all of whom exhibited works designed on the philosophical concept of contemporary time.

Maltese National Pavilion – 1999
Vince Briffa presented Hermes, a video collage depicting biological time and its effects on humans, presented in a Caravaggist chiaroscuro manner. Briffa took his cue from the Genesis narrative in which Man was fashioned from the soil – with the soil becoming the symbol of Man’s nemesis, as well as by the Greek mythological narration of Zeus’ quick-witted son who acted as a messenger of the gods between the underworld and the world above.

Norbert Attard presented Larger than Life, an installation which also drew upon the concept of time, re-interpreting the Baroque past and its dramatic influences on the present, while Ray Pitre exhibited his mixed media sculpture entitled Guerriero, consisting of twisted steel sculptures, which were actual remnants of the last war, which he had found in the fields, representing timeless reflections of the violence perpetrated throughout history.

The Malta Pavilion was situated in a dimly-lit 16^th century room at La Tese – also in the Arsenale- in which Pitre’s sculptures were in the middle of the room flanked by the works of Briffa and Attard, who projected their audiovisual installations on the two opposite walls, with the aim of conveying the idea of entering a world which transcended the conventional barriers of both time and space.

The 56^th International Art Exhibition – All the World’s Futures
The 56^th International Art Exhibition in 2015 celebrated the 120^th anniversary of the first Art Exhibition (1895). There were 89 participating countries, proof of the global spread of contemporary art. With an attendance of around 400,000 visitors, Pavilions that offered a convincing conceptual immersive environment were arguably the most celebrated. Offering a political statement was another way curators and artists made their mark in Venice. Curated by the Nigerian poet, curator, art critic and educator Okwui Enwezor, the over-arching theme of the 2015 Biennale was “All the World’s Futures,” delving into the contemporary global reality as one of constant alignment, adjustment, recalibration, motility, and shape-shifting. Appointed by the Board of the Biennale di Venezia, Okwui Enwezor, currently living between New York and Munich, specialises on the complex phenomenon of globalization in relation to local roots, and is a key figure in postcolonial art theory and criticism.

The Biennale in 2015 expanded from the 29 historic pavilions at the Venice Giardini to the 31 pavilions in the Arsenale, on the south-eastern part of the island and the rest in other historic palazzi around Venice. The Giardini is famous for its permanent grand national pavilions, while just a 10-minute walk north there is the Arsenale, a 16^th century former shipping yard and now grounds for new pavilions, such as those of Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Sweden, Slovenia, Singapore and Turkey.

The 57^th International Art Biennale
The Artistic Director of the 57th International Art Biennale is Christine Macel, the Chief Curator at the Musée National d’Art Moderne – Centre Pompidou in Paris, where she is responsible for the Department of “Création contemporaine et prospective”, which she founded and developed. She was the curator of the French Pavilion at the Biennale Arte 2013 and the Belgian Pavilion at the Biennale Arte 2007. La Biennale has selected her as a main curator committed to emphasizing the important role artists play in inventing their own universes and injecting generous vitality into the world we live in.

Around the World
Other international art fairs around the world, apart from the Biennale di Venezia, include Manifesta, the roving European Biennale and Documenta, taking place every five years in Kassel Germany, often referred to as the “Museum of 100 days,” featuring mainly site-specific art (the first Documenta, held in 1955 was intended to be a documentation of modern art, which was not available for the German public during the Nazi era). Other well-known international art fairs include Frieze Art Fair in New York, and Art Basel held annually in Basel, Miami and Hong Kong. The Biennale di Venezia, along with these international art fairs, is one of the most significant international contexts for contemporary art.

Thousands of people every year make their way to Venice to see what the contemporary art world has to offer, to meet artists from all over the world and to discuss what is happening in the art world today. Participation at the Biennale di Venezia will not only raise Malta’s cultural profile and help build an understanding of the Maltese islands, as well as improve its international relations, but will also provide recognition to the participating artists and curators on the world stage.

For more information on the Biennale di Venezia visit their official website here: http://www.labiennale.org/en/Home.html

For virtual tours of the 2015 National Pavilions at the Biennale di Venezia visit:  https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/search/exhibit?project=la-biennale-di-venezia

What is crowdfunding and how does it work?
Until recently, financing a business involved going the traditional way: asking a financing institution for a loan or contacting a few people for big sums of money. Crowdfunding turns this idea on its head, using the internet to help entrepreneurs reach out to thousands of potential funders that can each contribute a small amount.

This means that small business owners that are being turned down by financing Institutions now have an opportunity to appeal directly to small investors. Equally, whereas investing in small businesses was previously the domain of the very rich, this new concept means anyone can reap the benefits of investing in fledgling start-ups – whether you want to risk €5 or €25,000.

The sector is not without its challenges. While partial industry regulation has now been established, discussions are ongoing between crowdfunding pioneers and regulators in an attempt to find a balance between protecting investors – many small businesses flop early on – while allowing for the creativity and freedom needed to make ventures a success.

Companies requiring huge amounts of start-up capital may continue to be funded in more traditional ways – venture capitalists, for example, are likely to carry on plugging the funding gap.

However, in the immediate term, crowdfunding is poised to alter the entrepreneurial ecosystem significantly – just like angel investing, venture capital, and private equity before it.

According to the UK Crowdfunding Association there are officially three different forms of crowdfunding:

Debt crowdfunding: Investors receive their money back with interest. Also called peer-to-peer lending or lend-to-save, it allows for the lending of money while bypassing traditional banks. Returns are financial but investors also have the benefit of contributing to the success of an idea they believe in.

Equity crowdfunding: where people invest in an opportunity in exchange for a share in the business, project or venture. As with other types of shares, if it is successful the value goes up. If not, just like shares, the value goes down and you could lose your money.

Donation crowdfunding: is when people invest simply because they believe in the cause. Rewards, such as acknowledgements, free tickets to an event, regular news updates, free gifts etc, are usually given based on the donation amount. However returns are considered intangible. Donors have a social or personal motivation for putting their money in and expect nothing back, except perhaps the satisfaction of having supported the project.

Such a platform has recently been launched in Malta and is managed by ZAAR. They have had two successful projects: the Pet Cabin at Mater Dei Hospital and Murphy runs for Hospice. This clearly shows that the pitch for a project should make the audience want to own the cause in order to be successful.

While crowdfunding is a fairly new initiative with exciting prospects for many – and gives small businesses access to funding opportunities like never before – it can be a confusing arena for most people because it is presented in such a wide spectrum of ways. Investments or donations are usually made through online platforms, which then coordinate and administer the fundraising. Projects can range from those helping to finance community-based projects for no financial return, to sophisticated portfolio-picking, purely for monetary gain.

Crowdfunding: an arts perspective
Since the advent of ZAAR.com.mt, Malta’s first and only crowdfunding website, entrepreneurs, NGOs and artists now have the possibility to submit their projects and have them funded through small donations from the public.

Recently, ZAAR announced that Adina – Short Movie, having raised 102% of its total goal, became the first arts project to be fully-funded on the platform. This could be a reality for your project too, but there are a few things you should keep in mind to ensure that you give your project enough of a push to reach as many people as possible.

If you’re thinking of launching an arts project on ZAAR, here’s our advice:

Explain where the money will go: Art supplies and props – particularly if you are looking at creating sculpture or putting up a performance – can be extremely expensive. Even so, never assume that your backers know that, so it’s best to explain how the budget will be divided and used up.

Think of your backers: When putting together your synopsis, think long and hard about why you think people should back your project. Is there anything like it on the scene? If yes, how is yours different? Is this a new concept? If so, try to explain in it one sentence. This will be a hard task, but incredibly worthwhile.

Try to stand out: As time goes on, ZAAR is becoming the platform of choice for many different enterprises, so it’s important to stand out and be different. Through videos, animated gifs and concrete examples of how the project will work, you will be more likely to attract backers to your cause.

Pledge some rewards: From exclusive, hand-made items to invitations to the opening night, there is a lot you can do to incentivise backers, and to give back to the people who helped support your project. When thinking of your rewards, keep your audience in mind and make them feel part of the project as a whole. So, if you’re planning a photography exhibition, why not give out postcards or prints, for example?

Promote your project: Like any other project looking to be crowdfunded, it’s important to get the word out there. And remember: while traditional PR in print and on different media may be expensive, you can use social media to get it to go as viral as possible. So don’t be afraid to ask your team members and friends to share and promote.

Got any further questions? Send an e-mail on info@zaar.com.mt

“Though it may not seem obvious at first, social media and theatre have a lot in common. Both are communal experiences based on a give-and-take relationship, in which one person is performer while the other is spectator.”— Jeremy Gable, playwright and actor

Developments in digital technologies are changing relationships between cultural consumers and producers via two-way channels of communication and interaction. Still, some arts organisations tend to view such developments as potential threats to their “safe” business model that might rely on methods that might have been effective at a time when the so-called “digital natives” and “digital immigrants” were still a minority^[1].

Such organisations might have the desire to preserve their status as entities endowed with the knowledge, expertise and cultural capital that remains uncontested – which was possible back when the digital space was limited to the once-traditional websites with little to no expectation of interaction from their users. However consumers now have a platform where they can create and publish content while articulating their opinions to a wider audience without the need of extensive resources. The digital element has become a significant component of the overall audience experience that is on offer- its absence is also prone to result in some form of impact.

This importance is reflected at policy level and in its growing research interest. A case in point is the EU Work Plan for Culture 2015-2018 that aims to map the “digital shift” on audience development and the Special Eurobarometer for Cultural Access and Participation carried out in 2013, where ‘Use of the internet for cultural purposes’ is singled out for analysis. In this sense, at a local level, public entities such as Arts Council Malta and the Valletta 2018 Foundation could provide basis for further research into this topic.

However we do hope that more researchers and academics will be interested in analysing different aspects of this digital shift in the cultural sector. This shift can be implemented in different facets of the running of an organisation, among which programming and creation (e.g. live streaming of a theatre production), operations, business models (e.g. digital fundraising) and marketing. In this respect the below is primarily aimed to introduce social media, specifically in terms of its marketing aspect, which may interest both arts organisations and researchers alike.

Social Media in Arts Marketing: Focus on Facebook

According to local market research company Icon, Facebook is the most used social media platform by local marketers in Malta at a rate of 95.3%. It could then be asserted that it is likely to be also the most popular platform among local arts organisations. 2015 also saw Facebook opening up new opportunities for non-profit organisations which can be relevant to local arts organisations, as observed by Culture Republic. With this in mind, the below will focus on Facebook and how it can support the marketing strategies of arts organisations based on research conducted by Hausmann and Poellmann (2013)^[2] for performing arts organisations. These uses were grouped in four areas:

Promotion and Communication:

As Facebook posts are brief pieces of information appearing on a user’s newsfeed for short periods of time, constant activity is necessary. It is recommended that posts are balanced between being illustrated announcements and background information; nevertheless they should contain relevant information which the target audience would be interested in. This should not just be about selling – but about communication and relationships. As messages are more varied the selling ones become more appealing. While this is deemed to be cost-effective, there have been reports that organic reach for posts (reach for which there was no payment) has declined over recent years. This has led to more Facebook page owners investing in more adverts or boosted posts. Meanwhile as users can interact directly with the content posted, constant following up of comments by followers is needed to show attention to what they are saying. In the case of annual festivals this can be effective to maintain an active presence even beyond the festival period. For instance the Melbourne Writers’ Festival ensure their Facebook page is active all year round by posting links to past festival performances, programme activities and competitions in the months leading up to or following the festival. The months preceding the festival they provide information on the programme’s progress or snippets on forthcoming events^[3].

Word of Mouth:

In this context we are talking about electronic word of mouth (eWOM) which is characterised by its capacity for high information diffusion, since information is spread online at high speed with very low costs of distribution when considering the awareness potentially created. This is primarily facilitated by the ‘share’ function on Facebook leading to content being spread to an unrestricted number of individuals. Indeed such content carries with it high credibility as Hannah Carroll, Marketing Officer at Birmingham Museums Trust stated in an article published on Arts Professional: “in the era of social media, simply letting people talk is an increasingly powerful marketing tool. Visitors will always believe the opinion of their friends and peers over that of journalists.” She further described how they dedicated an event to bloggers for the opening of an attraction at the Museum and Art Gallery in 2015 that generated so much “buzz” on social media that they are planning a programme of bloggers’ events for 2016.

Market Research and Innovation Management:

 Social media analytics tools such as Facebook Insights or more specialised ones like Hootsuite can be used to measure message reach, impressions, interaction rate and content analysis amongst other indicators. Furthermore online questionnaires can be posted on the ‘wall’ or sent as a message, for instance to gain feedback on audience experience right after an event.  Comments of followers can be analysed to identify new ideas and support the process of innovation management in the arts organisations. Followers can be stimulated to make suggestions for example by forms of rewards or recognition. More information on how an organisation can measure social media activity to fit its objectives is provided by Culture24.

Reputation Management:

On Facebook, dialogue with the target audience can happen at a rapid rate allowing for instant reactions and also complaints. This means that there is the possibility to monitor the online reputation and avert publicity mishaps by being responsive to negative feedback and queries in a constructive manner. It is to be noted that other followers can notice the level of effort an organisation invests in dealing with such concerns. Also the ‘response rate’ badge indicates how responsive an organisation is to private messages which can further contribute positively or negatively to reputation. Ideally having the aim should be towards having a “very responsive to messages” badge, making private interaction with followers affect public perception. Also if an organisation maintains contact with experts and discuss with them topics on its wall helps in increasing reputation and trust.

Furthermore, according to recent research, Facebook has now replaced Google as a primary source for news online. This is interesting given that the 2013 Eurobarometer showed that Maltese citizens’ top two reasons for the use of internet for cultural purposes are to ‘read newspaper articles online’ and ‘searching for information on cultural products or events’. Also this is akin to the pattern presented on average by the EU. It is then high time that local arts organisations become more aware of the possibilities offered by social media especially Facebook, beyond just taking note of the number of ‘likes’ or views garnered.

[1] Luoma-aho, V. (2015). Understanding Stakeholder Engagement: Faith-holders, Hateholders & Fakeholders. Research Journal of the Institute for Public Relations , 2 (1).

[2] Hausmann, A., & Poellmann, L. (2013). Using social media for arts marketing: theoretical analysis and empirical insights for performing arts organizations. International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing , 10 (2), 143-161.

[3] Hede, A.M. (2013) . Arts Marketing and Web 2.0-Based Audience Development Initiatives, in The Routledge Companion to Arts Marketing ed. Daragh O’Reilly , Ruth Rentschler and Theresa A. Kirchner . Routledge.

Photo credit: Focus Fotos

The ‘Culture Matters’ seminar, organised by the Valletta 2018 Foundation last month, aimed to present the highlights of the Foundation’s Evaluation and Monitoring initial research findings for 2015. One of the main aims behind this research process, which started last year and will continue until 2019, is to understand if the objectives set for Valletta as a European Capital of Culture (ECoC) are being achieved.

This research process is about Valletta 2018, but it is also about the wider cultural sector and related spheres. We speak about the impacts of Valletta 2018, but we also speak about the impacts of such a milestone event in the wider cultural and creative sector and on other sectors such as employment and tourism.

The main outcomes of this research and seminar highlight the very basic, yet very important, need to ensure links, synergies and collaboration between different parties and stakeholders. This process also reflects the importance of having an interdisciplinary process which combines various areas and spheres in such a wide concept as that of the ECoC.

This research process is also about having results that are accessible, shared and used. Research should never be carried out in a vacuum.

The ‘Culture Matters’ seminar also addressed some  themes such as accessibility and connection, both on a physical and on a non-physical level.

One of the main outcomes of the seminar also highlighted what Valletta means to different people, with the city being a national and an intimate space. Our work, and that of our partners, should be aimed at raising and increasing the level of active cultural participation. Yet a vital aspect of our work should also aim to ensure that Valletta is a living space. As Dr Antoine Zammit, one of the researchers of the Foundation’s Evaluation and Monitoring Steering Committee, emphasised during the seminar, regeneration should aim to make a city alive and liveable.

We also realise that most issues and challenges are common to most cities experiencing such a high-level experience such as the ECoC. This is the reason why knowledge transfer between local and international partners is crucial. This is also why we should aim at ensuring the engagement of students and researchers to continue exploring these and other areas in connection with Valletta 2018 and cultural participation.

The Evaluation and Monitoring research process has just entered into its second year. Throughout the year the Foundation, together with its partners, will continue exploring the themes presented at the Culture Matters seminar to analyse and compare results. Together with Arts Council Malta and the National Statistics Office, the Valletta 2018 Foundation will also be conducting a reviewed Culture Participation Survey, as a follow-up from the 2011 survey. The aim is to analyse culture participation and look at why people choose to attend – or not – cultural events, and how engagement in cultural activity is affecting the attendees’ wellbeing.

By Graziella Vella, Research Coordinator – Valletta 2018 Foundation

Key Findings

Cultural Tourism

• In 2015, a new record was reached with 1.8 million tourists visiting the Maltese Islands.
• Tourists staying in Valletta/Floriana were more likely to visit a cultural site or attend cultural activity than tourists staying in other localities.
• Visiting historical sites was the most popular cultural activity amongst tourists followed by visiting churches and museums. This pattern was common among tourists staying in the Valletta/Floriana area as well as other localities.

Creative Economy (design sub-sector)

• As part of the cultural and creative industries (CCIs), the design sub-sector accounted for 8.1% of the total CCIs gross value added (GVA) which amounts to 5% of GDP (as at 2010). The GVA is used as a measure of economic contribution.
• Design enterprises generated €50 million in value added, accounting for 0.8% of GDP.
• There are 790 design enterprises in Malta with an average of three people employed, estimated to be operating with a ‘healthy’ profit margin of 24%.
• The proportion of firms carrying out design is relatively high in medium-sized and large firms but low in smaller firms. Nevertheless average firm spending on other innovation including design is significantly lower in larger firms, and to a lesser extent in medium-sized firms, but relatively high in smaller firms.
• The manufacturing and financial services sectors dedicate the least resources to design and other activities while the transportation and storage sector has the relatively highest level of expenditure per firm in Malta with regards to design.

 Employment in the cultural and creative industries (CCIs)

• Full-time employment in CCIs reached 9,283 during the second quarter of 2015, equal to 5.45% of total full-time employment (as at end of June 2015). Part-time employment stood at 1,708 or 4.86% of total part-time employment in the economy.
• The number of males employed in CCIs accounted for 5.91% of the total number of males in full-time employment whilst female employment in CCIs accounted for 4.65% of the total number of females in full-time employment.
• 93% (8,658) of the total number of full-time employees in CCIs are employed in the private sector whilst only 7% (625) pertain to the public sector.
• The top three CCI categories in terms of number of employees are ‘Museum Activities’, ‘Advertising agencies’ and ‘Amusement and recreation activities’.
• In contrast to full-time employment, part-time employment in CCIs is mostly taken by females.
• Overall the number of vacancies pertaining to occupations within the culture and creative sector has increased from 166 in the first quarter of 2014 to 290 in the last quarter of 2015. Notwithstanding this noticeable rise, vacancies relating to CCIs have been quite unstable.
• The number of jobseekers looking for jobs in the creative sector remained more or less the same during 2014 and 2015. The most noticeable increase can be observed in the last three months of 2014 where the number of jobseekers registering for jobs relating to CCIs increased to 510 compared to a (simple) mean of 473 in the previous three quarters; mainly pertinent to occupations classified under “Film, stage-related directors and producers” .

By Adrian Debattista, Research Associate, Arts Council Malta, based on findings from research by the Economic Policy Department (EPD), the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) and the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA)

Technology has been making inroads into education for decades. In classrooms around the world, teachers are adapting and incorporating devices into the exchange of information with students. But the mobile revolution is changing education in more fundamental ways than just providing a new gadget that delivers information. Mobile devices, particularly tablets, are changing the way students learn and think.

Recognising this clear shift toward digital, teachers are engaging students in more meaningful ways by using technology, including mobile devices, as teaching tools. Many of today’s students have never known a world without technology, and they have little patience or aptitude for a learning environment without it. This trend is not exclusive to the field of education. In just a decade, today’s learners – from young children to teenagers – will enter the workforce as skilled and digitally-driven professionals. Last year, a Pew Research Center-Harvard University study found that one in four teenagers in the EU owns a tablet computer. According to the EU Department of Education, almost every classroom has at least one computer, and internet connectivity is also available in more than 90% of classrooms.

Students of all ages generally find learning on a tablet more personal and accessible than being chained to other traditional methods. They also respond well to animation-driven apps, which make lessons more interactive and entertaining than linear modules. As computers have become more portable, so has education.

Many people who grew up in the digital age were first introduced to computing via video games. In an effort to make learning more fun and engaging, educators have introduced elements of games into their curriculum. This caused a shift in the way people learn, with active emotional engagement replacing dry periods of concentration. Learning becomes less an abstract, theoretical exercise and more of an emotional and highly engaging activity. The result is higher motivation levels.

In the pre-digital age, students turned in their work and took tests and waited for teachers to grade their assignments and exams. Today, students expect feedback in real time. Research shows student performance significantly improves when feedback is given immediately. Real-time feedback in the learning process is a clear benefit to students as they can immediately apply the lessons learned.

One danger posed by the rise of digital communication and the use of technology in classroom pedagogy is that some students are losing the ability to articulate ideas in longer form. Additionally, they have fewer opportunities to engage in face-to-face communication. For that reason, it’s important for educators to make sure students have the opportunity to participate in collaborative activities and face-to-face meetings.

Learning used to be more about concepts being conveyed in an abstract manner using textbooks. Mobile technology makes the learning process more interactive and engaging. Technologies such as the augmented reality Google Glass, digital and interactive paper, and animated learning through apps are changing the way education is becoming personalized. Today, forward-thinking learning centres around video lectures in favour of two-way interactions in which tutors walk students through problem solving and demonstrate new concepts using tablets.

These technology-driven trends are fundamentally transforming the way students learn. Instead of requiring students to read a lesson in a book or complete a linear module via desktop, tablets and mobiles are enabling them access to engaging, interactive lessons.

As technology continues to influence learning, it’s important for educators to make sure students don’t become too isolated and that they have opportunities to converse and collaborate. Innovations like tablet-based tutoring can enable two-way conversations and increase collaboration, giving students the best of both worlds in a changing education environment.

“We are artists, we do not strategise.”

For some this is still a mantra. During the recent ACMlab session focusing on strategic planning for cultural organisations, Director Strategy Toni Attard pointed out the most frequent excuses not to strategise, which primarily include lack of time, a sense of entitlement for the funds and not enough will to do so. The excitement with which we tend to approach artistic projects many a time tends to make us place strategic planning on the back burner. The ‘let’s do this’ often replaces the ‘let’s think about it’, turning ideas into ambitious projects without the necessary preparation.

Stating why strategic plans are important for organisations is perhaps unnecessary at this stage. We all know they are. Strategic plans serve as a backbone for the growth and development of the organisation. Most importantly, strategic plans will make you stop and think. Think about the strategic landscape you are operating in (the policies, human resources, infrastructure, financial resources, network possibilities), reflect upon your audiences, risks you might be facing and contingency plans, and create your own business model. Solid sustainable organisations require a clear vision, reliable management, governance structures and good marketing plans. Establishing all this will ultimately put you in a better position to approach your funders and your sponsors and to make your case for why you should be supported. It will also clearly demonstrate how you are making the most out of the money invested in your idea.

It will make all the difference.

The next ACMlab session – Get Sponsored – will be held on 29 March 2016 at 18.30 at Blitz, 68, St Lucia Street, Valletta. Participation is free of charge. To book a place, send us an email on fundinfo@artscouncilmalta.org. Places are allocated on a first-come first-served basis.

Assessing applications is, possibly, the most fraught – and contested – aspect of all funding procedures.

While attending an IETM satellite meeting last year entitled The Art of Valuing: between evident and evidence-based, this subject was extensively discussed between the representatives from various Arts Councils and institutions all over the world. We shared our experiences, challenges and difficulties which, to my surprise, proved to be very similar to each other. Even from as far afield as Australia, the Australian Arts Council representative said that her Council also experiences the same difficulties in finding peer reviewers from the sector who are able to carry out the evaluation and who are not involved in funded artistic projects themselves. The pool of evaluators is small, she said. Well, relatively small, I thought.

I remember spending quite some time discussing evaluation methods – particularly peer reviewing. The concept of peer review, which involves different individuals coming directly from the sector to assess applications on the basis of established selection criteria (common to both applicants and evaluators,) has seemingly proved to be the most successful assessment channel which fosters and respects the principles of transparency, objectivity and criticism. We discussed how, for this to be fully successful, the funding bodies need to create the right conditions for assessments to take place in a transparent and fair manner. By ‘fair’ we do not necessarily mean only going through the applications in an equal and non-discriminatory manner – but also making the most out of the funds available and selecting the applications having the best potential to achieve the fund’s aims and to contribute significantly to the sector.

This is the method which Arts Council Malta has adopted all along, ever since the Malta Arts Fund was introduced back in 2009. Now, due to the fact that more funding programmes are being managed by the Council and in line with the funding policy as outlined in our Strategy2020, we are placing even more emphasis on choosing and collaborating with the group of independent evaluators we entrust with the very important task of selecting the projects to be funded. Knowing the resources available and finding the right partners for assessment is key to achieving a positive outcome. That is why, in an effort to make the process easier and more accessible to all those interested in being part of the evaluation teams, we have launched an ongoing open call for evaluators which will create a pool of evaluators for the next three years until 31st December 2018.

As highlighted in Strategy2020, ‘besides ensuring transparency and direct collaboration with experts from different fields, the call for evaluators would lead to the implementation of our holistic plan for the assessment, review, monitoring and evaluation of the quality and impact of the funded initiatives.’

Applying for this call does not necessarily mean automatic qualification. Evaluators will be chosen on the basis of their areas of expertise in relation to our funding programmes and on how the profiles and areas of expertise of the different members making up the board complement each other. There are different boards for each fund and, barring a couple of exceptions, for each evaluation session. Each board includes a range of different practitioners, managers and observers who are able to actively contribute to the discussion leading to the final decision about the projects to be funded.

If you would like to contribute to this process, send us your application form and CV on fundinfo@artscouncilmalta.org. More information about the call is available on our website – http://www.artscouncilmalta.org/pages/funds-opportunities/opportunities/call-for-evaluators. Names of evaluators will be published at the end of the year.

Elaine Falzon, Head of Funds & Brokerage, Arts Council Malta

2016 is a ‘prep year’ for a number of cultural projects. Official results of cultural infrastructure projects submitted for European funding for the period 2014 – 2020 will be announced in 2016. This will kick-off substantial investments and resources in the successful proposals to ensure that they are delivered on time and according to the strict regulations of the fund

The biggest challenge for each project is to go beyond the restoration or construction of a building. New cultural infrastructure projects also need to focus on building an active community that will eventually utilise and engage with these spaces. Both MUZA and the Valletta design cluster have successfully demonstrated how this approach supports the project and its users.

2016 will also lead to the first year of the implementation of the Arts Council Malta strategy. This will require increased advocacy and communication with  artists, cultural organisations and the public. In 2016 a number of new initiatives will be implemented ranging from a revamped Malta Arts Fund to a competitive three-year funding programme for festivals and cultural organisations.

Improvements in fund evaluation processes and project pitching will also be introduced. As announced in Budget 2016, preparatory work for Malta’s participation in the 2017 Venice Biennale will be in full swing together with the launch of Teatru Malta. In 2016, Arts Council Malta will also be hosting the 7th World Culture Summit with a strategic focus on cultural leadership. This will be a unique opportunity for Malta to take centre stage on cultural policy discourse within a global context.

Another important process in 2016 will be the programming of the extensive cultural programme that will take place in Malta and other countries as part of the Maltese presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2017. 

These challenges and opportunities need to be relevant to creative practitioners who may want to leverage their artistic practice. As a prep year for culture, 2016 should be another opportunity for new work to be developed through increased experimentation, interdisciplinary collaboration and international networking.

This means that for a number of creative practitioners, 2016 may be a good time to review and create new work because in a few months they’re on the road until 2018. 

These developments call for creative practitioners and public cultural organisations to be more positive and proactive in building a collaborative, supportive and open creative environment.

November, 2015. There she is, lying before my eyes: The Sleeping Lady. Indeed a very impressive, very small sculpture of prehistoric art, exhibited at the National Museum of Archaeology of Malta, Valletta. As visitors we keep silent without expressing our strong feelings of awe, for fear of awakening her. In the Netherlands my friends warned me: ‘Don’t forget that woman. You must see her!’

A few moments later, I sit on a bench at the museum, surrounded by the atmosphere of antique temples. It is surprising – although Malta is a very small country with only about 412,000 inhabitants – yet its cultural history and heritage are great and world-famous. Where can you find in such a small area the cultural influences of early Sicilian farmers, Arab invaders, Christian knights and European empires, among many other treasures?

I sit on that bench reading a volume of Encore (03-2015/16), a national art and culture magazine with very interesting publications about the Maltese cultural sector. Being a Dutch professor in art and economics, a particular article about cultural policy catches my attention. The article, ‘Create the Future’ written by the Arts Council Malta, informed me about the ideas and  aspirations for a new cultural five-year strategy plan for 2016-2020. The article is a report which describes the content of a special consultation meeting, Create2020, where professionals from the cultural field discuss the making of that new plan. Finally, the Council requests that readers participate within this consultation process by submitting their ideas.

Inspired by The Sleeping Lady and her homeland, I felt the need to contribute to the debate. However, I do realize that I have to be modest because the Maltese cultural sector is not my field of expertise. Nevertheless, drawing from my international research and experience as a resource, and considering the cultural sector as an important impetus for local, regional and national development, I can suggest some issues. These issues could be added to the themes as mentioned in the article. I will formulate my contribution in the form of three core suggestions, hoping that these issues will be helpful in the process of developing a new cultural strategy for Malta.

1.  According to my international observations, more and more the cultural (mainly subsidised) sector has to be seen as a part of a creative biotope with creativity as the main hub. Both, from an individual and societal perspective; our world in the 21^st century is dominated by a challenging togetherness of culture, digital technology, social and economic values. A cultural policy can express this complexity by stimulating cooperation, crossovers and other collaborative ways of working together: artists, designers, cultural managers and, last but not least, policymakers and business people. As we say in Utrecht, the city where I come from: Cooperate or Die!
   
2. In 2010 my university (UU/HKU) produced a pioneering study for the EU commission on the entrepreneurial dimensions of the cultural and creative industries. A central recommendation was the importance of a regional supportive infrastructure for creative SMEs with finance, marketing, legal advice, training and education as key components. Such an infrastructure is essential to fulfil the innovative mission of these typically small-scale industries. In 2013, at an international conference in the Caucasus area, I added creative craft to this issue because of its potential for folklore and traditional art, including craftsmanship on food, textile and architecture.
   
3. My third suggestion is to establish an international focused School of Art Management and Cultural Entrepreneurship as there are in most of the European and American universities and/or art schools. As I understand, Malta already has qualified art schools in Valletta and Gozo/Rabat and a proactive university, so it is strongly thinkable that these institutes can establish such a school in the form of a joint programme. In 2018 when Valletta will be Cultural Capital of Europe the first MA students could have their graduation ceremony in the presence of an international audience!

Such an international master’s degree programme functions as an important stimulation for practice-led academic research and improvement of the professionalisation of the cultural sector.

Indeed, I have the idea that the Maltese art and cultural sectors can develop an ambitious cultural strategy for the coming five years. Still, we have to acquire our insight from elsewhere. To say it in this way: if such a plan is based mainly on Top-Down approaches the strategy would miss the potential dynamics from the bottom-up perspective of the cultural sector, formed by artistic practices, design studios, cultural spaces and public-oriented festivals.

The new development in cultural Europe is DIY/DIT (Do It Yourself – Do It Together). In connection with this new way of working and in cooperation with policymakers and advisors Malta can create the best practice on its road to 2020, with an important stop in 2018.

Giep Hagoort (1948) is chairman of ERTNAM (European Research and Training Network on Art Management) and professor emeritus art and economics at the Dutch Utrecht University-UU/HKU. www.ertnam.eu

“I am safely home in Cape Town, and brimming with ideas and inspiration after the time spent in your very sunny and beautiful part of the world!… It was an exceptional experience, which will live in my memory for a long time.”- Yvette Hardie, Director of ASSITEJ South Africa, International Association for Theatre for Children and Young People. 

Earlier this year, Maltese performers were given the opportunity to showcase their work before 13 international festival producers as well as artistic directors and programmers of future European Capitals of Culture. This was possible thanks to the Malta Showcase, a joint initiative between the Valletta 2018 Foundation, Arts Council Malta, Spazju Kreattiv and the ŻiguŻajg International Arts Festival for Children & Young People.

Hailing from South Africa, Canada, Australia, the UK and various countries across Europe, the international festival producers viewed 11 shows for children and young audiences performed by Maltese artists during the Malta Showcase 2015. The event was held across various spaces at Spazju Kreattiv, at the Splendid in Strait Street, the City Theatre, Teatru Manoel, primary schools and in the streets of Valletta.

The Malta Showcase is a curated portfolio, which is available to tour internationally. It is distributed among various international programmers interested in incorporating Maltese talent in international festivals, theatres, exhibitions and cultural organisations. As from next year, it will also include visual arts and photography, and the shows may be programmed during Malta’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2017. For more information visit: www.maltashowcase.com