Six young creatives take centre stage on the Arts Council Malta stand at last week’s Expo Village.

The third edition of Malta’s Expo Village unfolded last week at the MFCC in Ta’ Qali, centring on the theme Youth: Their Future in the Public Service.

The event reflected Arts Council Malta’s (ACM) ongoing commitment – outlined in Strategy 2025 – to fostering cultural participation among the next generation. It offered a timely platform to highlight initiatives that inspire and empower young people across both the arts and public service sectors.

An illustrators’ showcase

During the event, six Malta-based illustrators were invited to showcase their works on the ACM stand through an initiative held in collaboration with the Malta Community of Illustrators. 

Each artist enjoyed a two-hour session interacting with guests and explaining their creative process. The featured artists for this year were the following:

Kathleen Flask – artist, illustrator, seamstress and animator who dabbles both in digital and traditional media. A Digital Arts student with a flair for experimentation, Kath expresses herself mostly through anthropomorphic animals or mythological creatures. Her works made an impact at the expo, blurring the lines between species and styles.

Tiffany Busuttil – this artist picked up a pencil aged four and never looked back. At 15, she swapped the school corridors of Malta for art school studios in France, sharpening her craft in painting, drawing, and design. Today, she continues to chase colour and creativity across digital canvases, turning childhood doodles into professional dreams to the delight of Expo visitors.

Natalija Bozhinova – Natalija art journey started with crayons, paused somewhere between life chapters, and restarted in a flurry of expressive digital caricatures. Her work combines cheek, charm, and character – portraits that grin back at you from the screen, impressing viewers with their nuance.

Kristina Zammit Endrich – The creative behind Pocket Sandwich Studio, Kristina is a multi-disciplinary creative, producing illustration, animation, paper goods and textiles. Her work began as digital doodles but now stretches from greeting cards to band merch, music festival branding to magazine spreads. It’s a visual feast, stitched together with wit and warmth.

Naomi Gatt – This illustrator is known for creating the kinds of books that children (and their grown-ups) want to jump into. With a love for storytelling and a palette full of whimsy, her pages feel like a playground for the imagination. Whether it’s dancing dinosaurs or dreamy islands, Naomi’s world is one where colour always wins, perfect for the younger visitors to the Expo.

Manuela Cipolla – Under the delicious alias LemonPickle, this artist started out working on illustrations for children. Her art has now evolved into full-blown game-making, powered by a love for offbeat characters, western comics and all things sci-fi. If it’s funky, playful, and just a little strange, it’s probably hers.

Noura Abdelhafi – An architect by profession, Noura’s drawing began as a private practice – a way to navigate her migration from Tunisia to Malta. Today, her ink-and-marker illustrations have evolved into a powerful visual language of introspection and freedom. Off the architecture grid, she embraces a world beyond structure; raw, analogue, and emotionally resonant.

Karl Vella Bamber – With one foot in the academic world and the other in the world of concept art, Karl is equally at home with brush or stylus. He brings his keen eye to character design and vivid visual narratives. Now in his final year of Digital Arts, Karl is building worlds one bold line at a time.

Looking ahead with purpose

What emerged from this year’s Expo Village was not limited to a showcase. It’s a signal that the next generation is already stepping up, as ACM continues to help create the conditions where young people can lead the creative sectors with confidence.

As we continue strengthening the foundations laid by Strategy 2025, there’s every reason to believe this legacy will not only endure, but grow stronger in the hands of those who are just getting started.