ACM in NY promotes and supports Maltese Arts and Culture in the US and fosters cultural cooperation and partnerships.

Arts Council Malta in New York has gained momentum in promoting and presenting Maltese artists in arts events across New York City and beyond, in the United States.

In February 2016, ACM in NY made representations to EUNIC NY as a result of which, ACM in NY was elected full member of the NY cluster of the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) in New York.

What is EUNIC (NY)?

EUNIC New York (European Union National Institutes for Culture in NY) promotes and presents cutting-edge and thought-provoking creative, artistic and intellectual European achievements to New York and U.S. audiences. EUNIC partners with eminent American and European organizations to provide programs in the fields of art and culture, language and education, society and academia. The organization is part of a global coalition of national cultural institutes and cultural diplomatic services from the European Union that work in more than 80 cities on all continents. EUNIC New York was founded in 2007 and has 14 full members and 32 associate members and observers. Some of these members include the Arts Council Malta in New York, the Austrian Cultural Forum New York, the Balassi Institute - Hungarian Cultural Center New York, Dutch Culture USA the General Representation of the Government of Flanders to the U.S.A., the Goethe Institut New York, Instituto Cervantes, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Onassis Foundation (USA), and the Polish Cultural Institute New York.

Over the past years ACM in NY has promoted, facilitated, supported and presented Maltese Arts including Literature, Art, Film, Music and Photography in events and festivals across New York as well as in Washington DC. A few highlights include:

ECO Solidarity 2022

Arts Council Malta participated in the 3rd edition of "ECO Solidarity" with AHA Objects by Anna Horvat, organised by the EUNIC NY Cluster.
 
 
 
The work was presented at the WantedDesign 2022 exhibition, at the  Javits Center in New York, May 15-17 2022, as part of NYCxDESIGN (New York Design Festival).
 
ECO Solidarity addressed the urgency for a more human-centered design in response to humanitarian and public health crises. It focused on Ecology, ClimateChange, the public health and well-being in public spaces — and also examined the role of the economy and the key objectives of Green New Deal through interior and product design, plus spatial planning.⁠
 
Participating designers and their nominating National Institutes for Culture include nas-dra conscious design (Polish Cultural Institute New York); Algaeing - Textile Creation (Goethe-Institut); Livable (Flanders in the USA); Studio Plastique (Wallonie-Bruxelles International New York); Herrmann & Coufal ( Czech Center New York); AHA Objects (Arts Council Malta); Atelier Adhoc Arhitectura (Institutul Cultural Român / Romanian Cultural Institute); Social Furniture (Austrian Cultural Forum New York in cooperation with the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber and Vienna; and Consulate General of Portugal in New York.

“Thanks to the collaboration between the members of EUNIC New York and the support of EUNIC Global, the project presented at WantedDesign Manhattan brought representatives from the emerging generation of European designers who are taking a personal responsibility to climate change by finding innovative and out-of-box solutions to environmental concerns,” said Miroslav Konvalina, President of EUNIC New York and Director of Czech Center New York.

“These designers push the boundaries in their respective fields and carefully consider the full life cycle of their products. I am very pleased that the exhibition was recognized for outstanding work and that the two talks found a receptive and engaged audience in New York.”

ECO SOLIDARITY was also honored with the ICFF Editors’ Award for Best Booth 2022. For more info visit here

Four Maltese artists participate in the New York group exhibition UN/MUTE 2021

An international group exhibition of collaborative works by 28 artists across multiple disciplines, including Maltese artists. On view at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York and Undercurrent, the exhibition is the culmination of an 18-month-long project that was launched in 2020 to provide European and NYC-based artists an opportunity for critical exchange and collaboration during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The four Maltese artists that participated among other international artists were Mariella Cassar-Cordina, Tricia Dawn Williams, Aaron Bezzina and Alex Camilleri.

Read more about this project here

 

Maltese visual artist Aaron Bezzina represented Malta in UN/MUTE-10002, a three-month online residency that provided artists an opportunity for a critical exchange and collaboration while simultaneously connecting resources from the global cultural epicenter of New York City.

UN/MUTE-10002 brought together ten European artists who have never visited New York City with ten NYC-based artists. Paired into teams of two, each EU-NYC artist team worked to create a new and unique work of art together. Over a series of Zoom sessions, each team’s collective creative process unfolded in a series of video recordings.

Artist Aaron Bezzina explains that all artist residencies “have some form of affect on the work produced during that time”. He believes that this particular residency “will be different, since it will be digital and the process has to be liaised with the other counterpart, another artist. This virtual space will allow a collaboration that would manifest in something that is not” simply “the merger of two ideas but something new.”

Aaron Bezzina was paired up with NYC artist Kyle Hittmeier. Their zoom sessions may be viewed on the UN/MUTE website, here.

 

Anna Horvath selected to represent Malta in ECO Solidarity, a project curated and presented by eight global institutions including Arts Council Malta in New York 
 

Arts Council Malta in New York is proud to present Anna Horváth’s Aha Objects with her project Sorgi at the WantedDesign Manhattan and ICFF online Trade Show - CLOSEUP 2021, this May and at the WantedDesign exhibition (June-Aug) as part of ECO-Solidarity, an initiative of the European Union National institutes for Cultural (EUNIC) in New York.

At a moment when the world grapples with climate change, bold new ideas are needed more than ever. It is with this urgency in mind that eight EU countries came together to announce the second edition of ECO Solidarity (https://www.wanteddesignnyc.com/eco-solidarity-2021/), an international project, movement, and initiative focused on design solutions for some of the most pressing issues of our time.

Eight visionary designers were selected to share products and projects that thoughtfully consider positive social impact, design empathy, and sustainable materials, and narrative designer and architect Anna Horváth is the  designer chosen to represent Malta in this project co-organized by Arts Council Malta in New York together with seven other New York based European cultural institutes, in partnership with WantedDesign Manhattan. 

Anna is hoping that “this experience will encourage and inspire her endless search for new ways of recycling construction waste and creating objects which are symbols of the possibility of truly sustainable business.” She believes that her project “has the potential to trigger conversations about sustainability and circularity in the built environment while making a strong critical statement on the fastly-changing architectural landscape of Malta”

 

EUROPEAN LITERATURE DAYS 2020 - November 2020 


During the week of November 16-20 Arts Council Malta in New York together with the Austrian Cultural Forum, Italian Cultural Institute, Czech Center and Romanian Cultural Institutes in New York, presented the series European Literature Days 2020—NYC.

This 5 day series introduced new and diverse European books by authors from Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, Malta and Romania talking about their craft in engaging conversations hosted by Trafika Europe Radio.

Arts Council Malta in New York presented Maltese author John Portelli discussing his book of Short stories Everyday Encounters. Portelli discussed issues of migration and identity in his native Malta and adopted Canada, in the context of his collection of flash fiction, Everyday Encounters.

In this collection of short stories, Portellis authorial state of mind reflects his own migrant existence, where he goes back and forth between his place of birth and upbringing [Malta] and his adoptive country [Canada], the former being marked by those who left”, and the latter being a place marked by those who arrived” and who are always in search of a sense of belonging.  You can listen to his interview and all the other five European author interviews on Trafika Europe Radio HERE

 


This event was a partnership of Arts Council Malta, Austrian Cultural Forum, Italian Cultural Institute, Czech Center and Romanian Cultural Institute through the EUNIC NY cluster (European National Institutes for Culture in New York)

 

10001 - Summer 2020 

This past summer, Arts Council Malta in New York co-presented a collaborative virtual project presenting two Maltese artists with the opportunity to work with two other European artists during a 6 week virtual online collaborative residency.

As a gathering space for plural nations, cultures, languages, and beliefs, New York’s internationalist energy has flowed into the makeup of the artists in “10001.” Their practices ranged from moving and still visual and performing arts to music composition and film. Participating artists included artists from Poland, Malta, Flanders- Belgium, Austria, Lithuania and Estonia.

Borrowing the zip code from both the Empire State Building and New York City’s Central Post Office, project “10001” focused on the collaboration of strangers and the narrative of their collective creative processes using New York City as the linchpin. The twelve European artists, who had never met each other before, including Maltese composer Mariella Cassar-Cordina and film maker Alex Camilleri, were randomly paired, making up a total of six teams. Over the Summer of 2020, each artist team developed and worked on a project, and on September 11th, the teams unveiled the projects they created.

As the most densely populated city in the United States, 2020 saw New York city having to adapt and evolve, as families, neighborhoods, communities, and boroughs were faced with shelter-in-place orders, social distancing, closed country borders, and global protests for justice and racial equality. Covid-19 shuttered artists from residencies, travel, performances and exhibitions. This project gave 12 European artists the opportunity during this difficult time to work on a collaborative artistic project virtually.

Maltese composer Mariella Cassar-Cordina was teamed with Austrian artist Nicola Ginzel and together they created a complex, yet minimalistic artistic work titled Sonos Civitatem MMXX, a dialogue between music composition and visual art. Whilst film maker Alex Camilleri worked with Estonian photographer Terttu Uibopuu, creating a series of video diptychs documenting life in New York City amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

"10001" was co-organised and presented by Undercurrent gallery together with Arts Council Malta in New York, Austrian Cultural Forum New York, the Consulate General  of  Estonia in New York, the General Delegation of the Government of Flanders to the USA, the Lithuanian Culture  Institute  and the Polish Cultural Institute New York  as a European Union National institute for Culture NY cluster project.

 

 


For more info https://10001.undercurrent.nyc/


Blue Note Jazz Festival - June 2019 

In June 2019, Arts Council Malta in New York presented the Maltese Jazz musician Warren Galea at the Blue Note Jazz Festival in New York city. The Warren Galea Trio’s performance on June 22nd at the Blue Note Jazz Club, included two sets with the trio performing original compositions from their recently released album The Odyssey. Maltese guitarist Warren Galea who led the trio, was joined by drummer Henry Mermer and veteran bass player Andy McKee, who has toured with Philly Joe Jones, Elvin Jones and Michel Petrucciani.

 


For more info visit: https://www.artscouncilmalta.org/news/malta-at-the-iconic-blue-note-jazz-club-in-new-york.

 

Raymond Fight Beck - May 2019

Arts Council Malta in New York in partnership with New York’s Origin Theatre Co. presented Maltese playwright Andre Mangion’s “Raymond Fight Beck” in New York. For this production, New York Based South African artistic director Kim Kerfoot, assembled a stellar cast of  actors, whose outstanding voices and stage presence brought to life Andre Mangion’s play (trans. by Simon Bartolo). The play was presented at the Istituto Cervantes on May 13th in New York. This event was produced by Origin Theatre Company in partnership with Arts Council Malta in New York, and  presented as part of the second annual European Month of Culture New York City series produced in association with the European Union Delegation for the United States.

 

 

Fore more info visit: https://www.artscouncilmalta.org/news/arts-council-malta-in-new-york-in-partnership-with-new-yorks-origin-theatre-co-presented-maltese-playwright-andre-mangions-raymond-fight-beck-in-new-york

 

New York premiere film screening of Limestone Cowboy - May 2019 

Malta at Panorama Europe Film Festival in New York for the fourth year running. Arts Council Malta in New York presented the New York premiere screening of the film Limestone Cowboy directed by Abigail Mallia, as part of New York’s Panorama Europe 2019 film festival. With two screenings in New York, a New York premiere screening at the Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI) in Queens on May 5th, followed by a second screening to a packed theatre in Manhattan at the Bohemian National Hall on May 7th , LIMESTONE COWBOY, was one of nine other films directed by female directors in this year’s lineup.  The film centers around Karist, a hero in his own mind, who decides to contest the country’s election. Abigail Mallia’s boisterous and well-crafted film is brought to life by the convincing and delightful performances of lead actors, Paul Portelli as the eponymous cowboy, and Davide Tucci as his son. Both actors were present for both film screening events in New York and participated in a Q & A discussion after each screening. The discussions were moderated by the festival curator David Schwartz (at MOMI) and film director and actor Robert Haufrecht (at the Bohemian National Hall).

 

      

Panorama Europe Film Festival Opening night on Friday May 3rd, MOMI, NY. From Left: Davide Tucci, curator David Schwartz, Paul Portelli and Dr. Laura Falzon. 

For more info visit: https://www.artscouncilmalta.org/news/panorama-europe-film-festival-in-new-york-maltas-limestone-cowboy-screened-to-a-full-house

 

New Literature from Europe Festival - November 2018 

Dr Adrian Grima was invited to be one of the participant authors at the 14th edition of the New Literature from Europe Festival – New York City’s top European literary event. Celebrating cultural diversity and heritage while addressing the current challenges of globalization and migration, the Festival which was held over 3 days ( November 27 to 29, 2018) at the Istituto Cervantes in New York City included authors from 14 European countries with some of today’s foremost authors, editors and translators. 

                    


Photo credit: Michael Palma Mir   

 

New York’s Panorama Europe Film Festival - Spring 2018

New York’s Panorama Europe Film Festival, the essential festival of new and vital European cinema, returned for its tenth edition this Spring 2018 at the Museum of Moving Image, with a selection of 16 feature films and one short films programme — a selection of short new films from Malta presented by Arts Council Malta in NY. The Maltese short films screening on 19 May at MOMI included the New York premiere screenings of The Maltese Fighter (Dir. Arev Manoukian) and Arcadia (Dir. Jamie Vella), and, the US premiere screenings of Bajtra tax-Xewk/ Prickly Pear (Dir. Alex Camilleri) and Lejliet/Eve (Dir. Matthew James Ellul).

 

 

European Literature Night in New York City - May 2018

On 12 May 2018, Arts Council Malta in New York presented a book reading event at the European Literature Night in New York City featuring Pierre J. Mejlak and his book Having said goodnight - Mejlak’s captivating collection of stories which won the European Union Literature prize. The event was held at the Bohemian National Hall in New York City.        

 

           

 

Photoville - September 2017

In September 2017 Arts Council Malta in New York once again returned to Photoville as one of the programming partners presenting ISLE LANDERS, an exhibition by Maltese photographer Darrin Zammit Lupi. Photoville, is New York’s premier photo festival organized by United Photo Industries together with over 80 curatorial & programming partners which, amongst other include Arts Council Malta in New York, New York Times, Instagram, TIME Magazine, ESPN and National Geographic. A modular event built from re-purposed shipping containers, Photoville attracts over 75,000 visitors annually. 

 

 

Panorama Europe Film Festival - May 2017 

Panorama Europe 2017 featured Do Re Mi Fa, a film by Maltese director Chris Zarb. The 2017 edition of Panorama Europe Film Festival kicked off on 5 May in New York City, co-presented by the Museum of the Moving Image and members of EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture). Seventeen European new feature films were screened at the Museum of the Moving Image between 5-21 May 2017.

 

 

 Poetry Reading in New York - February 2017

On February 16th, 2017, Arts Council Malta (ACM) in New York, in association with the Embassy of Malta to the USA, sponsored a Poetry Reading event by award winning Maltese poet and novelist Immanuel Mifsud at the Library of Congress (LOC), James Madison Memorial Building in Washington DC.

 

 

Concert to launch the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union - January 2017

To mark the launch of the 2017 Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, a concert was held on Monday January 16th 2017 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City in the ECOSOC Chamber. This event was held under the auspices of the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Malta to the United Nations, H.E. Mr. Carmelo Inguanez, in collaboration with Arts Council Malta in New York. Tenor Nico Darmanin and pianist Charlene Farrugia performed a varied music program ranging from works by Maltese composer Joseph Vella to compositions by Liszt, Tosti, Ravel, Britten and Bertnstein.

 

 

New Literature From Europe Festival in New York - December 2016

Leading contemporary Maltese poet and fiction writer Immanuel Mifsud, winner of the European Union Prize for Literature (2011) and winner of the Malta National Literary Award, participated in the New Literature From Europe Festival in New York from 7th till 10th December 2016. 

 



Panorama Europe Film Festival - June 2016

Presenting the premiere New York screening of the first film to be selected as the Maltese entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards - Simshar, at the PANORAMA Europe Film Festival, in New York City.

 

The presentation of SIMSHAR, directed by Rebecca Cremona at the Panorma Europe Film Festival in New York in 2016.

 

PHOTOVILLE - September 2016

Participating in the leading Photography Festival - PHOTOVILLE, as one of the festival’s curatorial partners, partnering with organizations that included Instagram, The New York Times, TIME Magazine, National Geographic, The Pulitzer Center, the Magnum Foundation. 

 


One of the artworks by Ritty Tacsum exhibited at PHOTOVILLE in New York in 2016. 

 

Related Pages:

Maltese author Adrian Grima joins leading European voices at Literature Festival in New York

Arts Council Malta in New York elected a full member of the EUNIC New York cluster;

Malta represented at the New Literature from Europe Festival in New York;

The New Literature from Europe Festival in New York;

Arts Council Malta in New York joins Photoville’s curatorial partners.