First National awards to celebrate Malta’s artistic achievements
Arts Council Malta launched a national awards programme to celebrate the achievements of Malta’s cultural and creative sectors. Il-Premju għall-Arti, will be Malta’s most prestigious award that acknowledges excellence in artistic work premiered during the year.
The award, a sculpture in glass and ceramic by Maltese artist Kane Cali, was unveiled by Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Government Owen Bonnici during a press launch at the Phoenicia Hotel. Minister Bonnici said that “artists and art organisations are the driving force of Malta’s creative ecology.” Minister Bonnici explained how IlPremju għall-Arti, announced as a budgetary measure for 2017, is a unique opportunity to acknowledge and to celebrate the success of our artists on a national level. Minister Bonnici reiterated how this appreciation towards Maltese artists is happening at a time when culture and the arts are experiencing an unprecedented flourish.
Albert Marshall, the executive chairman of Arts Council Malta, stated that the awards reflect the objectives of the council’s Create2020 strategy. “The awards will bring to the fore the distinctive creative contributions made by artists and arts organisations and the impact of their work on the cultural sector, audiences and communities,” said Marshall.
Eleven awards will been lined up for the ceremony to be held in January 2018. Toni Attard, Director of Strategy at Arts Council Malta, announced that the nomination process for eight of the awards will be based on an open call whereas the Lifetime Achievement award and the Ambassador for the Arts award will be recommended by Arts Council Malta. “A jury composed of sectoral experts will have the difficult task of independently voting for the nominees leading to the eventual selection of the winners. The public will also have the opportunity to reward their preferred artistic production of the year through the Audience Choice award,” concluded Attard.
The first edition of Il-Premju għall-Arti covers projects, productions or activities in the cultural and creative sectors which have been premiered or presented between the 1st of September 2016 and the 31 August 2017.
Nomination forms for the following categories will be received until the 27 October 2017:
The guidelines and nomination forms are available from www.artscouncilmalta.org
NGOs that are aptly registered are now also eligible to receive a VAT refund on equipment purchased for persons with disability, a Finance Ministry spokesperson confirmed.
Some commented on how a similar VAT refund scheme for persons with disability already existed. Asked about this, a Finance Ministry spokesperson said: “This is a completely new scheme and has nothing to do with any existing scheme. The eligibility criteria is not based on any conditions for persons with disability.”
The spokesperson continued to say:
“The scheme has extended the list of equipment used by persons with special needs and which will qualify for a VAT rebate. This will now include guide dogs for the blind and the Continuous positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machines. Moreover, the scheme is also applicable to those NGOs, which are registered with the Commission for Voluntary Organisations and which purchase special equipment on behalf of persons with disability. Such an NGO will also be eligible for the VAT refund on purchased equipment.”
This week government rolled out a scheme where it announced VAT refunds on equipment for persons with disabilities, and has now clarified that the capped thresholds it previously outlined is on refunds rather than the cost of the equipment.
Those classified as having a grade one disability are therefore eligible to get a VAT refund up to €4,000 instead of the threshold relating to the price of the equipment. Those with Grade two disabilities are eligible to receive a refund of up to €8,000, while grade three disabilities have an upper refundable limit of €12,000.
“Using the current five per cent VAT rate, these are the levels of qualifying expenditures which are derived. However the capping is on the refunds not the purchased prices.”
Disability grades have been worked out on the basis of the same grades used for disability pensions, the spokesperson confirmed. Asked about whether the figures quoted