More cultural infrastructure
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Carnival will now be an experience like never before, to be enjoyed by all enthusiasts, local or foreign, throughout the whole year
“Scheduled to open in 2021, MICAS will not only become a showcase for local contemporary artists, but will also engage with international institutions to present groundbreaking works
A month and a half before the year’s end, I already look back with great satisfaction. It has been a superb year for the cultural sector; enhanced, this year, by Valletta’s designation as European Capital of Culture.
S tatistics show an increase in culture oriented-tourists, and a record of visitors at the Heritage Malta historic sites and museums.
The coming year already looks very promising in this sector. And it will be. We are currently working on several projects which will continue to enhance the local cultural scene. Moreover, these cultural infrastructure projects will be there for future generations to enjoy and participate in. In other words, to make these projects their own. A few days ago, we saw the opening of MUŻA - a fantastic project which will make all the difference. But this is just the beginning.
One of the projects that I have at heart is the Valletta Design Cluster, which is the brainchild of Valletta 2018 and its chairperson, Jason Micallef, and his team. This will be a community space for cultural and creative practice in the heart of Valletta, situated at the Old Abattoir site in our capital.
Up to a few months ago, the Old Abattoir was an abandoned structure in the heart of one of Valletta’s residential quarters. Now, it will form part of a new Cluster; an infrastructural project that will catalyse urban development in this long-neglected area of the capital city.
The groundwork is being laid for the Cluster’s main strategic objectives, linking education, industry support, awarenessbuilding, and research and policy initiatives aimed at strengthening the contribution of design to social and economic well-being. One direct result of this is the Cluster’s inclusion in the Malta Council for Science and Technology’s action plan, which emanates from the National Research and Innovation Strategy 2020. Another is the research conducted and published by the Economic Policy Department of the Ministry for Finance, presenting initial insights into the links between design activity in Malta and the general economy.
The Valletta Design Cluster has also started to establish itself as a point of reference for design initiatives both locally and internationally - accepted as a new member of the Bureau of European Design Associations (BEDA).
The project’s proximity to Valletta’s residential community is a major element in the project’s development phase. In 2016, the Cluster partnered directly with the Valletta 2018 Foundation, as well as with the Centre for Environmental Education and Research at the University of
Malta, to build on this first step in community engagement. The Cluster plans to take this initiative further in collaboration with the neighbouring community, by providing a platform for a Local Action agenda that empowers action directly by community members to improve the quality of life in its shared common spaces.
Another project that will enhance another local tradition is the Malta Carnival Experience. Throughout the years, the Maltese carnival, popular with locals and tourists alike, has striven to improve the quality of its installations and provide a decent space where these creations can be produced, exhibited and stored. This has resulted in a new project - The Malta Carnival Experience which will see that this tradition enjoyed all throughout the year.
The Malta Carnival Experience will have an allocated space for carnival-related activities, with dedicated workshops and studios that were requested by carnival enthusiasts to plan and construct carnival floats and other initiatives. This experience is intended to attract tourists, increase visitor numbers during Carnival, and maximize financial input by supporting the creative economy. This will be achieved by emphasising one dominant theme around which the architecture, landscape, shows, food services, costumed personnel and retailing will be orchestrated accordingly.
With this project, Carnival will now be an experience like never before, to be enjoyed by all enthusiasts, local or foreign, throughout the whole year.
Culture is about all that is a tradition, be it a structure, a religious niche, but also a folk tale, traditional music or even a local snack. However, culture is not just that. Take the musical sphere – particularly ever-popular rock music.
I am also pleased to have this project on my table. The Rock Hub is a project which seeks to ensure that musicians, artists and rock music enthusiasts have a rehearsal and performance space to immerse themselves in their passion; a place where rock artists and fans will be enabled to enhance their talents and help boost this sector.
This Rock Hub will also foster local talent and help musicians further themselves. It is our hope, in fact, that this project will help to develop the rock scene in Malta, and plug gaps where musicians have seriously struggled to find spaces to work.
The idea for the Rock Hub came about after wide consultation between a number of artists and fans of rock music and the Malta Arts Council.
Launched in the past weeks, MICAS – the Malta International Contemporary Art Space – has already hit the international scene. The influential Architectural Digest, a couple of days back, mentioned it in an article titled ‘A Design Lover’s Guide to Malta’. This digest has already marked another achievement in this sector – MUŻA – as one of the top international museums to open in 2018.
MICAS is intended to strengthen Malta’s cultural infrastructure by providing a platform for contemporary art and internationalisation; one devoted to showcasing international contemporary art and visual culture through exhibitions, interaction and exchanges, and a range of cultural activities, educational events and programmes. MICAS will be a great step forward towards Malta becoming a proactive player in the contemporary art world.
Scheduled to open in 2021, MICAS will not only become a showcase for local contemporary artists, but will also engage with international institutions to present groundbreaking works by acclaimed artists from all over the world.
MICAS aims to positively energise Malta’s cultural ecology and impact that of the EuroMediterranean region it inhabits with a mission to be an advocate for contemporary art by raising public awareness to the significance of the visual arts in contemporary life, and by bringing to the forefront the way art and artists help mediate and interpret the world we live in.
MICAS is a public legacy project for the arts and culture sector, and will be realised through state- funded restoration of historical fortifications.It is earmarked to be an EU co-funded project that will deliver the MICAS internal galleries through the European Regional Development Fund in 2021.
Another endearing project is the regeneration of the Grandmaster’s Palace in Valletta. Plans for this regeneration started even before Parliament moved out to the new Renzo Piano building.
As I announced in May, this palace in Valletta is set to get a much-needed overhaul thanks to an EU-funded project, the biggest investment in the palace since Independence. Our aim is to regenerate and revitalise the Grandmaster’s Palace by creating an effective and engaging museum environment, ensuring a memorable visitors’ experience.
With works on the facade, which was last restored in 2012, the project will also see the Palace Armoury reinstated in its original place, an entrance foyer and interpretation centre, and facilities for an exhibition about the Order of St John, whilst some €5 million will be spent on the restoration of art works on the ground floor. A total 80 per cent of the costs will be funded by the European Union.
The reader is probably out of breath reading all the projects currently underway. We are so excited about what is in store for the cultural scene.