A work of art must be shown in perfect surroundings in order to be seen at its best.

By the end of this year Malta's art treasures will be show cased in the state of the art Mużew Nazzjonali tal-Arti, within the repurposed Auberge d’Italie. This historic building will be the setting for not only paintings and artefacts but also education and creativity. And, at three times the size of the previous Fine Arts Museum, it is well able to house the entire collection of over 20,000 pieces.

This €10 million project was funded through the EU, and the work was, fittingly, carried out during Valletta's term as a European City of Culture.. The building will house a completely new museum concept, developed especially for Malta.

Once the winners of an international design competition, launched in 2013, were announced, the following year work began on the design layout and how the concept would be developed. A multinational team: DTR and CYAN Engineering, Martello Media, an Irish multidisciplinary team specialising in exhibition design and interpretative planning, and two Maltese companies, presented the chosen project. Maltese experts also worked together with Heritage Malta’s recognised specialists.

Far from presenting dusty rooms full of badly-lit pieces, with 'do not touch' notices jostling for space between faded information labels, this museum aims to offer visitors the experience of engaging with and even co-creating the exhibitions’. It want to encourage criticism and promote art in social, intercultural, creative ways. There will be all the wow factor of viewing amazing pieces of immense age and or artistic beauty, and contemporary works, combined with new ways to appreciate them, through interactive and educational facilities. Foreign and Maltese contemporary artists will be able meet to discuss new ideas.

As a national art museum for the community, its galleries and public and retail spaces will combine to involve visitors as participants rather than just spectators, and to promote an inter-cultural dialogue and an appreciation and respect for the history of art and its different forms, even if is it not all to our taste.

Of course galleries and museums can only thrive if they have a continuous footfall. Tourists and visiting exhibitionists immediately come to mind, and they are welcome and valued. But, it is the local population who benefit from and keep alive a thriving collection. School children and young people need to see such centres as somewhere they can relate to; a source of interest and creativity in which they can see that their input is not only encouraged but needed and appreciated. Mużew Nazzjonali tal-Arti is geared up for this.

Again, thanks to technology, serious attention is being paid to how children will be able to explore and discover the art world at their own level, and in a way that encourages curiosity and inventiveness as never before.

Finally, as befits a building containing centuries of ageless, priceless, irreplaceable works of art, the new museum is designed to operate within the best practices of all 21st century buildings. It will be powered using green and renewable energy – a combination of ancient and modern that reflects perfectly the noble city in which it stands.