Light, colour and culture
Over 70,000 people are estimated to have visited Valletta on Saturday for another successful edition of Notte Bianca. There was truly something to tickle everyone’s fancy, with hundreds of events held around the capital city. The display above, called the Underwater World Fountain Display, was erected by Mdina Glass. Photo: Jason Borg
Yet another successful Notte
Bianca was held on Saturday, with visitors flocking to Valletta in their thousands for the largest festival in Malta to experience the quality entertainment provided. An estimate of more than 70,000 people visited the capital to attend 90 different events spanning all the arts sectors performed within the settings offered by the capital’s architectural heritage, across the four corners of the city.
During his visit to this annual event, Justice and Culture Minister Owen Bonnici mentioned how Notte Bianca had become important to the country’s cultural calendar, offering the general public the opportunity to enjoy Valletta. Minister Bonnici added that this continues to build on the government’s priority to make culture more accessible by making artistic exhibitions and historical sites free of charge for everyone.
Bonnici thanked all artists and the staff who took part in this year’s edition and praised their work which is contributing to adding value to Malta’s cultural quality.
Artistic Director Sean Buhagiar explained how Notte Bianca continued developing on the work of past editions to ensure better quality in the projects.
“It was our joy experiencing all those smiles around Valletta. Both artists and audiences had one of the best experiences this year. We worked hard and I thank my large team, who put their heart into achieving a bigger success. This year, Notte Bianca saw a huge leap of quality – a festival which is much loved by the Maltese people. A heartfelt thanks to everyone!” he concluded.
This year Notte Bianca featured two important collaborations: the La Fura dels Baus workshop, which was led by the Spanish theatre group working with local artists and theatre practitioners to deliver an interactive performance which required the use of an app, and Notte Blank – a collaboration which resulted in a number of musical and visual exhibitions set up at Fort St Elmo. Similarly to last year, this year’s festival put an emphasis on commissioning digital media projects, such as Ajru, an interactive installation of several birdlike objects banding together in flight, a most impressive work which was set up in front of the National Library.
Notte Bianca was musically exceptional. Thanks to the festival, the Maltese public had the opportunity to listen once again to singer-songwriter Claire Tonna, who has been missing from the local music scene for two years, giving her rendition of a set of Leonard Cohen’s songs. There was also pianist Gabi Sultana, who is currently based in Belgium with the Spectra Ensemble, giving a recital of Philip Glass’ works to celebrate his eightieth birthday. Sammy Bartolo’s fans could enjoy a jazz version of his songs on Victoria Gate thanks to Sur Jazz. The concert was performed by Dominic Galea, together with his band, singer Nadine Axisa and the UK Jazz Drummer 2017 Clark Tracey. Notte Bianca now will pass on the baton of the largest annual event to Valletta 2018, when next year Valletta will be holding the title of European Capital of Culture, to continue
showcasing Malta’s creative and cultural sector on a national scale.
Notte Bianca was organised by the Festivals Directorate with Arts Council Malta under the Ministry of Justice, Culture and Local Government, with the support of Valletta 2018 Foundation, Valletta Local Council, MSV Life, Farsons and PBS.