Kultura.TV legacy:

FRAGMENTA Book Crowdfunding Campaign from Fragmenta Malta on Vimeo.

Fragmenta
After 5 successful years, it was time for a celebration!
FRAGMENTA is proud to present all projects realized between 2013 and 2018 in form of a retrospective exhibition. Archive material of the past 5 years, as well as new contributions by FRAGMENTA artists, will be on display. Expect videos, live performances, anecdotes, jokes, surprises, fireworks, and bangs. We will show the real fragments of FRAGMENTA Malta. FRAGMENTA has been supported by Valletta 2018 – European Capital of Culture.
Fragmenta Malta
Malta’s Muses: Goddess, Madonna, Witch – A lecture and performance with Kay Turner. Fragmenta Malta is incredibly honored and proud to be able to present a site-specific performance by renowned folklore professor and performer Kay Turner on a special prehistoric site of Malta. Kay Turner will lecture on the overlapping her-stories of the Goddess, Madonna and Witch, three figures identifying Woman and women in Maltese life for generations, even millennia. Following the talk, Kay Turner will invite to a participatory performance. The performance will take form of a creative procession to which audience members are invited to join – or simply to watch. We are attempting to recreate a holy trinity. Additional performers from New York City: Mary Sanger, Karen Siegel, and Paula Schors
Since 2013, FRAGMENTA Malta has so far organized 25 art events and experimental exhibitions with many international artists. We are now raising funds to publish a book with an overview of these events, texts about art in public space and reflections on art’s responsibility in society, not only in Malta, but the whole world. The book also contains funny quotes, headlines, and absurdities. FRAGMENTA is an NGO based in Malta. It’s finally happening! The ultimate FRAGMENTA book is now available for pre-order! Written for both newcomers and long-time FRAGMENTA fans alike, this book – “FRAGMENTA 2013 – 2018. Art and Life in Public Space” – is a treasure-trove of art, art in public space and insider-information about Malta. Give your support here to help make this project happen! — https://www.indiegogo.com/…/fragmenta-malta-2013-2018-book-…Fragmenta Malta Bettina Hutschek

Art+Feminism
As part of the international Art+Feminism project, Spazju Kreattiv is hosting a wiki edit-a-thon to bring together people who are interested in learning how to edit Wikipedia to create new articles and improve existing content about women artists in Malta and their works. This hands-on event is led by Dr Toni Sant and facilitated by Wikimedia Community Malta and the M3P Foundation. There was also talks by historian Dr Tracy Prince, a Research Professor at Portland State University’s American Indian Teacher Program. Spazju Kreattiv M3P
Art+Feminism Edit-a-thon hija inizzjattiva bejn Blitz, l-Wikipedia Community Malta u Spazju Kreattiv ġewwa Saint James Cavalier taħt l-kappa tal-proġett Wiki Loves Art. Dan il-proġett inħoloq sabiex jiġu indirizzati ċertu nuqqasijiet fl-enċiklopedija diġitali, Wikipedia. L-attivitajiet infirxu fuq Spazju Kreattiv kif ukoll BLITZ li ospita’ wkoll esebizzjoni viżwali relatata mas-suġġett. Ltqajna mad-Direttur Artistiku Toni Sant fejn tkellimna aktar dwar dan il-katalogu li qed jinħoloq, b’kollezzjoni ta’ l-arti tagħna stess. Eventwalment dan qiegħed jitpoġġa fuq s-sit www.m3p.com.mt sabiex dan l-istess materjal ikun aċċessibbli għal kullħadd. F’kollaborazzjoni ma’ BLITZ, l-organizazzjoni ta’ l-arti kontemporanja fil-Belt Valletta matul l-avveniment li jmiss ser ikunu qegħdin iħarsu lejn l-arti u l-femminiżmu. Art+Feminism Edit-a-thon ser issir fid-9 ta’ Marzu fit-15.30pm sas-18.30pm u fl-10 ta’ Marzu bejn l-10.00am u l-16.00pm ġewwa BLITZ, Sta Lucia Street, Valletta.
During 2018 Blitz will be hosting an ART+FEMMINISM edit-a-thon. Art + Feminism is an international project aimed at improving content on women and the arts on Wikipedia, and encouraging women’s participation in the encyclopaedia. In the lead up to this event, Blitz invited Flora Katz to to present a public talk and raise awareness about Art + Feminism. On the occasion of the International Women’s Rights Day (March 8th), an edit-a-thon will be organised for the first time in Malta on March 9th and 10th, 2018 at the Blitz gallery, with the support of the French Embassy. Flora’s visit is supported by the French Embassy in Malta. For more information about Flora Katz: https://www.fondation-entreprise-ricard.com/…/134-flora-katz For more information regarding upcoming events by Blitz: http://thisisblitz.com/programme/

The Valletta Design Cluster
The Valletta Design Cluster is a community space for cultural and creative practice situated in the renovated Old Abattoir building (Il-Biċċerija) in Valletta, Malta. The site is undergoing restoration and regeneration in order to host the Valletta Design Cluster facilities as of late 2019. Openness is one of the main pillars on which the Valletta Design Cluster concept builds its vision, placing itself as a key facility for learning, networking, creating, sharing experiences, ideas and projects with a number of stakeholders coming from different communities.
The Valletta Design Cluster is a community space for cultural and creative practice situated in the renovated Old Abattoir building (Il-Biċċerija) in Valletta, Malta. The site is undergoing restoration and regeneration in order to host the Valletta Design Cluster facilities as of late 2019. Openness is one of the main pillars on which the Valletta Design Cluster concept builds its vision, placing itself as a key facility for learning, networking, creating, sharing experiences, ideas, and projects with a number of stakeholders coming from different communities.
Playspace: New narratives for public space is a Valletta 2018 and a Valletta Design Cluster event, developed and delivered by Valletta-based creative studios We Live Here and AP Valletta, in consultation with Invisible Playground (Berlin), Siġġiewi Local Council and Council for Kids. The project proposes an open, street workshop with children as protagonists, where questions as to the nature of public space can be explored through the eyes and voices of the young. While we continue to sacrifice our precious public space for vehicles, we forget that those unable to drive, particularly children, suffer the consequences of car domination most acutely.

Shifting Contexts
The Shifting Contexts exhibition emerged following an open call for young artists by Aġenzija Żgħażagħ. Curated by Trevor Borg, this youth arts project explores the critical role of art in response to a rapidly changing world, one where young people are invited to contribute to the ongoing discourse on topical concerns. The exhibition illustrates how participating artists responded to the theme, which they all shift and move to an original context, thus generating new meanings that allow for further interpretations to emerge. Shifting Contexts promotes a shared vision for the future of young people in accordance with the National Youth Policy – Towards 2020. This will contribute to driving cultural, social and economic regeneration as envisaged in the mission statement of Valletta 2018 and collectively lead to the building of vital and dynamic visions for the future.

Constellation Malta
Curator Rosa Martinez, first female director of the Venice Biennale in 2005, brings an experimental and multi-disciplinary project to generate dialogue about contemporary art and popular culture in public spaces and heritage sites all over the Maltese archipelago. A contemporary art exhibition at various heritage sites sheds new light on megalithic sites like Ħaġar Qim, the fortified cities of Mdina and the Citadel, and other historical and popular venues on the Islands. Just as celestial constellations were shaped to provide orientation, the artistic interventions in Constellation Malta will propose points, routes and new itineraries to navigate the local crossover of social, political, economic and artistic contexts. Moving from the local to the cosmic, the project will address the complexities of our contemporary world.

the Commons
We would like to invite local activists, academics and anyone interested in discussing with international speakers the need for commons in Malta. We are welcoming persons engaged in the defense of collective and cooperative actions, confronting the neoliberalisation of the commons. On November 23-24th (Friday and Saturday afternoons) a round table on the topic of “the Commons” will be held in Valletta, Malta as part of the annual European Capital of Culture. The round table is the culmination of a series of events called Utopian Nights that have been bringing together the public, artists, activists and intellectuals since 2017. Utopian Nights Valletta 2018 – European Capital of Culture

Download the Valletta 2018 Final Impacts Report

What makes a city better?
The fifth in the Valletta 2018 Foundation’s series of annual conferences, this conference encourages broad reflection on the central issues that define urban life by channelling its discussions through the basic question of “What makes a city better?”. This reflection aims to understand how cities can be shaped to better suit the needs and desires of the individuals and communities that it hosts, whether on a permanent or temporary basis. Valletta 2018 – European Capital of Culture

The Valletta 2018 Foundation’s Evaluation & Monitoring research plan enables the Foundation to assess the success, or otherwise, of the process in a consistent, accessible and comparable manner.

The Foundation has set up an Evaluation & Monitoring Steering Committee to monitor and evaluate the impacts of Valletta as a European Capital of Culture. The Steering Committee is composed of four public entities (Economic Policy Department, Jobsplus, Malta Tourism Authority, and National Statistics Office) and five researchers, conducting research of a quantitative and qualitative nature. The research plan runs for the period of 2015-2019.

The research plan is structured around 5 research themes, each containing a range of separate studies.

The annual Valletta 2018 international conference builds upon the vital dialogue established during previous editions. Over three days, the conference explores the legacy of the Valletta 2018 European Capital of Culture (ECoC) title locally and across the European spectrum. Topics discussed range from the creation of community projects to the regeneration of previously derelict areas in Valletta, all of which can foster a more vibrant and diverse city.

The conference is an invitation to assess and discuss the changing nature of the city and the future of cultural activity in Valletta. These reflections allow for a deeper understanding of the long-term residual impact of the cultural, social and economic regeneration that took place in Valletta in the run-up to and throughout 2018, ahead of the presentation of the Evaluation and Monitoring results which will take place in 2019.

Teodor Reljic reviewed V18 in MaltaToday: Looking back at 2018: After Valletta 2018, we will never be the same again

The Valletta 2018 Foundation and its ensuing initiatives were far from perfect, but the ability of the Capital of Culture title to bolster existing cultural infrastructure and networking opportunities cannot be ignored. This is the ‘big picture’ viewpoint that emerges from a conversation with a number of creative practitioners and cultural stakeholders on the island, when asked to give their take on Malta’s year as European Capital of Culture in 2018 — which officially concluded with a grand finale party in Valletta on December 15.

“The whole ECoC phenomenon generated unprecedented public awareness of the cultural sector and greater drive, funds and energy,” Albert Marshall, Executive Chairman of Arts Council Malta, said, adding that the series of events which made up the entire initiative also included some significant crowd-pullers, “but it was also this that might have engendered criticism about commercialisation”.

Despite this, Marshall believes that the events forming part of the Valletta 2018 calendar also made room for diversity and experimentation, citing projects such as Rima and Utopian Nights as “engaging people with diverse backgrounds or intergenerational participants”, while initiatives like AltoFest and the Gozo residency programme helped foster an international dimension.

Recalling the build-up towards the event, Kenneth Zammit Tabona, Artistic Director of Teatru Manoel, stressed that while the theatre itself was not directly involved with the Valletta 2018 Foundation, it nonetheless “benefited from the cultural atmosphere created, whose ‘value added’ is incalculable”, and among whose legacies one can list the Valletta International Baroque Festival, which held it inaugural edition in 2011, just as preparations for Valletta’s bid as Capital of Culture first began in earnest.

“We will never be the same again. Let’s hope the momentum will be maintained in future,” Zammit Tabona added, with reference to the recently announced Valletta Cultural Agency, which appears to be set up to build on the Foundation’s work beyond 2018.

Alexandra Pace, founder and director of Valletta-based contemporary art space Blitz, also emphasised the importance of maintaining a focused approach towards any legacy that the Valletta 2018 Foundation hopes to enjoy.

“To build a long lasting impact in the art field local players need continuity, strategy and a shared plan for the future. Uncertainty is terribly limiting considering we don’t have a developed art market to bank on, and much of what happened this year could be impossible in 2019 and upcoming years,” Pace said.

“The European Capital of Culture is an event-based initiative, so if Valletta Foundation is meant to stay, and I hope so, I would expect it to become a third party agency for the development of Valletta art scene in partnership with its art professionals,” she added.

However, the Foundation was also rife with controversy throughout its run up to holding the title over the past year — most of which related to the often injudicious and sometimes even uncouth political dimension that encroached on the project.

Perhaps the most recent and damning occurrence to blight the V18 experience — even attracting negative attention beyond our shores — was a social media gaffe by Chairman Jason Micallef, who in March snapped a picture of St Patrick’s Day revellers and posted it on Facebook, with an accompanying caption that appeared to ridicule the final written words of assassinated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Though any ill intention was vociferously denied by Micallef himself, the gaffe — flagged by PEN International as a reason to strip Micallef of his post — highlighted the troubled nature of the Capital of Culture unfolding under the shadow of Caruana Galizia’s assassination — particularly when Micallef and his team insisted on powering on with an upbeat ‘festa’ theme to colour the entire initiative; ostensibly as a way to make Valletta 2018 accessible to all, but in reality creating something of a parallel universe, where culture positioned as a tool of escapism while the realities of the assassination commanded most of our attention.

In fact, as former Valletta 2018 Executive Director Karsten Xuereb writes in a paper published as part of the congress proceedings of the 9th annual The European network on cultural management and policy (ENTAC) Education and Research Session (Budapest, September 2018), even the deeply contested space of the Daphne Caruana Galizia memorial in front of the Valletta Law Courts ended up literally ‘upstaging’ a Valletta 2018 exhibition.

“The opening of [Dal-Baħar Madwarha (‘The Island Is What The Sea Surrounds’)] took place in front of the cistern entry, in front of the Law Courts in Valletta, and hence just steps away from the Great Siege memorial that has, over the past months, brought together people marking the memory of Daphne Caruana Galizia through makeshift means, attracting international attention and arguably adding nuances to tourists’ perspectives of Malta and its culture,” Xuereb writes.

However, Xuereb’s dismissal from his Valletta 2018 post, along with that of former programme coordinator Margerita Pule, in fact also stands as a black mark on the Foundation’s reputation. A seemingly out-of-the-blue move decided upon just months before the official beginning of the Capital of Culture year, the move raised questions both on the ethical implications of the dismissals, as well as the suspect strategic choice behind replacing such a key post at the eleventh hour.

An open letter signed by a generous number of local artists to this effect led to a dismissive response by Micallef himself, with Parliamentary Secretary Deo Debattista stepping in to offer some consultation sessions with the artists in question, little of which appears to have built substantial bridges.

Reacting to the aura of fear — even hostility — that appears to characterise the artist/government body relationship in Malta, Maren Richter, curator of the ‘Dal-Baħar Madwarha’ exhibition, commented that, “Art and culture should not be orchestrated nor overshadowed by politics. Art itself is never free of the political. But it should be given the freedom to speak for itself.”

Richter also observed how, “There were quite a few international TV teams in Malta this year, who would tell me that they got the impression that artists feared to talk about certain issues in public – with the result that those TV teams rather focused on this observation than on the actual art projects. This is a real pity. Ideally, politics should be narrated through the arts not arts through politics. And the bigger a festival, the more this has to be taken care of actively.”

After all was said and done, a number of local artists and cultural stakeholders appear to be ready to treat any misgivings as water under the bridge, provided that real, structural shortcomings are seen to and acknowledged.

Among these is the undeniably baffling reality of the Foundation never having a ‘proper’ artistic director. While Mario Philip Azzopardi — a contentious figure in his own right, with a social media trigger-finger to rival that of Jason Micallef — was officially given that post, he would quickly clarify that his role was simply that of orchestrating the large-scale spectacles under the 2018 remit, such as its opening ceremony on January 20 and the Pageant of the Seas event.

For Toni Attard, head of strategy at arts funding body Culture Venture and former director of strategy at Arts Council Malta, the lack of such a central figure goes some way towards explaining the erratic shifts in approach that characterised the Foundation’s run-up to the Capital of Culture year.

“From the first bid-book to the final delivery of Valletta 2018, one notices quite a different programme,” Attard said, stressing how the initial idea for the Capital of Culture year was “more artist-led”, with various projects originating from the artistic communities themselves rather than being conceived and controlled by a central governmental body. “Granted, some of these survived the cull and made their way into the final programme… however, they ended up being fringe-like events. This is hardly surprising given that Valletta 2018 ended up without any official artistic director on board, save for its large-scale events.”

The lack of attention being given to ‘smaller’ events certainly finds itself echoed among representatives from the theatrical scene. Among them is Sean Buhagiar, Artistic Director of Teatru Malta. While stressing that Valletta 2018 provided an undeniable boost for the Maltese cultural scene — not least because it put culture on the national agenda in an unprecedented way — he agrees that the tendency to boost flashier large-projects at the expense of their smaller counterparts was something of a misstep.

“Besides the fact that I believe there was way too much happening — causing audience exhaustion and an unsustainable calendar of free events — it was quite a shame to see brilliant projects like Magna Zmien, Gewwa Barra, Latitude 36, Solar Cinema and other projects led by passionate artists being almost disregarded when compared to the high-priced, sugar-coated, large-scale projects. From what I’ve experienced personally, it is these smaller-scale projects which will form part of a real intangible heritage. The focus could have been narrowed down, so as to improve such projects. I would put this down mostly to a lack of a clear, cohesive artistic vision,” Buhagiar said.

Similarly, actor and playwright Malcolm Galea said he would have preferred to see “fewer extravagant and expensive one-off projects and more of a focus on smaller projects that have a higher chance of being self-sufficient and ongoing for the next few years, thereby generating a legacy.”

Actor and director Philip Leone-Ganado, whose ‘Shakespeare at the Pub’ productions offered an interesting ‘fringe’ experience of local theatre, unshackled from public funding institutions, was even more impassioned when discussing the shortcomings of Foundation — both in terms of its attitude towards smaller and ‘dissenting’ voices, and the overall direction that it took as an entity.

“I wish they had realised that appointing divisive figures to lead your project will lead to a divisive project. I wish they had engaged with the whole of the community, not just the parts of it that said the words they want to hear. I wish their insight into what makes the Maltese cultural scene tick extended beyond the festa, that appealing to everyone is appealing to no-one, that ‘give the people what they want’ only takes you so far. I wish they’d focused less on spectacle and more on laying a real groundwork artists could build on in the years to come,” Leone-Ganado said.

Adrian Buckle, founder of Unifaun Theatre, was even more direct and abrasive in his assessment of the Valletta 2018 Foundation and its legacy, simply stating that, “V18 will only be remembered for the parties.”

A more sober analysis came from Daniel Azzopardi, Programme Manager at Spazju Kreattiv at St James Cavalier — one of Valletta’s most prominent cultural institutions.

“There’s always room for improvement, and this is no exception,” Azzopardi said, emphasising the need for “more training programmes and investment in professional development initiatives in areas such as technical work, backstage and production management”.  He also regretted an apparent lack of synergy and collaboration with other public cultural organisations in the development of a holistic long-term sustainable strategy that “enhances opportunities for professionalisation, creates alternative ways of funding, develops systematic audience engagement practices and sets benchmarks for artistic excellence”.

However, others took an even more pragmatic approach to the matter, suggesting that we should moderate our expectations as to what to expect from a Capital of Culture, even confronted with its European reality. It is a viewpoint perfectly encapsulated by Mark Camilleri, Executive Chairman of the National Book Council.

“The biggest recipients to the success of Capital of Culture were businesses in Valletta, but people should not be surprised by this because this is what often happens in Capitals of Culture. Governments tend to view Capitals of Culture as an opportunity to increase tourism and business in the city more, rather than bolster cultural and intellectual development,” Camilleri said, adding that, however, that, “It would be empirically wrong to say that the Capital of Culture didn’t bring about any benefits at all to local culture industries”.

“The Capital of Culture gave a legitimate excuse for cultural and educational bodies like the National Book Council to lobby for more public funding and resources. We have used Capital of Culture as a pretext to lobby government to grant the National Book Council a 16th-century Baroque palace in Valletta. We were successful, and we aim to turn the newly-granted palace into a freely-accessible public space, Museum of Literature and a bookshop which serves as a cultural agent. In a similar way, it remains up to the culture and educational institutions to ensure to leave a long-lasting legacy and bring forth cultural and intellectual development,” Camilleri added.

Contacted for comment, Valletta Major Alexiei Dingli reiterated his desire to disassociate himself from the Foundation, and refrained from commenting further.

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