Nice one Derek

The current exhibition of paintings and sculptures by Derek Nice, Sea Dreaming, is his second such showing at the centre. It can be seen in the Main Hall at St James up until June 22. The first exhibition by Mr Nice in 2003 also had a distinctly nautical bias. He has been making his very individual artworks since around 1999, sculpting and painting images very often inspired by maritime archaeology, myth and legend from all over the world. Mr Nice makes use of materials from the sea and shore and often incorporates pieces of driftwood into his works. He has a great love of wood and found objects and somehow manages to mould them into pieces that reflect their origin. He is undoubtedly a highly original and talented artist.

Derek Nice was born in London in 1933 and studied painting and ceramics at Southend Art School. This was followed by a post-graduate design year at the Central School in London. From 1960 to 1970 he was a television designer. From 1970 to 1980 he taught at Ipswich School of Art. He then moved to Devon to teach at Torquay School of Art, while also returning to TV with the BBC in Bristol and London. From 1980 to 2000 he designed for films and interactive museum projects including The Vikinglandet experience in Oslo and The Trafalgar Story in Portsmouth, where he was able to indulge his love of nautical history.

Another exhibition which carries over into this month, is the fascinating Art Brut in Austria show in the Upper Galleries at St James. This sometimes disturbing exhibition offers an overview of the work of the psychosocial institutions of all nine provinces of Austria as it has developed over the last few years. Psychiatrists in these institutions have encouraged their patients to draw and paint. By doing so some remarkable talents were discovered and developed through professional supervision in studios and workshops. This threw up some quite amazing results, as can be seen in the work exhibited in this travelling exhibition. It ends on June 15.

A third art exhibition will run at St James until June 23. This is the display mounted by engineering students from Mcast and the university.

Entitled Schism and running until June 23, the exhibition comprises a series of drawings. But these are not sketches or line drawings in the conventional sense. A variety of materials and techniques have been used to formulate a fascinating and innovative exhibition.

Theatre this month will be represented at St James by James Calvert's company Mellow Drama.

They will be reprising their very popular comedy, first produced for the MADC, God's Official by Robert Farquahar. Two of the original cast remain; Steve Casalletto and John Montanaro, who played the referee in the original production, but now takes over from Mark Cabourdin in the role of Cliff, while Alan Paris joins the cast as the unfortunate ref. In our opinion this is by far Mr Farquahar's best play and one to look out for.

It is both very funny and something of a cautionary tale of what not to do, if you happen to disagree with the referee's decision. God's Official plays at the theatre-in-the-round from June 14 to 16, then again the following weekend June 21 to 23.

The European Year of Intercultural Dialogue continues this month when the Intercultural Journey Through the World of Food once again explores the senses of taste and smell. The journey continues at the following supermarkets In Malta: At the GS Superstore in Naxxar, Arkadia Foodstore in Portomaso, Park Towers Supermarket in Santa Venera, Carters Supermarket in Paola and Arkadia Supermarket in Victoria.

Also this month and as part of the EYID, the Atrium at St James plays host to an exhibition entitled Commonwealth of Diverse Cultures: Poland's Heritage. The project, carried out by the National Library in Warsaw, takes the form of 10 short documentaries: Two films present the history of the National Library and general history of Poland, while the remaining eight films each present a different cultural group whose legacy has influenced contemporary Polish culture.

These include the following traditions: Lithuanian, Jewish, German, Islamic, French, Italian, Ruthenian and Armenian.

All this plus the usual St Catherine's Lunchtime concerts every Thursday and Sunday throughout the month, sets out another diverse and fairly hectic cultural month at St James.