Argy Bargy

It should come as no surprise to learn that the St James Centre for Creativity is this month heavily involved in the Malta Arts Festival. On the theatrical side, this weekend Chris Gatt will be directing a stage version of Vince Vella's award-winning radio play The Pardon Beggars. The action takes place in the wake of the fall of the Argentine military junta after the Falklands War. The cast comprises Pia Zammit, Manuel Cauchi, Coryse Borg and John Suda. Tickets may be purchased from Exotique, Agenda, Vodafone, Bookends and Newkiosks outlets, as well as from www.maltaticket.com.

Still on the subject of theatre, this month also sees the start of auditions for the recently-launched Kneeplays Youth Theatre. These auditions will take place between July 13 and July 17. This young people's theatre project is the idea of St James' chairman Michael Fenech. Under the chairmanship of playwright Alfred Buttigieg, "Kneeplays seeks to empower young people to maximise their potential through the creation of first-rate theatrical art."

In the visual arts this month, The People's Republic of China has been responsible for some of the most spectacular exhibitions to be staged at St James. This year China is celebrating the 600th anniversary of one of its greatest explorers Zheng He. And we in Malta are indeed fortunate to welcome to St James an exhibition of artifacts connected with the voyages of Zheng. Most of the items on display are replicas of the priceless porcelain objets d'art of Zheng's time, but there are also pieces in clay, paper and wood - including a wonderful replica of Zheng's treasure ship.

The exhibition covered in Showtime last month and currently running in the atrium at St James entitled Commonwealth of Diverse Cultures: Poland's Heritage, has proved extremely popular and continues until July 27.

The annual exhibition by MCAST students has shown that a deep well of artistic talent exists in our islands. This is one showing that will both surprise and delight anyone who gives it a look.

There are also a number of events connected to the European Year of Intercultural

Dialogue this month. Among other activities, the sense of taste is again being stimulated at various supermarkets around Malta and Gozo - and there is another interesting and innovative collaboration in view. On July 11 in the Valletta Monti in Merchants Street, then again the following day at the Victoria Market in Gozo, the Italian sculptor Fernando Perrone will be present and the general public can watch him at work, in conjunction with a local Maltese artist.

Fernando Perrone was born in Lecce, where he still lives and where he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts. Since 1986 he has been designing and creating objects in "pietra Leccese" (Lecce stone), giving a modern interpretation to this material.

His creations are exclusively handmade and each one is unique.

His work is closely linked to the land and therefore has a decidedly ancient Mediterranean flavour, rich in archaic and primitive imagery.

While the objects are nevertheless functional and lend themselves perfectly to the world of interior design, there is this continual reference to nature, the land and the imagination.

All this and midsummer too. Oh yes... and of course the St Catherine's lunchtime concerts a round the corner will continue throughout July on Sundays and Thursdays.