Growing up, Anna Calleja’s art book included barely any female artists, leaving her with no examples of great women who could pave a path she could follow, which made her doubt she could reach where she is today.

Now a full-time artist, she speaks to Times of Malta quickly before the paint dries on her “wet-on-wet” artwork, as one of three women in residence at Palazzo Monti, a cultural centre in Brescia, Italy, invited to join the annual Great Women Artists residency, run by Katy Hessel.

Hessel is the acclaimed author of The Story of Art Without Men, a rewrite of the Ernst Gombrich’s classic The Story of Art, which includes the women left out and is now as essential as its predecessor.

Celebrating women artists, The Guardian columnist has now launched Museums Without Men, an audio series highlighting works by females and gender non-conforming artists in collections worldwide, including The Met and Tate Britain.

Hessel handpicked Calleja to join the residency, where she has now been living and painting for the past month.

Calleja identifies with the need to spotlight women in art, explaining that she studied the subject privately, deemed “useless”, since she perceived the art world as dominated by men.

“The great masters in the canon were all male and there was no female representation in the artbooks,” she said about Gombrich’s tome every art student studies.

It was not until later that Calleja dived into the art world, making it a full-time practice for the last four years, and she acknowledges the opportunities to dedicate herself to this, to grow organically and to feel “validated” as an artist.

“Things are changing, with more women and queer spaces. Even prices of women artists are going up. But we cannot take anything for granted. I am talking about recent history when I say my grandmother did not have a vote and a voice…”

As the recipient of the Premju Għall-Arti for Best Young Artist by Arts Council Malta, Calleja went on to study Fine Art at Falmouth University and has since exhibited internationally, including in London, Paris, Berlin, New York City and Dallas.

It was during a retreat in Surrey at the beginning of the year that Hessel contacted her to meet up over a coffee. She had been following her work.

Until then, the Maltese artist had listened to Hessel’s The Great Women Artists podcasts – interviews with the likes of Marina Abramović and Tracey Emin.

A self-portrait of artist Anna Calleja for her first solo exhibition in London.

What followed for Calleja was an intense period to finish her body of work for her upcoming first solo exhibition in London and be able to join the two-month residency.

From her own studio in the palazzo – a cherished space for an artist – she explains what it means to have been invited by Hessel.

“It is always lovely to be acknowledged for your work and know your practice is heading somewhere,” Calleja said.

Already in her second month in Brescia, the artist in residence has been mostly “nocturnal”, painting away to later take stock, choose, discard and repaint for the upcoming exhibition at the palazzo.

Eight centuries old, it belongs to Edoardo Monti and is full of action as the owners open their doors to an eclectic and inspiring group of people.

Palazzo Monti is well-known in Italy for its residency programme, which artists generally apply for and around 30 a year get selected to join.

Back in Malta, Calleja is based at the Valletta Design Cluster, where she shares a studio, so the simple fact of having her own space all to herself and the “freedom to paint on the walls and make a mess” is already something.

Studio space is not easy to come by for artists in Malta, where there is no dedicated building catering for this. She spent years working from home, which is not ideal but better than renting an expensive garage, probably underground.

Calleja works across painting, printmaking and installation and says it is an “intense and intimate” process, where she draws from her personal experience.

Her works are autobiographical, with subtle gestures and references to the history of painting in Europe, often related to Catholicism.

Calleja’s London exhibition, One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night, is being held at Sim Smith Gallery between November 21 and December 21.

“It is full of contradictions, comfort and anxiety… exploring inner conflicts; an intimate portrayal of my relationship over the last year.”