Grech calls for 'big shift' in how Malta sees and treats the arts

Opposition leader Bernard Grech has called for a “big shift” in how arts and culture are treated in Malta, arguing that the sector continues to be undervalued and misunderstood.

He was speaking on Sunday during a meeting with a broad group of cultural practitioners, including actors, restorers, historical re-enactors, band club members, writers, researchers, and fireworks enthusiasts. Also present were representatives from MCAST, the University and the Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association (MEIA). Many of those attending were volunteers. 

“I want to see a shift. A big shift that this country and people need so the arts aren’t treated as something secondary,” Grech said.

“I hurt, I hurt a lot, when Julie (Julia Zahra, the shadow minister for culture) is ridiculed for singing, or when Claudette [Buttigieg] is ridiculed for singing. It’s like you are saying that to sing is something inferior,” he added.

Grech said that artists of all kinds, from performers to sculptors and painters, often faced ridicule for also being cultural practitioners. He shared a personal anecdote from early in his legal career when a judge mocked him in court.

“As I started speaking the judge told me ‘We are not on the stage here’,” he recalled. 

He spoke of his own experience spending part of his youth on stage and said he understood the challenges highlighted by those in the room, including the widespread view of arts as a hobby rather than a profession.

This was also a concern raised by MEIA president Maria Galea.

“The most persistent issue is the professionalisation of the sector. The sector needs to be considered economically as a profession, not a hobby,” she said.

Galea questioned the support available to artists, raising concerns over tax, VAT, and benefits. She cited MEIA research that found that workers in the performing arts earn an average of just €4 per hour.

Other practitioners brought up a range of recurring issues, including a lack of spaces and resources, excessive bureaucracy in funding applications, a need for both formal and informal education, and weak collaboration between artists. Other concerns included limited awareness and protection of Maltese heritage, inadequate support for volunteers and clashes and excessive competition between the private and public sectors. 

At the start of the event, organisers emphasised that the gathering was intended as a discussion, not a partisan political event.

However, one intervention quickly brought party politics to the forefront. Artist Mark Schembri, who was painting in the background while the discussion unfolded, said, “Unfortunately, while there has been this government, depending on your colour, either you move forward or you don’t.”

One of the event’s hosts, John Bundy, swiftly responded with a joke, pointing out that there was “a lot of blue” in Schembri’s painting.

Grech later said Schembri had expressed, in a less diplomatic way, sentiments he also shared.

“I noticed there are some funds which are always going to the same people,” he said. He also questioned how many in the room had benefited from public arts funding.

At least one person, Angele Galea, responded that she had received support.

However, Grech continued: “The reality is there are diverse events which take place and I see often the same faces.” He called for greater fairness in the distribution of funding and urged that no “discrimination” take place when opportunities are handed out. 

During the discussion, Shaun Curmi from the Buffalo Carnival Company raised concerns about the lack of funding opportunities available to carnival practitioners. In response, Grech pledged that, if elected to government, his party would deliver on the long-promised Carnival Village.

The project was originally featured in the Labour Party’s 2013 electoral manifesto but has yet to materialise. However, last year the Planning Authority approved the development of a major arts and culture hub in Marsa, which will include 22 carnival float workshops covering nearly 5,000 square metres and eight costume workshops spanning around 1,400 square metres.

The activity was also addressed by Julia Zahra who said that she and the Opposition leader understood the challenges faced by cultural workers and hoped the arts would be given more priority in the future.