Updated April 9 with biennale comment

A major artist association has derided the "lack of research and strategy" behind the maltabiennale.art large-scale event.

The Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association sought answers relating to the strategic, budgetary and curatorial decisions made during the three-month event. 

The biennale, which kicked off last month, features artists from 23 countries, but the event has been fraught with criticism from various sectors. 

They called on Heritage Malta, the Finance Ministry, the Heritage Ministry, and the Tourism Ministry to publish the research conducted and documentation of the event for which €1.7 million have been allocated.

The MEIA said the absence of open calls for critical roles such as artistic director and curators denied local professionals valuable opportunities to contribute to a national project.

"MEIA demands transparency and disclosure of all budget allocations, and agreements made with service providers and professionals without a public call."

MEIA president Maria Galea said, "As advocated in our tourism strategy, the concept of a triennale or biennale spanning all our islands holds great promise. While we appreciate the effort of the curatorial team in implementing the first edition of maltabiennale.art within their time constraints, the lack of proper research, transparency in selection processes, and organisational professionalism by Heritage Malta has been widely felt as a missed opportunity within the community."

The lack of consultation, clarity and transparency with which the organisers coordinated the maltabiennale.art was felt from the start with the event incorrectly being labelled as, "the first biennale". 

Artists' work became irrelevant

MEIA outlined that the original call for artists offered no financial remuneration or clear curatorial direction.

This initial misstep was corrected, yet scepticism seemingly remained due to the absence of an artistic director or curator, which raises questions about who created the curatorial concept.

MEIA also said that some artists' work became "irrelevant" due to the change of curatorial concept.

As the artists’ and pavilions’ selection process unfolded, extensive delays left artists and national pavilions with only four months to carry out the work. MEIA said that once artists were selected some were told by Heritage Malta of extensive budget cuts to their production fee.

Additionally, MEIA asked if and how MICAS, the Malta International Contemporary Art Space, was consulted in advisory roles in maltabiennale.art.

MEIA's call for transparency, accountability, and a comprehensive inclusion plan underscores a broader critique of biennales globally. The sentiment highlighted in an article in The Spectator last weekend pointed out the organisers' lack of expertise.

Galea added: "moving forward, it's crucial that we learn from this experience and collectively strive to enhance the inclusivity and organisational standards of such national events. We are here to assist, not criticise, and this core principle should be understood once and for all."

Questions were sent to the maltabiennale.art for comment. 

Biennale: Concept was 'expanded', not changed

A maltabienale.art spokesperson insisted the curatorial concept had been “expanded” rather than changed.

Curatorial staff had been head-hunted rather than selected following an open call, the spokesperson acknowledged, adding however that various local and foreign curators had been contacted.

The event budget has remained unchanged, the spokesperson said, and MICAS had been approached but did not get involved as it was focused on its upcoming launched.

“maltabiennale.art is giving a platform to over 140 local and international artists, the works of whom are uniquely presented in various sites throughout the islands, garnering considerable positive attention and acclaim from notable international media platforms and art critics, who praised the diverse range of contemporary art on display,” the spokesperson said.

Questions about who was responsible for curatorial decisions before an artistic director or curator was hired remained unanswered.