MUSIC

Incarnatus Est: A Christmas Concert

The Voci Angeliche Choir and the Cordia String Quartet will be holding a Christmas concert at the Xagħra basilica today at 7pm.

The Xagħra basilica choir is made up of 28 choristers while the Cordia String Quartet is formed by musicians David Lang, Emese Tóth, Jacob Portelli and Frank Camilleri.

Entrance is free. Any proceedings collected during this concert will be in aid of the Malta Community Chest Fund.

Christmas Concert and Heritage Laser Show

The Swieqi local council is hosting a Christmas Concert and Heritage Laser Show at Forti Madliena and Victoria Lines tomorrow at 6pm.

The Għaqda Mużikali Madonna Ta’ Lourdes, San Ġwann, the Harmonic Ensemble Music & Voice Academy and singers Mike Spiteri and Ritienne will perform.

Entrance is free but a collection in aid of Id-Dar tal-Providenza, Siġġiewi, will be made.

Free transport will be available from Swieqi, Ta’ l-Ibraġ and Victoria Gardens by booking with the Swieqi local council.

It’s a Brassy Christmas

BrassTubes, an 11-piece brass ensemble, will perform a range of music − from traditional Christmas carols to popular pieces − at the conventual church of St Francis of Assisi in Victoria, today at 8pm.

Entrance is free. For more information, visit the ensemble’s Facebook page.

Et Incarnatus Est

St Sebastian parish church of Qormi is holding a Christmas concert today at 6pm.

The parish’s youth choir will be performing. Entrance is free.

Isma’ l-Għanja tal-Milied

The Żurrieq local council is hosting a Christmas concert at St Catherine’s parish church today at 8pm.

The Orkestra Żurrieq, founded in 2013, will be performing.

Entrance is free.

Michel Angelo & Friends – A Taste of Christmas

Tenor Michel Angelo Muscat is presenting the fifth edition of the annual Christmas concert at Għargħur parish church, today at 7pm.

Taking part are soprano Cledia Micallef, students from the Soċjetà Filarmonika San Bartilmew and pianist Marie Gauci.

Entrance is free but donations will be collected in aid of the Malta Trust Foundation.

THEATRE

Pentow bil-Malti: Addams Femili

Kumpanija Teatru Rjal is presenting its new panto in Maltese at the Catholic Institute, in Floriana, until January 8.

Written by Rodney Gauci, this year’s show is inspired by the popular and macabre, fictional characters of the Addams Family. 

For more information, visit the Facebook page of Kumpanija Teatru Rjal. For tickets, log on to https://bit.ly/3CKI7hf.

Ċikku and the Chocolate Panto

After a two-year absence, Masquerade Malta’s panto is back at the Manoel Theatre with Ċikku and the Chocolate Panto, written by Malcolm Galea and directed by Anthony Bezzina. 

The Masquerade Malta production tells the story of young Ċikku, a penniless young man who lives with his mother in a giant bajtra. Luckily, his fortunes change when he finds a coveted golden ticket to visit Willy Wonder’s famous Chocolate Panto along with a group of other winners. 

Galea also stars as Dame Desserta. 

Ċikku and the Chocolate Panto closes on January 8. For more information and tickets, visit teatrumanoel.com.mt.

Jack and the Beanstalk: A Rock’n’Roll Panto

FM Theatre Productions is putting on a panto for the first time in Gozo.

A cast of actor-musicians are performing on stage with live instruments throughout the evening, while Edward Mercieca will play the role of Dame Fażola Bigilla.

The panto is being staged at the Astra Theatre, in Victoria, until Friday, December 30. For more information and tickets, visit www.tnd.com.mt.

FILM

The Vatican Museums

The Eden Cinemas, in St Julian’s, is today screening a 2014 documentary exploring the length and breadth of the Vatican Museums.

Thanks to 3D and the most advanced dimensional techniques used in cinema, audiences can immerse themselves in the great masterpieces of art history: from paintings by Giotto, Leonardo da Vinci and Caravaggio to those by Van Gogh, Chagall and Dalì; and from the frescos in the Rooms of Raphael to the masterpieces by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel.

The documentary is narrated by professor Paolo Paolucci, director of the museums.

The screening starts at 9pm. The documentary will be shown again on Friday, December 30, at 10.30am. For tickets, click here.

CHRISTMAS ATTRACTIONS

The Magical Illuminated Trail

Verdala Palace in Buskett is once again hosting the Magical Illuminated Trail, featuring new and bigger attractions, light installations, projections and a new Christmas village. 

The magical after-dark adventure for all the family runs until January 7. Proceeds from the event will go towards the Malta Community Chest Fund.

For tickets, click here.

Christmas villages and attractions

Triton Square, in Valletta, is hosting Fairyland − Santa’s City, featuring favourite attractions such as Rudolph’s Wheel, an ice-skating rink and a Christmas market. Santa’s City runs until January 6.

The Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre in Ta’ Qali has turned into Santa’s World Malta until Sunday, January 1. Activities include an elf school and cinema, Santa’s House, live shows and entertainment by Danusan.

Other Christmas villages are open at Popeye Village in Mellieħa (until January 8) and the Malta National Aquarium in Qawra (until January 8). 

A jam-packed programme of activities is planned until the end of the month at the Valletta Waterfront, and the Christmas Village Malta runs at the Ta' Xbiex Marina until January 6.

In Gozo, the Magro Brothers are hosting The Magro Christmas Family Fest at the Savina Artisan Centre, Xewkija, until the end of December.

For more information, click on the links above.

Cribs 

Mechanical crib in Żejtun

The mechanical crib at the Jesus of Nazareth Institute in Żejtun, which has been operating since 1947, will be open to the public again this year until January 8 from 9.30am to noon and from 4.30 to 7pm. There is also a bazaar in the adjacent hall during the same opening hours.

Il-Qala tissaħħar bil-presepji 

A crib exhibition is being held at the Qala parish centre until January 8. It is open from Monday to Saturday from 5 to 7pm and on Sundays and public holidays from 10am to noon and from 5 to 9pm. 

Għaqda Ħbieb tal-Presepju Malta exhibition

The Għaqda Ħbieb tal-Presepju Malta is holding its annual exhibition of cribs at Palazzo Ferreria (in front of Pjazza Teatru Rjal) in Valletta, until Friday, December 30. Opening hours are from 9.30am to 7pm. Entrance is free.

Għaqda Ħbieb tal-Presepju Għawdex-Malta 1985 exhibitions in Victoria

The Għaqda Ħbieb tal-Presepju Għawdex-Malta 1985 is holding two exhibitions for Christmas – a crib exhibition, mainly by children, at the Gozo Ministry in Victoria, until January 6 and a crib display by Gozitan and Maltese artists at St Augustine’s convent, also in Victoria, until January 8.

Cribs and more at Mosta cultural centre

The Razzett tal-Markiż Mallia Tabone is hosting the 24th edition of its Christmas exhibition, featuring various cribs and other Christmas-related artworks until Sunday, January 1. Opening hours: Monday to Sunday from 5.30 to 8.30pm and Saturday and Sunday also from 9.30am to noon. Entrance is free.

Crib exhibition in Birkirkara

The St Joseph the Worker Exhibitions Society is once again holding  its annual cribs exhibition at the St Joseph the Worker parish centre, no. 71, Bwieraq Street, Birkirkara.

More than 100 cribs, of various sizes and materials, are on display, together with other items relating to the Christmas period, such as statuettes of Baby Jesus, pictures and decorations.

The exhibition closes today. It is open from 9am till noon and from 4pm till 8pm. Entrance is free. For more information, visit the society’s website and Facebook page. 

VISUAL ARTS

Versatility

Veteran artist Joseph Barbara's exhibtion of works, dating back to 2000, closes today at Wignacourt Museum in Rabat.

The artist is renowned for recycling plastic mineral bottles to construct sculptures that deliver an environmental message. This exhibition, however, also includes his paintings which range from ones that have a strong pop-art imagery, featuring mostly ballroom dancers, to others having an oriental theme and on to multi-thematic collages.

The museum is open daily from 9.30am to 5pm, with last entry at 4.15pm.

Biblical Inspirations

Anthony Calleja is showing a series of his latest works at art..e Gallery in Victoria.

As the title suggests, Calleja draws his inspiration from biblical texts, which he then recontextualises the narrative in his own distictive style. In other paintings, Calleja makes references to significant events that shaped or impacted on his personal life. 

Some of the works construe parallels with the artist’s religious altarpieces that are to be found around Malta. At the same time, Calleja challenges himself and constantly experiments with different forms of compositions, as well as an array of media and techniques.

The exhibition runs until Friday, December 30. For more information, visit the gallery’s Facebook page.

Artsy Christmas

Christmas-related artworks and more by a number of artists are on show at the Art by the Seaside gallery in Senglea until the end of the month.

The collective exhibition, as the name indicates, is linked to the Christmas season, having a wide range of hand-made arts, from candles, to jewellery to Christmas decorations and obviously wall hanging works.

Participating artists include Kevin Attard, Dave Calleja, David Debono, Rebecca Ranieri, Thomas Scerri and Kevin Sciberras, among many others.

Refer to the venue’s Facebook page for more information.

100 years – Commemorating Frank Portelli’s Art and Life

A small retrospective exhibition dedicated to artist Frank Portelli, one of the pioneers of Maltese modernism, is on at the Camerone, MUŻA, Valletta until January 8.

The oeuvre of Portelli, who was born 100 years ago, is at times very personal, like in his masterpiece La Vie, while at others he experiments with his version of cubism, which he termed as ‘crystallised cubism’. 

100 years – Commemorating Frank Portelli’s Art and Life is a collaboration between MUŻA (Heritage Malta) and Frank Portelli’s family.

Don Heywood: Artist in Residence at the Phoenicia

Don Heywood, a distinguished British painter specialising in portraits and wildlife studies, is currently exhibiting at the Palm Court Lounge of the Phoenicia Hotel.

The artist is presenting paintings related to the seven important migratory birds that are found on the Maltese islands, these being the hawfinch, the goldfinch, the linnet, the greenfinch, the siskin, the serin and the chaffinch.

Also included in this exhibition are three large paintings of two endangered species of wild animals, the snow leopard and the polar bear.

The exhibition, curated by Louis Laganà, runs at Phoenicia Malta until Sunday, January 1.

Art at the Corinthia Palace

The Corinthia Palace Hotel in Attard is hosting a collective exhibition of contemporary artworks by 13 local and international artists.

The paintings are from the Allura Art collection and range from landscapes and seascapes to florals and abstracts. They include new and previously unseen work.

The artists taking part are Andrew Borg, Christine Porter Lofaro, Jo Dounis, Kevin Sciberras, Debbie Bonello and Rosette Bonello from Malta and Christopher Saliba and Bob Cardona from Gozo. Foreign locals include British-Maltese painter Andrew Smith, Bulgarians Vania Goshe and Bogdan Dyulgerov, Natasha Dadush from Russia and Marianne Ogden from the US.

The exhibition runs until January 8. More information about the exhibition is available here.

'The tree is saying things, in words before words' 

Catherine Cavallo, a contemporary painter who lives and works in Malta, is presenting her latest collection at Il-Kamra ta' Fuq in Mqabba.

Her work is rooted in observations of the everyday, and looks to both the pockets of serenity and the upheavals that life presents for her inspiration. This is evident in her evocative figure compositions which are influenced both by daily life and by current world situations.

The exhibition runs until January 8. For more information, visit the gallery's Facebook page.

I Landed. Malta

Spazju Kreattiv and the Marlands Project have collaborated on a new exhibition featuring works by French artists Edgar Sarin, Lucy Orta and Max Fouchy and Maltese counterpart Sheldon Saliba.

Guest artist Sarin explored the island during his art residency in Malta as part of the Marlands project. His immersive, multilayered art project is the result of productive dialogues with islanders specialising in craft, culture and science.

During this exhibition, one can also take a trip to other Mediterranean islands through the artists’ work: Orta will take visitors to the Balearic Islands, and Max Fouchy to Sicily.

I Landed. Malta is curated by Elena Posokhova and Vince Briffa.

After the exhibition closes on January 8, it will move on to Catania, Sicily; Palma, Mallorca; Nicosia, Cyprus and Mallorca, Spain. For more information, click here.

Expressions

An exhibition by Rachel Galea at Il-Ħaġar - Heart of Gozo Museum features 31 of her latest works inspired by Gozo’s landscape. 

The exhibition runs until January 10. The museum is open daily from 9am to 5pm. Entrance is free.

For more information, click here.

Sights and sites

A new exhibition by Silvio John Camilleri at the King’s Own Band Club in Valletta investigates contemporary reality in which the ugliness of roads and pristine countryside have to co-exist as a dichotomy in Malta’s way of life.

Yet, the artist deciphers beauty even in the most inauspicious of locations, such as in the geometry of the road network and its juxtaposition with trees, streetlights and general urban elements.

Sights and Sites, curated by Fleur-Marie Ebejer, is on until January 11. Refer to the artist’s Facebook profile for more information.

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OTHER EXHIBITIONS

Sunetti: Minn Fomm u Qalb il-Poplu

Malta Libraries is holding an exhibition on Maltese sonnets at the National Library of Malta in Valletta.

It is open to the public, free of charge, until the end of December. One may visit between Monday and Friday from 8.30am to 4.30pm and on Saturdays from 8.30am to 12.30pm.

The exhibition catalogue and a sonnet written specifically for the occasion and printed on silk (limited edition of 100) are available for sale from the Reading Room.

Dumnikani fil-Palazz: Home & Temple

An exhibition at the Inquisitor's Palace in Vittoriosa tells of the special relationship between the palace and the neighbouring Dominican Order, especially in the post-war years.

Enemy war bombing in 1941 had left the Dominican community without a convent and a church, and they found temporary refuge beyond Vittoriosa. But they were called back by the need to fulfil their spiritual and educational mission among their people.

Eighty years ago, in August 1942, the Dominicans asked for temporary shelter at the Inquisitor’s Palace and, for almost two decades, the palace became the community’s home and temple.

The exhibition runs until January 8. The Inquisitor's Palace is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9am until 4.30pm. It will be closed on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Honor Frost’s Malta: A Pioneer in the Centre of the Mediterranean

An exhibition highlighting underwater archaeologist Honor Frost’s connection to Malta is open at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta.

Besides honouring Frost’s considerable legacy, the exhibition aims to offer a snapshot of Frost’s work in Malta through illustrations, artefacts and even some of her diving equipment.

The exhibition runs until January 15. Entrance is free of charge. One may visit the museum daily from 9am to 4.30pm. It will be closed on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

She Said Darling with a 'K': Reimagining Katya Saunders

Spazju Kreattiv is dedicating an exhibition to the life of Katya Saunders, three years after her death.

The exhibition, which features a catalogue of photos, clothes and memorabilia, highlights the different facets of one of the first transgender women who broke boundaries in terms of sexual diversity and inclusion in Malta.

The exhibition, curated by Charlie Cauchi and Romeo Roxman Gatt, is also complemented by the launch of Saunders's official biography, penned by Ramona Depares, Kayta: Easy on the Tonic, which will take place on January 6.

The exhibition runs until January 22.

Unseen and Unheard: Stories of Women Under Fire

The Storm Petrel Foundation is presenting an archival exhibition that sheds light on overlooked or previously unrecorded war narratives and microhistories from Malta and elsewhere.

It brings together items and artefacts drawn from different collections, with a primary focus on wartime experiences of women and girls.

The exhibition was inspired by a series of conversations between the NGO and Robert Attard, who had found a collection of letters written by a young German woman during World War II, some of which are on display.

The exhibition is organised across five different rooms at the Storm Petrel Foundation’s premises in Attard, with each room representing a different era or focus.

The Storm Petrel Foundation has collaborated with Simon Cusens, Kim Dalli, Sharp Shoot Media, Media Coop, Tayar Foundation for Jewish Heritage in Malta, Sarah Chircop and Giuliana Fenech, Heritage Malta, Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna and Palazzo Falson.

The exhibition runs until April 14. Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday from 5 to 8pm and on Saturdays from 10.30am to 1pm. For more information, visit the foundation's Facebook page.

whatson@timesofmalta.com