THEATRE
L’ultima estate: Falcone e Borsellino 30 anni dopo
Spazju Kreattiv is today hosting a play to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Cosa Nostra murders and the death of magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.
The piece is produced by Simone Luglio and Teatro Metastasio di Prato, with a script by Claudio Fava and direction by Chiara Callegari.
After the performance, a Taħdita Teatru will be held with the creative team to discuss the process behind the play.
L’ultima estate is certified 12+. For more information and tickets, click here.
La Cage Aux Folles
Ray Calleja and Mikhail Basmadjian star in the main roles in an adaptation of the popular musical being staged by FM Theatre Productions and the Manoel Theatre.
With music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and a book by Harvey Fierstein, the musical is about a gay couple, made up of the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and his star attraction. Madness ensues when his straight son brings home a fiancée and her ultra-conservative parents to meet them.
The musical, directed by Chris Gatt, with musical direction by Kris Spiteri, is being staged until Sunday, October 30. For tickets, visit teatrumanoel.com.mt.
Ray Calleja (left) and Francesco Nicodeme in La Cage Aux Folles.L-Għarusa ta’ Ġużè Diacono
After last weekend's debut, Teatru Malta and Heritage Malta are again staging the adaptation of Ġużè Diacono’s L-Għarusa by Immanuel Mifsud.
This year marks 100 years from Diacono's birth and 20 years from his passing.
The mystic play focuses on the mental and emotional torments of a sister who swears herself into sisterhood after witnessing her beloved drown to his tragic death in front of her very eyes.
The key cast is made up of Marceline Galea, Jacob Piccinino, Moira Muscat and Charlotte Formosa. The piece features a set design by contemporary Maltese artist Austin Camilleri.
The play in Maltese, certified 15+, is being staged at The Armoury in Vittoriosa until Monday, October 31 at 8pm. For tickets, click here.
The project is supported by the Fondazzjoni Ċelebrazzjonijiet Nazzjonali and Arts Council Malta.
Moira Muscat in L-Għarusa. Photo: Elisa von BrockdorffARTS
Woman that Survived
Izabela Klara Biskupska, an international artist and performer of Polish origin, is today presenting an art performance using the human body, voice photography, video and lyrics to express the deepest feelings and emotion of a woman.
She will create a live painting that will be exposed to a silent auction afterwards.
The event is taking place at Arthall, 8, Triq Agius de Soldanis, Victoria, at 7.30pm. Tickets can be purchased today from the gallery. It is recommended to reserve the ticket at arthallgozo@gmail.com as the number of participants is limited.
Opera is Gozo
As part of the Opera is Gozo festival, a choral concert by the Coro Lirico Siciliano is taking place today at St George's Basilica at noon.
Another event, a talk titled 'Love Is a Gypsy's Child That None Can Tame', will take place later on at the Teatru Astra Cultural Hub in Victoria at 7pm. Abraham Borg will talk about the opera Carmen, featuring contributions by conductor John Galea and a foreign speaker.
Both events are free but reservations can be made on info@lastella.com.mt.
The Opera is Gozo festival is coming to an end tomorrow with a restaging of Bizet's opera Carmen. The event is sold out.
FILM
Anime Festival
The Eden Cinemas in St Julian's are once again hosting an Anime Festival in the coming weeks.
One Piece: Stampede is currently showing both English dubbed and in Japanese with English subtitles.
For tickets and more information, click here.
One Piece: StampedeMUSIC
The annual variety show in aid of Hospice Malta will see singers and a live band performing some timeless tunes from musicals such as Jesus Christ Superstar, Hairspray and Mamma Mia!.
Taking part this year are Matthew James Borg, Pamela Bezzina, Moira Stafrace, Chris Grech, Jasmine Abela, Leontine Spiteri, MARA, Neville Refalo, Rachel Fabri, Eleanor Spiteri, Mark Costa, Dario Bezzina and Grecia Bezzina.
The event is being held at St Aloysius College, Birkirkara, today and tomorrow at 8pm. For tickets, visit www.ticketboot.com.
MISCELLANEOUS EVENTS
The Inextinguishable
Artist John Martin Borg will be delivering a talk at the Swieqi local council premises today at 6pm.
He will describe how he was inspired to create a series of abstract works by asymphony by Carl Nielsen titled The Inextinguishable.
The artist also aims to analyse the meditative meaning of the works.
For more information, visit the event's Facebook page.
FAA's Ghost Tours
Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar is hosting ghost tours around the streets of Valletta today and tomorrow.
Participants will learn about the city’s ghostly tales, besides information on its history and architecture. They are to gather at 6.15pm at the de Valette statue on South Street, by St Catherine's church, so the tour leaves punctually at 6.30pm.
The tour will be held in English and will last around two hours.
For tickets, log on to https://ticketengine.faa.org.mt/.
Nightmares in Strait Street
YMCA is hosting its first-ever Halloween event at the Splendid Hotel in Strait Street, Valletta.
The hotel, which was originally a brothel, was the scene of a gruesome murder in the 1960s. Legend has it that the victim’s spirit still haunts the hotel.Her story and other gruesome and macabre untold stories will be told during a tour of the site being held between tomorrow and Sunday.There will be tours in Maltese and English.
For more information on how to take part, visit the event’s Facebook page https://fb.me/e/1ZdhNJlCq.
The event is intended for adults only. All funds generated will go towards YMCA’s services for young people and its services for individuals and families battling homelessness.
VISUAL ARTS
Inaction is a Weapon of Mass Destruction
Artist Darren Tanti is presenting an art project meant to shed light on the mediatic processes used to spread information about war and its effects on the viewer.
The work reflects the artist’s preoccupation with fabrication, editing and twisting of information people outside the conflict zone might be subjected to.
The project is meant to provoke viewers by a number of analytical, ironic, and at times, cynical works based on factual, fictional images and theoretical work. Different experts from journalism, film, art, education and the military fields will also contribute to the project via a number of talks and workshops.
Inaction is a Weapon of Mass Destruction, curated by Melanie Erixon is opening at Space C, Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta, today and at Il-Kamra ta' Fuq, Mqabba on Sunday. Consult the project’s Facebook page for more information.
Darren Tanti's artwork In BetweenFuq Tlieta
Camilleri Paris Mode of Rabat is hosting an exhibition of paintings by three Maltese artists – Pawl Carbonaro, Jesmond Vassallo and Paul Camilleri.
Carbonaro is one of Malta’s foremost veteran artists, who is famous for his abstracts and semi-abstracted landscapes; Vassallo has a very varied oeuvre, ranging from landscapes to nudes to still lifes; while Camilleri is exhibiting his tactile abstracts that fit well with the works of the other two artists.
Fuq Tlieta is open until the end of the month. Log on to the Camilleri Paris Mode Facebook page for more information.
Also read the Times of Malta review here.
Biċċiet minn Ħajti
Ir-Razzett tal-Markiż in Mosta is hosting a mosaic art exhibition by Michael Vella until Sunday, October 30.
Through his works, Vella shows his love of nature and are a result of his long walks in the countryside where he appreciates the flowers and plants he comes across.
He is also inspired by his late friend, artist and ceramist Gabriel Caruana.
The exhibition is open from Monday to Sunday from 6 to 8pm. On Saturday and Sunday, the cultural centre is also open from 10am to noon. For more information, visit the centre's Facebook page.
One of Michael Vella's artworksIt’s 5 o’Clock Somewhere − A Collective Art Exhibition Exploring Guilty Pleasures
A collective exhibition, being held at BOHO Boutique Hotel in Cospicua, is inspired by the famous phrase used when one craves an alcoholic drink at 10am, and to the sting of a guilty conscience, one declares that it is 5 o'clock somewhere in the world.
The participating artists, Aaron Bezzina, Daniel Borg, Roderick Camilleri, Debbie Caruana Dingli, Rupert Cefai, Antoine Farrugia, Karl Froman, Lawrence Pavia, Amelia Saint George, Mario Sammut and Darren Tanti, are portraying such instances they have encountered during their artistic career.
The exhibition, curated by Melanie Erixon, runs until Sunday, October 30. It is open daily from 10.30am till 1.30pm and on Wednesdays also from 7pm to 10pm. Click here for more information.
Also read the Times of Malta interview with the curator.
Architecture Student Expo 2022
A celebration of everything the Faculty for the Built Environment at the University of Malta does, is taking place at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta.
The Architecture Student Expo is also an opportunity for the creativity of students and their ideas of future spaces and structures to be communicated to society through designs, sketches, digital graphics and architectural models.
The expo runs until Sunday, October 30. For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page and kreattivita.org.
BioArt Alchemy: Works by Anna Dumitriu
Internationally renowned British bioartist Anna Dumitriu is exhibiting for the first time at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta.
The artist uses bioart, sculpture, installation and digital media to explore a range of topics, from the origins of society to the sustainable production of biodegradable plastic, cutting-edge genetics and the possibility of bacterially-enhanced super-humans.
The project, a commission of Spazju Kreattiv, features a collaboration with artist Alex May. It is supported by Esplora Interactive Science Centre and Science in the City, Malta.
BioArt Alchemy runs until Sunday, October 30. For more information, click here.
Landmarks
Artist Fabio Borg is holding his eighth solo exhibition throughout the month of October at The Phoenicia, in Floriana.
Borg construed this collection of abstract landscapes, tilted Landmarks, as innate emotions being expressed onto canvas and painted by instinct. The paintings, therefore, become emotional landmarks that Borg invites the viewer to partake in.
Borg is sensitive to his surroundings and trees, or the seeming lack thereof, is one such issue often a topic of heated discussions. Therefore, these compositions, largely produced in the last two years, trees are the main protagonists in an idealised reinterpretation of nature.
Landmarks, on display at The Phoenicia’s Palm Court Lounge, is curated by Charlene Vella.
A Misty View by Fabio BorgFunny How Time….
Artist Paul Caruana is showing his latest collection of works at Gemelli Framing in Ta' Qali until the weekend.
Through a series of poignant watercolours, most of which have origins in the artist’s own biography, Caruana invites us to dwell on the past and learn lessons to alter the present so that the future might be worth living.
Consult the event’s Facebook page for opening hours.
Read the Times of Malta interview with the artist here.
Error Code 8030
French artist Julien Vinet is presenting a solo show at the new contemporary pop art gallery R Gallery at 26, Tigne Street, Sliema, until Monday, October 31.
For more information, visit the gallery's Facebook page.
Reverse by Julien Vinet. Photo: Kim SammutWhite on Black
Richard England, one of Malta’s foremost architects, is currently exhibiting some of his works on paper at ART..e Gallery of 1, Library Street, Victoria.
Titled White on Black, the exhibition investigates the artistic aspect of an architect who has become synonymous with modernism.
The exhibition is on until November 11. Consult the gallery’s Facebook page for opening hours.
Q’eros: Beyond the Clouds
Il-Ħaġar Museum and Community Cultural Centre in Victoria is hosting an exhibition by Italian photographer Alessandro Bergamini until November 27.
Eight of the photos on display won Bergamimi the Travel Photographer of the Year award in 2021 and five more were included in the book Humanity, which was chosen as the best photographic book for 2021 in the International Photography Awards.
They will be accompanied with some 30 photos documenting the demanding Peru expedition earlier this year among the Q'eros community in the Andes. Visitors will be able to follow the filming on their mobile.
All the material is included in the exhibition catalogue, published as Il-Ħaġar GEMS 21. Also available are copies of Humanity, an assortment of photos highlighting peoples around the world.
The museum is open everyday from 9am to 5pm. Entrance is free. For more information, visit heartofgozo.org.mt/.
Eight award-winning photos by Antonello Bergamini on display at Il-Ħaġar museum in Victoria.OTHER EXHIBITIONS
Meet the Phoenicians of Malta
A Phoenician stone sarcophagus excavated last year at Għajn Klieb, on the outskirts of Rabat, is one of the major attractions of an exhibition at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta.
The exhibition brings to light the results of months of painstaking studies by a multidisciplinary team researching the sarcophagus and two other tombs discovered in the area, as well as their contents. The three tombs, although inherently different, shed light on the burial rituals of the earliest Phoenicians on the island.
The exhibition runs until Sunday, October 30. The museum in Republic Street, Valletta, is open from Monday to Sunday from 9am to 4.30pm. Entrance to the exhibition is free of charge.
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 weekly from Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 4.30pm.