FEASTS

Żabbar is the only locality celebrating its feast − dedicated to Our Lady of Graces − today.

After a two-year break due to the pandemic, the traditional motorbike and bicycle pilgrimage in honour of the patron saint will take place once again this morning.

Motorbike and bicycle riders will leave from two different localities and ride along some of Malta's main streets to then converge in Żabbar. Thousands are expected to take part.

The motorbike pilgrimage will leave the parking of Ġnien tal-Għarusa tal-Mosta at 9am and ride through Mosta, Lija, Birkirkara, San Ġwann, St Julian’s, Sliema, Gżira, Ta’ Xbiex, Msida, Marsa, Żebbuġ, Siġġiewi, Qormi, Paola, Cospicua, Fgura and, finally, Żabbar. Cars, motorised bicycles, scooters and quadbikes are not allowed.

The participants on bicycle will leave from the Rabat playground outside Mdina Gate at 9.30am. They will pedal through Rabat, Attard, Birkirkara, Fleur-de- Lys, Santa Venera, Ħamrun, Marsa, Paola, Tarxien, Fgura and Żabbar. Motorised bicycles and scooters are not allowed.

For more information, visit the Facebook page of the Għaqda Pellegrinaġġ Muturi u Roti.

THEATRE

Ma Kuraġġ u Wliedha

The anti-war play, written by exiled German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and translated into Maltese by Loranne Vella, is being staged for one last time this evening at the Manoel Theatre in Valletta.

Set in 17th-century Europe, Ma Kuraġġ u Wliedha (Mother Courage and Her Children) follows Anna Fierling and her three children as she operates a rolling canteen business during the Thirty Years War. She fiercely travels across Europe in a covered wagon, selling goods to locals and alcohol to soldiers to make a head-earned living.

The Teatru Malta co-production with the Manoel Theatre stars Josette Ciappara in the main role, together with Rebecca Camilleri, Matthew Dimech Genius, Jamie Cardona, Simone Spiteri and Mark Mifsud, among others. 

It is directed by Jean-Marc Cafa’ with musical direction by Aleandro Spiteri Monsigneur, costumes by Isabel Warrington and set design by Romualdo Moretti.

The play in Maltese, certified 12+, starts at 8pm. For more information and tickets, click here.

The production is supported by the German Embassy in Malta.

Read the Times of Malta review here.

MADC One-Act Play Festival

The 43rd edition of the Malta Amateur Dramatic Club’s (MADC) One Act Play Festival ends today.

This year’s line-up offered a mix of dramas and comedies. These include Silence by Harold Pinter, What’s for Pudding? written by David Tristram and Is This Seat Taken? by Sean Baker which are being staged again today.

A number of awards will be handed out after the final performance.

The event starts at 7.30pm. For tickets and more information, visit www.madc.com.mt.

---

FILM

Official Competition

Spazju Kreattiv is today showing the 2021 Spanish film starring Antonio Banderas and Penélope Cruz and Oscar Martínez.

Directed by Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn, the comedy follows a wealthy businessman who hires a neurotic director to produce his crowning achievement, a brilliant art film. 

Certified 15, Official Competition is being screened today at 6pm. The film will also be shown on September 14, 16, 18 and 23 and on October 1. For more information and tickets, click here.

Anime Festival

The Eden Cinemas in St Julian’s is hosting its first-ever Anime Festival, showing feature-length films of some of the most popular anime series of all time.

All films are dubbed in English or are screened in Japanese with English subtitles.

My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising is currently being shown.

For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page and the Eden Cinemas website.

MUSIC

Poġġi album launch and concert

The instrumental post-rock band Poġġi is releasing its second album with a concert at the Malta Society of Arts concert hall at Palazzo de La Salle in Valletta today at 8pm.

Entitled Dwal u Forom, the album features four long-form instrumental songs which span a variety of genres due to their experiential theme.

Poġġi are known for their instrumental music combining melancholic ambience with atmospheric sounds. They released their first album Tfulija in 2021, in which they tried to translate the first seven chapters of the psychological thriller Jien l-Univers by Nicholas Massa into a 50-minute atmospheric post-rock album.

Tickets for today's event are available here.

PHOTOGRAPHY

150 / Richard Ellis

The Richard Ellis Archive, consisting of 39,000+ glass negatives documenting the period in Malta and Gozo between 1861 and 1938, has been digitised in archival-grade quality for the first time in its history. 

The British-Maltese photographer (January 1842-December 1924) was one of the pioneers of photography in Malta during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Thirty large prints taken from his archive will now be exhibited at Spazju Kreattiv, in Valletta, until October 23.

The exhibition is curated by Charles Paul Azzopardi and Ian Ellis. For more information, click here.

Wiki Loves Monuments 2022

Malta is once again taking part in Wiki Loves Monuments, the Guinness World Record holder for the largest photography competition, which has reached its seventh edition.

The competition brings together photographers from around the world to take stunning pictures of Malta’s cultural heritage, which are to be shared on Wikipedia. Participation is free and open to all. The deadline for all submissions is September 30.

Photo uploading workshops will be held throughout September.

A jury composed of experts within the fields of cultural heritage, photography and Wikipedia will be selecting the winning entries and 10 submissions will be nominated for the international Wiki Loves Monuments contest, with the opportunity to win further prizes.

For details, visit www.wikimalta.org and the Wikimedia Community Malta Facebook page.

OTHER EVENTS

Malta Pride Week

Malta Pride Week comes to an end today with a pool party and a boat tour around the Grand Harbour.

The pool party named Discotits, hosted by Lollipop, is taking place at Medasia Playa, Sliema, from 2pm onwards. It will feature various performers among whom are Chris Brown, St John, Ryan Peter, Chester Hayes, Yan Valer and Mari Mars.

Later on, at around 5.30pm, Pride Around the Grand Harbour will see boats decorated in Pride colours cruising around the Harbour followed by a live performance of 1980s hits by singer and performer Davey Stuart. The start and end point is at La Regatta in Senglea.

For more information, visit maltapride.org and the Malta Pride Facebook page.

Festa Ħut

Marsaxlokk is today celebrating fishermen and their catch with an event dedicated to them.

Among others, there will be fresh fish on sale, live fish cooking, a traditional tuna barbecue, free activities for children, various exhibits related to fish and fishing, including a display of traditional fishing boats and fishing equipment, and live entertainment by father-son duo Lydon & JoMike, Lisa Gauci, Drakard and Freddie Portelli.

Festa Ħut starts at 6pm. For more information, visit the event's Facebook page.

Family Funderland

An event for all the family is being held at Santa Luċija, Gozo, today from 1pm onwards. There will be games, food and science experiments presented by Esplora. There will also be train and pony rides, archery and the community police will showcase some of their vehicles.

For more information, look up the event’s Facebook page.

Lunchtime tours at Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum

The Mdina palazzo is hosting a guided lunthtime tour around its significant collection, highlighting objects linked to the rich cultural heritage of the Maltese islands and focusing on its people, trades and traditions.

Gustav Café is open to guests for refreshments on the rooftop terrace of the museum.

Bookings against against a suggested donation of €10 can be made via e-mail at bookings@palazzofalson.com or by calling on 2145 4512.  Pre-bookings are recommended.

The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday. For information about opening hours and more, visit www.palazzofalson.com.

EXHIBITIONS

Bellum in Mundum

An exhibition of works that reimagine a world shaken beyond its tipping point by Tonio Mallia is closing today.

Curated by Giulia Privitelli, Bellum in Mundum is on display at MUŻA – Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta.

The museum will be open from 9am to 4.30pm. For more information, visit muza.mt.

One may also read the Times of Malta interview with the artist.

Disrobed

A collective exhibition by more than 10 artists at the Art by the Seaside gallery in Senglea wraps up today.

The artists include Gabriel Spiteri, Trevor Diacono, Feng Hongzhao, Patrick Scicluna, Alison Agius, Ray Agius, Amber Fenech, Alexia Baldacchino, Edoardo La Francesca, David Debono and Chris Ebejer.

For opening hours and more information, visit the Facebook page of the gallery found at 65, Triq il-Mina, Senglea.

Lost in the Ether

Nicole Sciberras Debono's first solo exhibition at Il-Kamra Ta' Fuq in Mqabba closes tomorrow. 

Through her works, the artist brings forward esoteric narratives of a domestic familiarity, with notes on online and para-social relationships, and the reflections of a young woman in a contemporary society.

The gallery will be open today from 7am to noon and tomorrow from 6am to noon. For more information, visit Il-Kamra ta' Fuq Facebook page.

Read the Times of Malta review here.

Ħbieb

A group of women who meet regularly to paint together are putting on an exhibition at the Razzett tal-Markiż Mallia Tabone in Mosta.

They are Joanne Azzopardi, Audrey Vella, Judith Dingli, Fabiola Agius Anastasi, Mariuccia Zammit, Josephine Hili, Marita Fenech, Graziella Calleja, Elena Toncheva, Yvette Carabott and Maria Cauchi.

Titled Ħbieb, the collective exhibition runs until September 18. Opening hours: Monday to Sunday from 6 to 8pm. On Sundays, the centre is also open from 10am to noon.

For more information, visit the Razzett tal-Markiż – Cultural Centre Facebook page.

Tempus Edax Rerum 

Artist David Borg attempts to explore the representation of time and the thematic concept of the human condition through a series of woodcut prints on display at Gemelli Framing in Ta’ Qali. 

The exhibition, curated by Hannah Dowling, runs until September 24. 

For more information, visit the exhibition’s Facebook page.

Exhibition by art group Brushes

The artistic group Brushes is putting on its eighth exhibition at Palazzo Ferreria, 310, Republic Street, Valletta.

Artists Fabiola Agius Anastasi, Adrian Camilleri, John Caruana and Madeleine Vella Satariano are taking part.

The works on display include aquarelles and acrylics and varied themes.

The exhibition will be open until September 28. Opening hours: Monday to Friday, from 9am to 6pm, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 9am to 1pm.

The Cappuccino Brigade

The ninth solo exhibition of Debbie Caruana Dingli is on display at the Palm Court Lounge of The Phoenicia, in Floriana.

Curated by Charlene Vella, the collection of watercolour works is based on the artist's observations of the native Maltese population and is named after one of the paintings on display whose heroine is a bossy woman, often pictured in the artist's colourful works.

The exhibition will be open throughout September.

Read an article by the curator here.

An Ode in Stone

Artist Joe Xuereb is presenting an exhibition of limestone sculptures at The Phoenicia's Deep Nature Spa.

His rounded figures and forms represent universal shortcomings among humans such as greed, solitude and the entrapments of love. 

An Ode in Stone, curated by Louis Laganà, runs until the end of September.

Read the Times of Malta interview with the artist.

Amelia Saint George works at The Phoenicia

Artist Amelia Saint George is exhibiting a number of her sculptures at The Phoenicia, Floriana.

The sculptures are in clay, bronze and mixed media, and portray animals, which Saint George is particularly well-known for, as well as some humorous sculptures that are more closely associated with her portrait sculptures.

Saint George, who has made Valletta her home, is an established, award-winning contemporary sculptor who has exhibited locally and internationally. She is also the author of several books on diverse subjects and holds sculpting lessons in her Valletta studio.

One may view her works at The Phoenicia’s reception area until the end of September.

Dying Planet

Illustrator, designer and visual London-based artist ‘iella’ (Daniela Attard) is presenting a body of illustration work and paintings focusing on climate anxiety and existential dread at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta.

The artworks on display focus on the global impact of climate change with some reference to local issues and include strange figurative work and characters which serve as modern allegories.

The exhibition runs until October 9. For more information, visit www.kreattivita.org. 

Willie Apap – Colour and Light 

A retrospective exhibition of works by Willie Apap (1918-1970), considered one of Malta’s leading exponents of 20th-century art, is currently on at Il-Ħaġar – Heart of Gozo Museum in Victoria.

The 70 works on display feature portraits, landscapes and still-lifes, dancers, human figures, sacred and ethnic works in oils and inks, and are accompanied by a lavish 100-page GEMS # 20 catalogue.

The exhibition, curated by Maria Cassar, runs until October 10. Opening hours are from Monday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm. Entrance is free.

The exhibition is supported by the Malta Tourism Authority and the Gozo Ministry’s Cultural Directorate. For more information, visit the museum’s Facebook page.

Read the Times of Malta interview with the exhibition's curator Maria Cassar here.

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 that has opened 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 is open until 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

A new 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 to 4.30pm. 

whatson@timesofmalta.com