The Malta Society of Arts has awarded its prestigious Gold Medal for 2024 to Keith Sciberras in recognition of his achievements in the field of history of art and his contribution towards the conservation of the Malta Society of Arts’ seat Palazzo de La Salle.

The award was conferred by President Myriam Spiteri Debono during an intimate private ceremony held last week, in the presence of the MSA’s president and committee, as well as friends and colleagues of Sciberras. 

Sciberras is an art historian and curator, and a professor of art history within the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Malta. He is a widely published, respected and authoritative figure in the fields of Roman baroque sculpture, Italian baroque painting, Mattia Preti and Caravaggio. 

The understanding of Caravaggio’s final years, especially his time in Naples, Malta, and Sicily, has been significantly shaped by Sciberras’ studies. He was also co-curator and team leader of the Malta Pavilion for La Biennale di Venezia 2022, with a project entitled Diplomazija Astuta, among his numerous other curatorial projects.

Sciberras receiving the Gold Award from President Myriam Spiteri Debono.

In 2023, the MSA published a book titled Palazzo de La Salle – Genesis & Evolution (ed. Caroline Miggiani & Gabriel Zammit) to celebrate its 100 years at Palazzo de La Salle. The publication included several essays from scholars and artists who were somehow connected to the 400-year old palazzo, including Sciberras’ essay titled ‘Palazzo de La Salle, Valletta – A stylistic analysis of its architecture’.

Through his extensive research, Sciberras established a timeline for the palazzo, rectifying previously wrongly recorded dates, and shedding light on important architectural details which were formerly unknown or incorrectly assumed.

Sciberras was also the project manager for the conservation works undertaken by the MSA on the Sala dei Cavalieri in 2020. The Gold Medal ceremony was symbolically held in this same sumptuous hall, in the presence of a few Sciberras’ family, friends and colleagues. 

Nothing can be achieved in isolation

During the ceremony, Sciberras’s old-time friend Paul Borg Olivier recounted some personal anecdotes, highlighting Sciberras’s strong ethical values and principles, and his determination to speak up and persistently fight against injustices and illegalities.

Following this, fellow Gold Medal awardee Richard England highlighted a few of Sciberras’s innumerable career milestones, describing him as “one of the contemporary evangelists of baroque art”, “a walking encyclopaedia on art history”, and praising his “relentless pursuit of knowledge”.

MSA president Adrian Mamo thanked Sciberras for his work on the conservation project of Palazzo de La Salle, highlighting the fact that he has now joined a long list of illustrious names in the Gold Medal awardee list.

Sciberras (centre) with Paul Borg Olivier and Richard England during the presentation ceremony.

President Spiteri Debono recognised Sciberras’s and the MSA’s contribution towards creating today’s generation of art historians, some of whom have come to lead cultural institutions or bear important responsibilities in this field.

Sciberras expressed his gratitude not only for the recognition of his work over the years but also for acknowledging his determination to stand against wrongdoings.

“This award doesn’t belong to me – it belongs to all my friends and colleagues in this room and beyond. Nothing can be achieved in isolation. I believe in the power of collaboration, so let’s keep working together!,” he said.

The first Gold Medal was awarded by the Malta Society of Arts in 1896 to Vincenzo Cardona, and since then it has recognised important figures in the arts including Emvin Cremona, Richard England, Oreste Kirkop, Oliver Friggieri, Gabriel Caruana, Karmen Azzopardi and Austin Camilleri.

The evening was interspersed with musical interludes by soprano Rosabelle Bianchi, who was accompanied on the piano by Romina Morrow. 

For more information about the Malta Society of Arts, visit www.artsmalta.org and to read more about the Gold Medal Award, click here.