As part of the MICAS Education and Community Programming Strand (MEC), the Malta International Contemporary Art Space (MICAS) will be holding a conference on September 17 at The Malta Chamber in Valletta.

During this conference, entitled Contemporary Art in Local Spaces, local and international speakers from various creative disciplines and academia will be exploring the role of art in urban landscapes.

“Urban spaces are dynamic creative ecologies powered by human interaction with a built environment,” say the organisers.

In the highly contested social spaces of an urban landscape with its myriad of social, political and environmental tensions, the conference asks what the role of contemporary art is when it comes to creating opportunities for place-making, wider participation and the re-energising of communities.

The first session of the conference will involve a keynote presentation by Richard Noble, professor and head of the art department at Goldsmiths College, University of London.

This will be followed by a second session featuring a keynote presentation by Jean-Paul De Lucca, associate professor of philosophy at the University of Malta, where he previously served as the founding director of the centre for the liberal arts and sciences and as head of the department of philosophy.

A third session will include a panel discussion between Cristina Iglesias, Joseph Magro Conti, Marco Sammicheli and Caesar Attard, moderated by Richard Noble.

Contemporary Art in Local Spaces will be held on September 17 from 9am to 2.30pm at the Malta Chamber in Valletta at the Sir Agostino Portelli Hall. Admission is free but strictly by booking. Registration here is open until September 11. This event is supported by the Malta Tourism Authority, Heritage Malta and Iniala Harbour House.