The Nationalist Party has accused the Malta Biennale of pandering to tourists rather than locals, with hefty ticket prices making the event “more expensive than Venice”.

In a statement, PN MP Julie Zahra said on Friday that several shortcomings had been observed in the expansive exhibition and that despite allocating €1.7 million the government had not carried out proper consultation and lacked transparency. 

Zahra claimed that the Biennale had been “clearly” geared towards tourists rather than Maltese families, with claims that the hefty price for a five-day ticket was more expensive than the world-renowned Venice Biennale. 

This, she said, has resulted in a poor showing of attendance from the public. 

Overall, there were several shortcomings in the logistics and planning of the events and an overall lack of vision. 

Zahra said that it was not just the PN making these observations, but that industry players such as the Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association (MEIA) have also been vocal about the lack of professionalism in the events and expressed concern about events that involved some of their members. 

On Monday the MEIA derided the “lack of research and strategy” behind the biennale and questioned how key decision-making was made. 

They have called for the public entities behind the organisation of the exhibition to publish all the research conducted as well as documentation showing how the €1.7 million budget was allocated. 

While the PN supports initiatives that allow artists to exhibit their work and showcase local talent, Zahra said that it is unacceptable that this is done with such a large and uncontrollable spend. 

“The lack of planning, organisation, communication and transparency are continuing to throw our country in a bad light,” Zahra said. “The point of this endeavour was not to instil culture, so much so that there were no offers or incentives to encourage schools to visit these exhibits.” 

The PN now expects the government to evaluate the “success” of this biennale and ask the participating artists to provide feedback so that this can be referenced should another biennale be organised.