The Malta International Contemporary Arts Space is celebrating its opening exhibition by acclaimed Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos with a special open weekend tomorrow and on Sunday.
Art lovers, families, visitors young and old will enjoy free access to the Vasconcelos exhibition as well as cast their eyes on the MICAS Galleries, in a festive atmosphere that will include children’s gallery walks, educational activities, a guided historic trail, open-air games and live music for everyone.
“We are planning a very special weekend for all families and those who have yet to experience the Vasconcelos exhibition, with a special two-day open weekend here at MICAS,” executive chairperson Phyllis Muscat said.
“This is a great opportunity for everyone to experience Malta’s newest cultural destination and admire the architecture that has reclaimed this once-inaccessible part of the historic Knights fortifications for the community, as well as the exuberant and colourful installations of Joana Vasconcelos,” she added.
MICAS will be hosting tours of the Vasconcelos exhibition for children for all age groups from five to 15, as well as activity workshops.
Other tours include a historical architecture tour of the MICAS site, and tours for all ages of both the Vasconcelos exhibition, as well as the works of British contemporary artist Conrad Shawcross.
Activities on the day will include open-air games, with a giant chess board, traditional Maltese games brilli, boċċi and passju, giant Jenga blocks, as well as archery boards for all to participate in.
Young visitors and their guardians will also enjoy taking part in a MICAS ‘plant hunt’, where they will seek out matching plants from the many endemic species that line the museum campus, as well as a spot of seed sowing and even leaf painting.
Georgina Portelli, MICAS board member and chair of its education committee, said that visitors will see how over 6,000 square metres of this historic landscape at Floriana had now been reclaimed and repurposed as a space for art and culture.
“MICAS is essentially a contemporary intervention within Floriana’s historical landscape that reappropriates these outstanding bastions and rightfully democratises the space,” Portelli said.
“Not only have we ensured their continued conservation and safeguarded cultural heritage and areas of high landscape value, but we are doing this by facilitating access to art,” she added.
Visitors to MICAS will also be able to view acquired sculptures by the museum such as Ugo Rondinone’s The Radiant and Shawcross’s The Dappled Light of the Sun (Formation 1) – a prelude to MICAS’s sculpture garden, set to be unveiled in 2025.
“These open spaces and terraces will provide the public further access to new heritage trails, green areas, open spaces and long-hidden seascapes,” Portelli said.
More information is available on www.micas.art. For bookings, visit https://bookings.micas.art/.