The maltabiennale.art will kick off on March 13 with a line-up of international contemporary artists whose work ranges from painting and drawing to installation, sculpture and video.

Themed White Sea Olive Groves, the event is set to challenge global perspectives on art and society within a Mediterranean context.

A total of 80 artists from 23 countries will be participating in the event. 

These are the leading artists:

Austin Camilleri

Austin Camilleri is a Maltese artist who works in painting, installation, sculpture, video and drawing to present ideas of time and transience. Drawing mainly on Western art history, popular culture, and power image traditions, he has exhibited in solo and group shows in museums, private galleries and public spaces in Europe, America and Asia. His works have also been displayed at the Mediterranean, Ostrale and Venice biennales. Camilleri’s work will be on display as part of the main pavilion, reflecting on the theme of Decolonising Malta: Polyphony Is Us.

Tania Bruguera

Tania Bruguera is an international artist and activist from Cuba who examines political power structures and their effect on injustice. A senior lecturer at Harvard University and the founding director of INSTAR, she has been awarded The Velázquez Prize, Arnold Bode Prize, Robert Rauschenberg Award and Herb Alpert Award. She has had her work displayed at Documenta (2002, 2022), Venice Biennales (2001, 2005, 2009, 2015), Guggenheim Museum, MoMA, Tate Modern, MMK and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana. During maltabiennale.art Bruguera will participate in the main pavilion, themed Can You Sea?: The Mediterranean as a Political Body.

Ibrahim Mahama

Ibrahim Mahama uses the transformation of materials to explore themes of commodity, migration, globalisation and economic exchange. In recent years, Mahama opened the artist-run project space Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art, Red Clay and Nkrumah Volini in his home country of Ghana. Among others, he has presented his work at the Biennale of Sydney, Stellenbosch Triennale, Lubumbashi Biennale, Venice Biennale and Tel Aviv Art Museum. Mahama will display his artwork at the main pavilion, focusing on the theme of Decolonising Malta: Polyphony Is Us.

Guadalupe Maravilla

Salvadoran artist Guadalupe Maravilla grounds his transdisciplinary practice in activism and healing. Often resembling mythic creatures or ornate reliquaries, his works examine issues of migration, disease, and generational trauma, while creating new rituals for care, healing, and regeneration. Among the galleries displaying his works are MoMa, the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina SofÃa, Henie Onstad and Kunstsenter. Maravilla’s work will be showcased at the main pavilion following the theme Decolonising Malta: Polyphony Is Us.

Post Disaster

POST DISASTER is an interdisciplinary collective from Italy whose practice intersects spatial, performative, and editorial actions. Their research uses the metaphor of disaster as a territorial lens for understanding global dynamics and tensions. In 2018 they started ROOFTOPS, a critical spatial practice staged on the rooftops of Taranto in Italy. Their work has been exhibited, among others, at MAXXI Rome, Venice Biennale of Architecture and CÃ Foscari University Venice. POST DISASTER's work will also be at the main pavilion, under the theme of The Counterpower of Piracy.

Laure Prouvost

French artist Laure Prouvost is known for her complex film installations that muddy the distinction between fiction and reality. She represented France at the Venice Bienniale in 2019 and participated in the Sydney Biennial in 2020. Her solo exhibitions have been featured at the Kunsthal Charlottenborg, MUHKA, Palais de Tokyo and Bass Museum among others. At maltabiennale.art, Prouvost will showcase her installation at the main pavilion, under the theme of Can You Sea?: The Mediterranean as a Political Body. 

Pedro Reyes

From Mexico, Pedro Reyes designs projects that propose playful solutions to social problems in what he describes as Social Sculptures. His solo exhibitions were held at SITE Santa Fe, MARTa Herford, Museum of Contemporary Art of Monterrey, MAAT, Museum Tinguely, SCAD, Creative Time, Dallas Contemporary, La Tallera, Hammer Museum, ICA, The Power Plant in Toronto, Walker Art Center, Guggenheim Museum, CCA Kitakyushu, Bass Museum and San Francisco Art Institute among others. During maltabiennale.art, Reyes will participate in the main pavilion under the theme of The Counterpower of Piracy.

Cecilia Vicuña

Cecilia Vicuña is a Chilean poet, artist, activist, and filmmaker whose work addresses pressing concerns of the modern world, including ecological destruction, human rights, and cultural homogenisation. Her work has been exhibited at Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson, Tate Modern and Solomon R Guggenheim Museum among others. At maltabiennale.art, Vicuña will display her artwork at the main pavilion, focusing on The Matri-archive of the Mediterranean theme.

Maltabiennale.art is a Heritage Malta initiative through MUŻA in partnership with Arts Council Malta. It is presented in collaboration with the foreign, national heritage, arts and Gozo ministries, Visit Malta, Malta Libraries, MCAST, Festivals Malta, Valletta Cultural Agency and Spazju Kreattiv.

It includes the participation of the Malta School of Art, AUM, ŻfinMalta, KorMalta, Teatru Manoel, Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, Franco La Cecla, IULM University, Milan, Department of Humanities Studies, Faculty of Arts and Tourism, Underwater Department Heritage Malta, Archaeological Department Heritage Malta and Maritime Museum Heritage Malta.