ARTS

Malta International Arts Festival

The Malta International Arts Festival enters its second and final week with a variety of events.

Between June 19 and 22, the two-masted vessel Fernandes is hosting the production Harbour Odyssey, where the audience will cruise the waters accompanied by a theatrical narrative of historical anecdotes.

The promenade performance Dik is-Siġra f’Nofs ta’ Triq, co-produced with Teatru Malta, is being staged again from June 20 to 25 at MCAST in Paola. The performance tells a fantastical story of tensions between past and present – a street, crowned by a majestic tree at its centre, where everybody knows everybody, and everything, or not quite everything, but almost. It is penned by Immanuel Mifsud.

On June 21, Guilhem Desq, nicknamed ‘the Hendrix of the hurdy-gurdy’ will breathe new life into the medieval instrument at the Manoel Theatre in Valletta. He will play a variety of genres on his hurdy-gurdy, including traditional European folk, contemporary rock and heavy metal, among others.

On June 22, the Malta Society of Arts is hosting a unique event titled Garments of the Grand Masters, which combines an exhibition of historical garments of the Knights of Malta with a piano recital by Konstantinos Destounis from Greece. The event is being held in collaboration with Heritage Malta and the Malta Society of Arts.

On June 23 and 24, percussionist and composer Luis Bittencourt will present a sound installation for vibraphone, glass tubes and dripping water inside a 17th-century underground water cistern beneath the streets of Valletta. The event is also held in collaboration with Heritage Malta. Underground Valletta In Concert Percussion - Luís Bittencourt will be held at 7, 8 and 9pm.

The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Michael Laus, will be performing in the final concert Pastorale at the Manoel Theatre on June 24. The programme features two national premieres, composed by Dmitri Shostakovich and Arthur Honegger, featuring Greek pianist Destounis. It also includes compositions by Maltese composers and Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, known as the Pastoral Symphony.

A number of fringe events are also being held. These include the play B’riħ jew riefnu minn hawn irridu nsiefru, which looks at various rituals of death, taking place at the Madonna tal-Ħerba sanctuary in Birkirkara; and Malti-Etnik, a music and dance pop-up street performance choreographed by Chakib Zidi in collaboration with Dance Beyond Borders and Malta Refugee Week, and taking place at Triton Square in Valletta on June 22, Marsascala Bridge on June 23 and Buġibba Square on June 24.

The first edition of Young Creatives in Motion, taking place at the Valletta Campus Theatre on June 23, will see young dancers from different genres and schools presenting five new choreographies set to the music of Ligeti, Bartók, Stravinsky and Poulenc.

For more information and tickets, visit festivals.mt/miaf.

Victoria International Arts Festival

The month-long festival continues on June 19, with the Quartetto Chagall who will perform at St Francis church. The Primrose Ensemble will perform at the same church on June 20, while Gallus Brass will head to the rooftop of Il-Ħagar Museum on June 21.

Bernice Sammut Attard will give a piano recital at the Aula Mgr G. Farrugia on June 22 and Markus Uhl will play the organ at St Augustine church on June 23. Joanne Camilleri will give a harpsichord recital on June 24.

All performances start at 8pm. The festival runs until July 10 and all events are free of charge. For more information, visit viaf.org.mt.

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THEATRE

The Cobbler’s Shop

MCAST is presenting an original theatre play produced by the first-year students of the BA in Performing Arts at MCAST’s Institute for the Creative Arts in Mosta between June 23 and 25.

The plot is about a young cobbler, who is struggling to keep his business open and his marriage afloat and who is haunted by the vision of a pair of red shoes through his shopwindow.

The show is directed by Victor Jacono. For free booking, e-mail cobbler.booking@gmail.com.

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MUSIC

Gogol Bordello live in Malta

Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello is returning to Malta as part of their European tour.

They will performing in a fundraising concert for Ukraine at the Aria Complex in San Ġwann on June 20 at 8pm. They will be supported by local act Brikkuni.

Event is strictly 17+. For tickets, visit showshappening.com.

Qatt minsija

The Malta Concert Orchestra, under the direction of Paul Abela, is performing various Maltese golden oldies in a concert at Pjazza Teatru Rjal in Valletta on June 23 at 8.30pm.

For tickets, visit ticketline.com.mt.

I Cieli Immensi Narrano

As part of the festivities marking the centenary of the laying of the foundation stone of Paola Basilica, the St Paul Choral Society will present a choral and organ concert, featuring sacred music by Maltese and other European composers, on June 23 at 7.15pm.

The choir will be accompanied by Elisabeth Conrad, who will play the new basilica organ, or will sing a cappella. The choirmaster is Hugo Agius Muscat.

Entrance is free and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Sacred music by Harpa Dei

Harpa Dei, a choir of Georgian singers, are performing in three locatilies in Malta between June 23 and 25.

They will present their enchanting performances, which draw on traditional Georgian music, at Ta' Ġieżu church, Rabat, on June 23; at Ta' Ġieżu church, Valletta, on June 24; and at Santa Katarina parish church, Żurrieq, on June 25.

Attendance is for free but one should register here. 

For a taste of Harpa Dei's music, visit https://youtu.be/5XVrtsOP_n0.

Valletta Resounds: The Caravaggio Experience

St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation and Udjenza are producing a new concert as part of the Valletta Resounds series, which strings together Malta’s cultural heritage with theatrical storytelling and timeless classical music.

Titled The Caravaggio Experience, the concert is being performed weekly inside the oratory, which is adorned with Caravaggio's masterpieces.

Critically acclaimed Maltese musicians under the musical direction of Jacob Portelli are at the helm of the site-specific performance, bringing to life the works of baroque masters such as Vivaldi and Bach, along with the sound of sacred Maltese music by composer Francesco Azzopardi and more. They are accompanied by sopranos Dorothy Bezzina and Dorothy Baldacchino.

The concert is woven harmoniously with tales of the Knights of St John narrated by Jeremy Grech. 

A highlight of The Caravaggio Experience is the music score for the atmospheric light installation on details of the master's paintings.

The concert is being performed weekly on Wednesdays and Fridays until June 21 at 6.30pm, with ticket holders being granted exclusive after-hours access to the Co-Cathedral at 6pm. 

Alongside its majestic architecture, visitors may also enjoy rare, centuries-old tapestries that will be exhibited inside the Co-Cathedral until July 1, following a 16-year-long restoration project.

Tickets may be purchased from www.showshappening.com.

For more information visit www.udjenza.com.

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FILM

World Refugee Day Screenings

To commemorate World Refugee Day 2023, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Malta and Spazju Kreattiv are screening two powerful films which shed a light on those forced to flee from their homes. These are Exodus, showing on June 20 at 8pm and Drift, which is being screened at the creativity centre on June 22 at 7.30pm.

The event is free but booking is required on kreattivita.org.

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MISCELLANEOUS

Refugee Week Malta

The week, being held to commemorate World Refugee Day, kicks off today with a family friendly event titled Spark Fest taking place today at Balzunetta, Boċċi Club and Hockey Pitch, Floriana. From June 19 to June 24, there will be a Community Photography Exhibition, at Quicklets in Sliema, with a meet-the-artist session on June 19 at 6.30pm.

A March for Peace, a walk in celebration of diversity , is being held in Valletta on June 20 from 6 to 7.30pm. On June 21, a garden gathering titled ‘Rooting Kinship’ is being held at the Friends of the Earth premises in Floriana. There will be a workshop at 6.30pm, followed by a barbeque from 7.30pm onwards.

A pop-up street performance titled Malti-Etnik, is being held in collaboration with the Malta International Arts Festival (see above) in various localities from June 22 to 24.

The final event is a pop-up library event named Geġwiġija, where food, books and stories of compassion will be shared among participants. This will be held on June 25 from 6pm onwards at Afro Deli in Gżira.

For more information, visit the Refugee Week Malta Facebook page.

Malta International Wine Festival

Argotti Botanic Gardens and Resources Centre in Floriana is hosting an international wine festival between June 21 and 25. Visitors may sample over 300 wines from all over the world and enjoy live music and dance. Industry experts will offer masterclasses on wine tasting, pairing and history.

For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page.

Ħġejjeg fl-Isla

Senglea is holding a weekend of activities on June 23 and 24. These include bonfire works (ħuġġieġa) at the entrance to Senglea, Maltese traditional food, performances by Tikka Banda, Ta’ Verna Folkore Group, Avenue Sky and Claudia Faniello, among others, besides re-enactments, a treasure hunt for children, a police show featuring police dogs and motorcycles and artisan stands.

For all the details, visit the event’s Facebook page.

Talk on The Advent of Materials

Valletta Contemporary is hosting a talk by its current artist in residence, Zoie So, on Saturday at 5pm.

In Zoie So's exploration of The Advent of Artistic Materials, she focuses on the transformative power of various media to communicate ideas, emotions and stories beyond traditional boundaries. 

By incorporating innovative materials, light and technology into her work, and harnessing the potential of different materials, and photonic memory cells, she aims to create a captivating interplay that invites audiences to engage more deeply with the art.

Entry is free, but registration is encouraged. One can send an-mail to to maria@vallettacontemporary.com to register.

A Little Killing Hurts No One

British stand-up comedian Mustafa Algiyadi is holding his show once again at The Black Pearl in Ta’ Xbiex on June 24 at 9pm.

lgiyadi is the co-founder of the first weekly and longest running English Stand Up Comedy Open Mic in Munich.  

A Little Killing Hurts No One was performed to rave reviews at Brighton Fringe Performing Arts Festival held last month.

Tickets are available from showshappening.com.

MarsaskalART night

An open-air art exhibition is being held along the promenade in Marsascala on June 24 and 25 from 5pm onwards

About 20 local artists are taking part in the event, organised by Rudy Buhler Art – The Colour Project in collaboration and supported by the Marsaskala local council.

Xagħra Fig Festival

The 11th edition of the festival celebrating figs and culinary talent is taking place in Victory Square, Xagħra, on June 24.

Hosted by the Xagħra local council, with the support of the Ministry for Gozo and Eco Gozo, the festival gets under way from 7pm onwards.

There will be musical entertainment by George Curmi ‘Il-Pusé, folk dances, and children's activities, among others.

Visit the event's Facebook page for more information.

VISUAL ARTS

Joseph Chetcuti: The Sculptor and Bronzesmith

Four years after his untimely death, the work of sculptor and bronzesmith Joseph Chetcuti is being showcased in a retrospective exhibition at MUŻA, the national museum of art in Valletta.

The founder of Funderija Artistika Chetcuti (as it is known today) in Luqa Industrial Estate, Chetcuti is best remembered for the monuments, portrait busts and commissions he worked on during his lifetime.

Curated by Lisa Gwen, the retrospective runs until June 25.

For more information, visit the exhibition's Facebook page.

Also read this Times of Malta review.

My Palette

Paulino Schembri, known to many as Lino is presenting a solo exhibition at Gemelli Framing in Ta’ Qali.

The collection of work reflects the artist’s versatility, being collection of different styles from abstract to figurative and portraiture showcasing Schembri’s skills in mastering colour and the brush. 

The exhibition is open till June 28 from 8.30am till 2.30 pm on weekdays and 9am to noon on Saturdays.  

Il-Ħabba tal-Għajn

A solo exhibition by Alex Dalli is opening at the Malta Society of Arts in Valletta on June 8.

The exhibition, curated by Gabriel Zammit, follows the painter's journey from the figurative into the abstract.

As Alex Dalli developed as an artist his gaze turned from the external to the internal and his work necessitated a parallel shedding of form in order to express subtle ideas, feelings and abstract concepts. His sensitivity to colour and surface drove him to develop the minimal style that he is now known for.

The exhibition takes its cue from Michael Zammit’s Għana ’l Hena (APS, 2005) which is a cycle of poetry inspired by Sanskrit philosophy and mantra meditation.

Zammit uses language to do the same thing Dalli does with paint, and his words provide a context and touchstone for reading Dalli’s complexly coded images. 

The exhibition runs until June 28. Visit the exhibition's Facebook page  and the Malta Society of Arts website for more information.

Tnessid

An exhibition at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta is bringing together the work of five artists, Aaron Sammut, Elena Said, Kristov Scicluna, Marvic Camilleri and Ramona Borg, following their Master of Fine Arts in Digital Arts, at the Department of Digital Arts, at the University of Malta.

Tnessid is the inverse of ‘dissent’, meaning the diverging opinions from the ones that are commonly held. Apart from reflecting the different perspectives among the artists themselves, each individual project, in one way or another, presents an alternative perspective to commonly held views. The curation of the exhibition links these differences through a common aesthetic thread.

The works are multidisciplinary and conceptual, ranging from sculpture to drawing, installation and sound.

The exhibition, which runs until July 2, includes works by a group of MA students in Digital Arts from the University of Greenwich, London.

OTHER EXHIBITIONS

Ancient Tea With New Glamour

The China Cultural Centre in Malta is hosting a new exhibition under the theme of 'Tea for Harmony', co-organised with the Xi’an Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism.

Featuring intriguing displays, artefacts, paintings and photographs from the city of Xi’an, this new exhibition opens a window into the enduring significance of tea in Chinese culture.

A Tang-style gilded tea set made of bronze gold and silver is the main attraction. Other exhibits include a batch of royal teaware items that were unearthed in 1987 at the ancient Buddhist Famen Temple in northwest Shaanxi and a modern reprinted thread-bound edition of The Classic of Tea, considered to be the first known monograph on tea in the world, written by Lu Yu between 760 CE and 762 CE, during the Tang Dynasty.

One may visit the exhibition, which will remain open until the end of this year at the China Cultural Centre, 173, Melita Street, Valletta. The centre is open Monday to Friday from 9.30am to noon, and from 1.30 to 4pm. Entrance is free. Reservation is advised for group visits at events2023ccc@gmail.com.