MUSIC

UB40, featuring Ali Campbell, live in concert

The legendary raggae and pop band UB40, featuring Ali Campbell, will be performing live at Għaxaq Grounds today as part of the Għaxaq Music Festival.

Somadacrew International Sound’s deejay from the Dominican Republic, Jonathan Gonzalez, will be hosting the night, with a special guest MC from the UK, Badboy Stefan.

Tickets are available here. For more information, visit the Għaxaq Music Festival Facebook page.

Xwejni Music Fest

The Żebbug local council, in collaboration with the Ministry for Gozo and the Cultural Heritage Directorate, is today hosting its first summer music festival.

Performing on the stage set up in front of the Qolla l-Bajda Battery in Xwejni Bay, limits of Marsalforn, will be X Factor finalist Cheryl Balzan and Ivan Grech together with his band, followed by deejays Ryan Spiteri and Micimago. There will also be synchronised fireworks.

Ron Briffa will host the event, which is free of charge. A free park and ride service will also be available.

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

ARTS FESTIVALS

APS Summer Festival

The third edition of the APS Summer Festival continues with an event titled Qamar/Qabar Poetry in Sight and Sound, featuring visual interventions by Austin Camilleri, music by Alex Vella Gregory and soprano Miriam Cauchi.

Gozitan band Kantera will take to the stage tomorrow.

Both events start at 8.30pm.

The APS Summer Festival runs until July 31. For more information and tickets, visit www.apsbank.com.mt/aps-summer-festival-2022 and the event’s Facebook page.

MCAST ICA Festival 2022

MCAST’s Institute for the Creative Arts has turned its annual exhibition into an arts festival, with the aim of reaching out to the community.

The festival is celebrating creativity and is acting as a platform to showcase the students’ hard work and collaboration with relative stakeholders in the industry.

The event, which runs until July 31 at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta, includes a fine art exhibition, interactive media and a game art networking event, photography and graphic design.

For more details, visit https://icafestival.com/, the event’s Facebook page and www.kreattivita.org/en/event/mcast-ica-festival-2022/.

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THEATRE

Kisbiet Minsija

The theatrical piece being staged at Spazju Kreattiv today is the result of a community project that focused on the lives of elderly women aged over 70.

Multiple women from different backgrounds were interviewed about their upbringing, family life and the moments that helped shape them into the women they are today. The show also seeks to highlight the experiences of women in Maltese society beyond the traditional label of housewife or ‘homemaker’. 

Kisbiet Minsija is being held in Studio A at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta. The one-hour performance, starting at 8pm, will be performed today by Daniela Grech.

For more information and tickets, visit www.kreattivita.org.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

The Manoel Theatre is presenting its first in-house musical theatre production of the highly acclaimed dark musical.

With music and lyrics by Stephan Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler, the musical features Roger Tirazona in the title role. The cast also includes Kateriana Fenech, Ryan Grech, Jasmine Farrugia, Stephen Oliver and Noel Zarb.

The production is directed by Lucienne Camilleri, while Ryan Abela is the music director.

The musical is being staged until tomorrow, July 24. Today, there are two shows at 3 and 8pm. For more information and tickets, visit www.teatrumanoel.com.mt and the theatre’s Facebook page.

The Merry Wives of Windsor (Terrace)

Shakespearean shenanigans are currently unfolding at San Anton Gardens, with the Malta Amateur Dramatic Club’s (MADC) hilarious The Merry Wives of Windsor (Terrace).

Directed by Chris Gatt and set in the eponymous Sliema street in the late 1970s-early 1980s, the comedy follows the pathetic attempts of Sir John Falstaff (Edward Thorpe), a fallen knight of the garter, to woo housewives Margaret Ford and Alice Page (Kim Dalli and Antonella Axisa). 

The Merry Wives of Windsor (Terrace), suitable for an audience aged eight and over, runs until tomorrow, July 24, with performances starting at 8.30pm. This production is supported by Arts Council Malta.

For more information and tickets, log on to the event’s Facebook page and www.madc.com.mt.

OTHER EVENTS

Esperimenta Tikka Xjenza

Esplora Interactive Science Centre is today presenting the first edition of Esperimenta Tikka Xjenza, taking place from 6pm onwards at the Couvre Port in Vittoriosa.

The aim is to deliver science to the community in a fun-filled event featuring science shows, games, tinkering, STEAM performances, storytelling and more.

This first edition will focus on the theme of ‘environmental sustainability for well-being’.

The event, organised under the auspices of the STEM Engagement Working Group and with the support of the Vittoriosa local council, caters for all ages and is free of charge.

More information is available at https://esplora.org.mt/esperimenta-tikka-xjenza/  and on the event's Facebook page.

Connecting Through Culture

The sixth edition of the Ta’ Xbiex celebration Connecting Through Culture aims to unite different cultures through gastronomy, music and much more.

The event, being held between the Waterpolo Club and the Royal Malta Yacht Club from 6pm onwards, will include street performers, local and international music acts, Brazilian capoeira, Spanish flamenco, dancers from India, belly dancers, a brass band, bagpipes, an illusionist and a children’s area. There will also be local artisans, food stalls and exhibition stands.

There will be two stages and some seating and high tables on a first-come, first-served basis along the Ta’ Xbiex promenade.

The main stage programme is coordinated by the Ta’ Xbiex local council with the participation of several diplomatic missions, while the second stage is supported by Storeroom. 

Logos Hope in Grand Harbour

Logos Hope, the world’s largest floating book fair, is currently docked in Grand Harbour. It offers over 5,000 books covering a wide range of subjects, including science, sports, hobbies, cookery, arts, medicine, languages and faith.

The ship is open to the public at the Valletta Cruise Port as follows: Tuesday through Friday and Sunday: 3pm-10pm; Saturdays: 10am-1pm, 3-10pm. It is closed on Mondays.

Entrance fee for 13- to 64-year-olds is €1 per person, while adults 65 and over enter for free. Children under 12 years old enter for free but must be accompanied by an adult.

Lunchtime tours at Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum

A series of guided tours at Palazzo Falzon in Mdina taking place until tomorrow are highlighting objects linked to the Order of St John.

During the tour, one may also admire the museum's significant collection specifically displayed to capture and reflect the life and taste of Captain Olof Gollcher.

Bookings at a suggested donation of €10 can be made by e-mail on bookings@palazzofalson.com or by calling on 21454512.  One may also come to the museum 10 minutes prior to the lunchtime tour, which starts at noon.

Gustav Café is open to guests for refreshments on the rooftop terrace of the museum.

EXHIBITIONS

Strange Days

An exhibition of fine art prints and paintings by Australian artist Christian Palmer at the new gallery Green Shutters, 27, St Thomas Street, Floriana, comes to a close today. For more details, follow the Facebook page Lily Agius Gallery.

Connections

Contemporary artworks by Alfred Camilleri are on display at MUŻA, Valletta, until tomorrow, July 24. Opening hours: Monday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm. Visit the museum’s Facebook page for more information.

Emerging

Art by the Seaside gallery in Senglea is hosting a collective exhibition featuring works by 13 artists who are newcomers to the scene.

The collective is open until tomorrow, July 24. Most of the young artists will be at the gallery during opening hours.

Consult the gallery’s Facebook page for opening hours and more information.

Whereabouts

An exhibition of works by Debbie Bonello and Andrew Borg is on at Il-Ħaġar Museum, Victoria, until July 25. The museum is open daily from Monday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm. Visit the museum’s Facebook page for more information and updates.

Let Me Be Myself

The international Anne Frank exhibition is on display at Il-Ħaġar Museum, Victoria, until July 25. The museum is open daily from Monday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm. Visit the museum’s Facebook page for more information and updates.

Something About You

A 10-year survey exhibition by Marinella Senatore at Blitz in Valletta brings together paintings, drawings, videos, a powerful project with Russian protest group Pussy Riot featuring a new organic site-specific sculpture, and a public artwork on the historical façade of Valletta’s Casino Maltese.

The exhibition culminated in the public performance The School of Narrative Dance on June 30, which featured over 100 participants from local groups and communities, and a dance movement in Republic Street, Valletta, in memory of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The exhibition runs until July 28. For more information, log on to https://blitzvalletta.com/.

An Experience of Colour Through Different Mediums

A photographic and artistic exhibition by artist Frank Bonnici and his son, photographer Kris Bonnici, runs at Ir-Razzett tal-Markiż Mallia Tabone in Mosta until July 30. For more information, visit the cultural centre’s Facebook page.

City Lights – A Charles Gatt Retrospective

Best known as a musician and jazz percussionist, the late Charles ‘City’ Gatt also loved to paint. The Phoenicia, in Floriana, is hosting a retrospective exhibition of his colourful, abstract works at the hotel’s Palm Court Lounge until July 31. The exhibition is curated by Charlene Vella.

Ritrarti

A photography and art exhibition by Silvana Camilleri and Charles Vassallo runs at Ċentru Pastorali Sgħajtar, Triq il-Lanġas, Naxxar, until July 31. Consult the event’s Facebook page for opening hours.

Bathers and Sails

An exhibition of works by Norwegian artist Olaug Vethal, who lived in Malta between 1996 until her death in 2007, runs at Christine X Art Gallery in Tigné Street, Sliema, until August 5.

The gallery is open from Monday to Friday from 10am to 1pm, and from 4 to 7pm, and on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm.

For more information, visit www.christinexart.com and the Christine X Art Gallery Facebook page.

Humanity at War: Reflections

A photographic exhibition capturing the human side of war by photojournalists Darrin Zammit Lupi and Heidi Levine is on display at the Malta Enterprise offices in Pietà until August 10.

Curated by Pamela Baldacchino, the exhibition features photos of conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, Israel, Libya and Bosnia.

Funds raised will go towards Ukrainian refugees in Malta and the building of ‘Becs’ Junior Secondary school in Ethiopia, in memory of 15-year-old Rebecca Zammit Lupi who died in 2021 from a rare form of cancer.

One may visit the exhibition from Monday to Friday from 9am to noon and from 6 to 8pm, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 6 to 8pm.

Landforms

Patrick Dalli is exhibiting a collection of large-scale oil paintings exploring the Maltese landscapes in abstract form.

Curated by Roderick Camilleri, the exhibition is open until August 11 at the Art Galleries of the Malta Society of Arts at Palazzo de la Salle, Valletta, between today and August 11. 

Opening hours: Mondays and Fridays: 8am to 7pm; Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays: 8am to noon and 4pm to 7pm; Saturdays: 8am to 1pm.

For more information, visit www.patrickdalli.com and www.artsmalta.org/events.

Memories of My Island

A Maltese photographer based in New York, Nicky Conti, is presenting a collection of photographs of Malta capturing moments in time at the Malta Postal Museum & Arts Hub, in Archbishop Street, Valletta, until August 13.

The museum is open from Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm. For more information, visit the museum’s Facebook page.

Harboured

An exhibition of watercolour works by Sarah Calleja inspired by the Grand Harbour and its stories is on at Il-Kamra ta’ Fuq in Mqabba until August 15.

The gallery is open weekly from Mondays to Saturdays from 6am to noon and on Sundays from 7am to noon. More evening hours are announced weekly on Il-Kamra ta’ Fuq Facebook page.

A colourful stone sculpture exhibition by Antoine Farrugia is open to the public at the Phoenicia Hotel Deep Nature Spa.

Prehistoric pottery making

An exhibition presenting the results of a scientific investigation of materials and techniques used in pottery making during Maltese prehistory is open at the National Museum of Archaeology. The exhibition runs until the end of August. Opening hours: Monday to Sunday from 9am to 4.30pm. 

whatson@timesofmalta.com