Many key sectors and industries are reeling from the effects of COVID-19. The ongoing uncertainty has deeply unsettled the culture sector, already characterised by a high degree of insecurity for many of its professionals. 

One of the first victims was the Mdina Biennale 2020. The enormous emotional and financial investment that went into this international event is reflected in countless other projects and initiatives, which have been stalled, cancelled or indefinitely postponed.

It is therefore all the more troubling to note that the government’s response to this uncertainty has been the strengthening of state cultural entities. This move has come at the expense of much- needed support for the free and open community of artists and contributors.

The situation came to a head when the Arts Council Malta pledged an investment of €1 million a year to groups already in active partnership agreements with the national entity. The promotion of a ‘Cinema City’ event that directly competes with the long-established and independently-run Valletta Film Festival has been held up as emblematic of a systemic dysfunction in the cultural sector.

The Film Grain Foundation, which curates the festival, was quick to criticise the government’s decision to host its own event in the same month, while also cutting funding for the independent festival by 30 per cent. 

A chorus of cultural creators joined the foundation’s appeal for a re-evaluation of the decision. Government events, they argued, rob artists of essential opportunities, further endangering an already precarious group of individuals.

Culture Minister José Herrera admitted that the reason behind the government-sponsored festival was primarily economic. Films were apparently chosen to “attract more people who after the event will go shopping or eat out at restaurants which is the aim of the event”. This is arts as a means to an end, in this case, purely economic. With such a vision of culture, it seems inevitable that the sector will be the last to return to full capacity during the nation’s recovery. Artists will be unable to create, arts workers will be forced out and arts organisations will close their doors.

A failure to invest equitably in the arts at this crucial juncture in recovery planning could seal the decimation of an industry that does much more than attract a paying audience. As things stand, Malta’s cultural authorities may well be initiating an irretrievable loss of wisdom and skills.

Also of pressing concern is the subtle shift taking place in the way culture and the arts are being funded. Could this signal a slippery slope, where political interests provide the guiding impetus for the investment that is being made in Malta’s cultural community?

If the arts are allowed to be swallowed by unfettered economic interests, attempts to stimulate the sector will fail. There will be too little left for any meaningful revival of the creative ecosystem that sustains and shapes 
our country.

If the arts are allowed to be swallowed by unfettered economic interests, attempts to stimulate the sector will fail.

Ultimately, Malta needs a cultural community that is empowered to speak out and take on the challenging issues of our day. Recovery from the psychological and social impact of COVID-19, responding to the image of corruption that is trailing Malta, and coming to terms with complex questions of race and prejudice are a few of the urgent topics that require a creative response. 

Our artists are more essential than ever, providing us with new ways of understanding and working through the struggles of contemporary life. 

However, without the necessary freedom from political coercion or state-sanctioned competition, this mammoth task may prove insurmountable.