THEATRE

The Sound of Music

The Astra Theatre in Victoria is staging the popular musical based on the memoir of Maria Augusta Trapp again on March 25 and 26.

The show features music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse.

The cast sees Anthony Edridge and Jasmine Farrugia in the main roles as Captain George von Trapp and Maria respectively.

Tickets are available from showshappening.com.

Private Lives

The Manoel Theatre and MADC are presenting Noël Coward’s comedy Private Lives once again from March 24 to 26

Coward’s classic comedy of manners sees two couples forced to face their true feelings for each other when they unknowingly book adjoining rooms while on honeymoon with their respective spouses.

Private Lives, certified 11+, is directed by Malcolm Galea and stars Edward Thorpe, Greta Agius, Myron Ellul, Kim Dalli and Giulia Gatt.

For tickets, visit teatrumanoel.com.mt.

Read more about the play here.

Is-Skiet li Jtarrax

The Drama Unit (MEYR) is presenting a Theatre in Education Project called Is-skiet li jtarrax (The Deafening Silence) in collaboration with the Manoel Theatre and the National School Support Services, for pupils of Year 10 (Form 4) until March 24.

This project tackles the theme of child abuse, specifically sexual abuse. Therefore, it is suggested that all classes attending the project are accompanied either by the School Guidance Teacher or the PSCD teachers.

The production is in Maltese and will be held at the Teatru Manoel Studio Theatre. Because of the sensitive nature of the topic, only small groups of pupils are accepted and therefore on a first-come, first-served basis.

Bookings may be made on bookings@teatrumanoel.mt or on 2124 6389.

Għalik

The Medina Foundation for Music is presenting the musical drama Għalik at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta on March 25 and 26.

With score and libretto by Mro Mark Agius, the drama portrays the last days of Christ and is inspired by the Passion play held in Oberammergau, Germany. It will feature a full, live symphonic orchestra, singers, choristers, actors and dancers.

The production, with a cast of over 200 performers, is being held in collaboration with Id-Dar tal-Providenza, Special Olympics Malta and also features established local artists, singers and dancers of the St Paul Metropolitan Orchestra, the St Monica Vocal Ensemble, the Anacrusis Concert Choir and the Paul Curmi Dance Studio, under the musical direction of Agius himself, the artistic direction of Sandy Spiteri Vella, assisted by Louie Noir, and dance choreography of Eldridge Saliba Curmi. Costumes are by Louie Noir.

Parts of the performance will also be interpreted in sign language.

Tickets are available here.

Il-Ħellies

The De La Salle College is staging the Passion play Il-Ħellies on March 25 and 26. While recounting the last hours of Christ, the play will particularly focus on the character of Barabbas.

It will be staged on March 25 at 6pm and on March 26 at 3.30pm. For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page. For bookings, call on 7930 8900 or 9998 6696.

Trikki Trakki Festival 2023

The popular children’s festival is back at M Space, Blue Box, in Msida, from March 20 to 26.

This event set up by children, for children, offers students the opportunity to not only develop their creativity and talent but also create theatre under the watchful eye and expertise of the very best tutors and directors in the business, allowing them to get a real taste of what it’s like to work in the real world of theatre-making. The children will get to do it all: from costume design, make-up and lights to set dressing and props making

For tickets, visit showshappening.com.

MUSIC

Mużika Mużika

The third edition of the Maltese music festival, organised by Festivals Malta, is taking place between March 23 and 25 at the MFCC in Ta’ Qali.

Twenty songs are competing in the semi-final on March 23. The following day, the semi-finalists will interpret classical Maltese numbers together with established singers. The 12 finalists announced at the end of the evening will then vie for the top place on March 25.

The festival will be compered by Clare Agius, Keith Demicoli and Moria Delia.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.muzikamuzika.org/.

Ħenn Għalina

The male chorists of Schola Cantorum Jubilate and the SCJ Teen Singers will perform in a Lenten concert at Għasri parish church on March 24.

The concert includes sacred music, Gregorian chants and contemporary choral pieces, interspersed with readings of poetry, literature and the Scriptures.

The choir will be accompanied by Gino Mulè Stagno on the organ, Anna Magrin on the piano and Fiona Murphy on the cello, all under the direction of Marouska Attard.

Entrance is free. The concert is supported by the Cultural Heritage Directorate within the Ministry for Gozo.

Tiġi Saltnatek – Thy Kingdom Come

The Mosta Rotunda Foundation is presenting a concert for Lent at the Mosta Dome on March 24 at 7pm. Singer Lorna Fiorini and pianist Andrew Pace will be taking part.

Entrance is free. Tickets are to be collected from the basilica.

Funeral marches concert

A fundraising concert in aid of Id-Dar tal-Providenza will be held at the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Valletta on March 25 at 7.30pm.

The concert, under the direction of Francois Borg, will consist of funeral marches.

An exhibition titled Kollox mitmum will be set up in the Carmelite convent. Entrance is free.

Joy Gospel Singers concert

The Joy Gospel Singers, under the musical direction of Michelle Marie Abela, are holding a concert in aid of the St Jeanne Antide Foundation at the Sacred Heart Auditorium in St Julian’s on March 25 at 7.30pm.

The choir will interpret a variety of traditional spiritual and contemporary gospel songs.

The children’s choir led by Phylisienne Brincat, the young musicians of the Swieqi Academy Orchestra under the direction of Kristina Dimic and singer Chris Grech will also take part.

Tickets are available at sacredheartpta.com. Parking will be available at the Zammit Clapp parking (back entrance to the school auditorium).

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FILM

Libya: Who is Sowing Chaos?

Spazju Kreattiv is screening a documentary on Libya, followed by a Q&A with war reporter and film director Kamal Redouani on March 21 at 7.30pm.

Redouani is a senior reporter and specialist of the Arab world who regularly collaborates with France Télévisions, Canal+ and Arte. After interviewing jihadist leaders and witnesses of the war in Iraq and Syria, he wrote the bestseller Inside Daech (2016). He produced multi-awarded documentaries about the uprise of violence in Libya, Syria and Iraq, regularly screened on French TV.

Attendance is for free but booking is required on kreattivita.org. Read more about the event here.

Turandot

The Eden Cinemas in St Julian's is screening the Royal Opera Live adaptation of Puccini's opera Turandot on March 22 at 8.15pm.

Puccini’s score is rich in musical marvels (including Nessun dorma), while Andrei Serban’s production draws on Chinese theatrical tradition to evoke a colourful fantasy tableau of ancient Peking.

The show, certified PG, is directed by Antonio Pappano.

Turandot will also be screened on March 26 at 3pm. For tickets, click here.

Syria, Women in War

The documentary Syria, Women in War, is being screened at the Arts Lecture Theatre, Old University Building, University of Malta, Msida, on March 22 at 7pm. It will be followed by a Q&A session with war reporter and film director Kamal Redouani.

This event is organised with several departments of the University of Malta (International relations, European Studies, Media and Communications, Mediterranean Institute, Middle-Eastern and Asian Languages and Culture, MEDAC) and Capa Productions.

Entrance is free. Watch the trailer here.

Read about more events that will be attended by Redouani here.

Anything Goes – The Musical

The Tony Award-winning musical romp, set on board the SS American in the Atlantic, is being screened at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta on March 26 at 4pm.

Filmed live at the Barbican, London in October 2021, the show is directed by the multi-award-winning Broadway director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall and features Cole Porter’s joyful score, including I Get A Kick Out of You, You’re the Top and the showstopping Anything Goes. 

It is certified PG. Tickets are available here.

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MISCELLANEOUS

Comino bakery fundraising talk

Food historian Noel Buttigieg will take a look at the building and maintenance of bread ovens over the years, with a particular focus on the oven at the old Comino Bakery, during a talk organised by Friends of the Earth Malta on March 20 at 6pm.

‘Building and Maintaining Bread Ovens: A Historical Outlook’ is taking place at Friends of the Earth Malta premises in Floriana. Registration is required on https://foemalta.org/event/comino-oven/.

Book signing session and discussion

Film director Kamal Redouani will be signing his new book The New Dogs of War at the Valletta Design Cluster in Bull Street, Valletta on March 23 at 6pm.

The book, which presents Redouani's new, independent investigation about private military companies active in Libya and Ukraine among others, will be presented exclusively in Malta, two weeks before its release in France thanks to the collaboration of the publisher Arthaud. 

The book signing session will be followed by a discussion. The event is in French.

See more events that will be attended by Redouani here.

Il-Mara u l-Arti: Different Perspectives on Women in the Arts

A conference in honour of Women's Day and Women's History Month is being held by Pop & Art, in collaboration with the Department of Art and Art History and HoASA, convened by art historian Nadette Xuereb, at the Arts Lecture Theatre, University of Malta, Msida Campus, on March 21 at 6.30pm.

This event will be introduced by Charlene Vella (Department of Art and Art History) and chaired by paintings conservator Rachel Vella. Papers on varying topics on women in the arts will be presented by art history graduates Rachel Abdilla, Nadette Xuereb, Hannah Dowling, fine arts graduate Marie Claire Farrugia and textile conservator Leyre Quevedo Bayona, followed by a Q&A by HoASA. Everyone is welcome.

Kampus Kotba: The 2023 Campus Book Festival

The National Book Council (NBC) is holding the 2023 Campus Book Festival between March 22 and 24 at the University of Malta Quadrangle.

This year’s edition will be celebrating Maltese literature, and in particular some of the winners of the 2022 National Book prize. The festival’s programme will include various interviews and literary exchanges, and will also open discussions on certain hot topics such as the uses of ChatGPT and its repercussions in academia and publishing.

The public is invited to participate in a number of activities such as workshops in creative writing and illustration, book clubs and literature readings, including the annual Palk Ħieles Campus event organised by Inizjamed.

This year’s exhibitors are Horizons Malta, Klabb Kotba Maltin/Midsea Books Ltd, Ede Books/Kixott, SKS Publishers, Faraxa Publishing, Kite Group, Mallia & D’Amato Booksellers, Għaqda tal-Malti - Università, Inizjamed, Arts Council Malta, THINK Magazine, LGBTI+ Gozo.

The full programme of events can be downloaded from https://ktieb.org.mt/book-festival-on-campus2023/.

Jagħti ħajtu b’fidwa għall-kotra

The Għaqda Filantropika Talent Mosti is holding a musico-literary evening on March 25.

Participating in the event will be the Kor Santa Cecilja, directed by Simone Attard, while various well-known personalities will read the Biblical excerpts.

The event is being held at the theatre of the Maria Regina College Mosta Secondary School next to the the Razzett tal-Markiż Mallia Tabone.

Entrance is free.

Let’s Stem

The Gozo Central Public Library in St Francis Square, Victoria, is hosting an activity to promote STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) on March 25.

Sarah Galea will lead three workshops at 8.30, 10 and 11.15am, that will include a reading session from the book The Most Magnificent Thing by award-winning author and illustrator Ashley Spires and a related STEM workshop where children will be able to create some wonderful objects − just like the girl in the Spires’s book.

Various craft sessions related to Easter will also be held throughout the day. Young YouTuber Mikyle Buttigieg will join for a reading session in Maltese at 9.30am.

The workshops are ideal for five- to eight-year-olds but all ages are welcome. To reserve a place, visit events.library@gov.mt.

VISUAL ARTS

The Passion Paintings

Artist Caroline Said Lawrence is exhibiting a collection of 15 large acrylic and mixed media paintings as part of a larger collection – The Passion Paintings.

The exhibition will be hosted in The 3CitiesAuberge, 21 & 22 Triq L-Oratorju, Cospicua, until March 26.

Opening hours are March 24 and 25 from 5 to 7pm and on March 26 from 10.30am to 12.30pm.

Further viewing times may be made by appointment. E-mail the artist on cslawrence@melita.com. 

Order of Malta National Art Exhibition

The Order of Malta is hosting a National Art Exhibition at St John’s Cavalier in Valletta, with the aim to raise funds for the charitable causes that the Maltese association of the Order supports in Malta.

The exhibition, which is potentially going to be the largest collective art exhibition ever organised locally, features the works of 128 painters and watercolourists, six bronze artists, 17 ceramicists, eight sculptors, five photographers and a glass sculptor.

The Order of Malta National Art Exhibition will be open daily from March 24 to April 6 between 10am and 6pm, including Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

Antoine Camilleri (1922–2005) – a Tribute

art..e Gallery of Victoria, Gozo is honouring Antoine Camilleri, one of the giants of Maltese modern art of the 20th century, with a celebratory exhibition . 

Camilleri is not only important as an innovative artist but also as one of the founder members of three artist groups in the 1950s which laid the groundwork and were instrumental in the development of Maltese art.

Throughout his career, Camilleri remained committed to exploring new mediums and techniques. His work reflects his experimentation with a variety of materials, from oils and acrylics to clay and resin, concrete, sand, and objet trouvé.

The exhibition features a curated collection of Camilleri’s works by Maria Cassar that demonstrate the artist’s mastery of handling different media and subjects. The works range from different periods of Camilleri’s career, the majority of which are being exhibited for the first time in public.

art..e Gallery is situated at 1, Library Street, Victoria, Gozo. The gallery is open Monday to Sunday from 9.30 am to 12.15 pm. The exhibition runs until March 24.

Inspiration

Anthony Lucian Cauchi is exhibiting ceramics and paintings in different media at the Wignacourt Museum, Rabat, until March 25.

The ceramics, six works in all, are inspired by history, fables and legends, as the artist is a keen follower of both the art and the history of the Greek and Roman classical civilisations.

The exhibition’s title reflects the fact the artist’s work is inspired by life’s experiences and refers to his dreams too. The artist isn’t restricted to one style as he loves both the abstract and the figurative.

Opening hours are Monday to Sunday from 9am till 5pm.

Pause2Save

Gozitan artist Marvic Muscat documents life as if time stood still in a collection of 32 paintings on display at the Banca Giuratale, Victoria, Gozo.

The edifices in his paintings still exist − wayside chapels, Mdina bastions and all − although some of them are threatened by rampant construction. The artist distils out contemporary contaminants, such as cars, shop signs, high-rise buildings and other atrocities, and concentrates on the redeeming factors of our architectural and natural heritage.

These works have a postcard quality to them, maybe reflecting the author’s discomfort in representing the stigmata of progress.

Pause2Save is on until March 26. Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 8am to 2.30pm, Saturday and Sunday from 9am to noon. Entrance is free.

thirty-three

Local artist Pawlu Mizzi is presenting a solo exhibition at Gemelli Framing at the Ta' Qali Artisan Village.

The exhibition features 33 works created over 11 years, which include digital works produced through different techniques.

The exhibitions runs until March 27. For more information and opening hours, click here.

Order in Chaos

The Phoenicia Malta is hosting an exhibition by photojournalist and street photographer Martin Agius during March.

For more information, click here.

Free Spirit #2

The Malta Society of Arts is hosting an exhibition of abstract, colourful works by Maria Cassar.

Cassar uses her ‘intuition’, ‘freedom’ and ‘imagination’ to look further away from what she can physically see and enunciates intangible emotions onto the canvas.

She artistically translates her inner impulses into geometric shapes and gestural marks, with the works revealing a continuous dialogue between light and shade, void and presence.

The show will also include a few paintings that portray children in a playful, carefree mood.

The show runs at the Art Galleries of Palazzo de la Salle in Valletta until March 30. Opening hours: Mondays to Fridays: from 8am to 7pm; and Saturdays from 9am to 1pm. On Sundays and Public Holidays, the galleries are closed.

Resilience – Stories of Women Inspiring Change

The World Press Photo Foundation and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Malta are presenting an exhibition featuring stories awarded in the World Press Photo contests from 2000 to 2021, that highlight the resilience and challenges of women, girls and communities around the world.

Multiple voices, documented by 17 photographers of 13 different nationalities, offer insights into issues including sexism, gender-based violence, reproductive rights and access to equal opportunities. 

The event is taking place at Ġnien Laparelli in the Valletta ditch until March 28. Entrance is free.

Humanity

Artist Silvana Camilleri, known as taċ-Ċmajra, explores different situations via a male and female model in an exhibition at KunĊett Art Kafe in Valletta.

In Humanity, Camilleri created scenarios by instructing her models to pose, thereby expressing emotions, via their facial grimaces and smiles, as well as their bodies’ behaviour.

The artist then intervened pictorially on the printed photographs with the compositions edited to suit her concept.

These artworks can be viewed at KunĊett Art Kafe of 51, Strait Street, Valletta, until March 31. Opening hours are Tuesdays to Sundays from noon till midnight.

Read also the Times of Malta review here.

Traces of Human

Veteran sculptors Angelo Agius and Mario Agius are showing their latest works at the Exhibition Hall, Ministry of Gozo, Victoria, until April 1.

Although not related by blood, both artists are intrigued by the human figure and its relation to circumstances, pitfalls, vulnerabilities, saving graces and all. 

The exhibition explores the various sculptural viewpoints of the two artists and tries to find the redeeming factors in what defines us as human.

The exhibition will be open from Monday to Friday from 8am to 4pm and from 9.30am to noon. For more information, visit Mario Agius's Facebook page.

Also read the Times of Malta review.

Insular

An exhibition by French photographer Cédrine Scheidig is on at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta.

The project focuses on the everyday life and destiny of young men from the African diaspora, recently settled on the island of Malta. Offering a sensitive portrait of this new community, the weaving of portraits, landscapes and still lives sets a poetical narration that attempts to create a sense of belonging; the semblance of a home in the making between here and there.

The exhibition runs until April 2 and is supported by the French Embassy and the Alliance Française de Malte-Méditerranée. For more information, click here.

Sovereign Art Foundation students’ exhibition

Works by the finalists of the Sovereign Art Foundation Students Prize Malta & Gozo are being exhibited at Palazzo Ferreria in Valletta from March 20 to April 4.

All secondary schools and colleges in Malta and Gozo were invited to participate in this year’s competition, by nominating and submitting the best artworks produced by their students.

The public is encouraged to visit the exhibitions and vote for their favourite artwork to select the Public Vote winner. The artist behind the winning entry will take home €300 and their school will win €800 to be destined to the school’s Art Department or the creation of one. Voting can also be done through the foundation’s website. 

An international panel of judges will select The Judge’s Prize. The student producing the winning artwork will receive €500 and the school €1,500.

Oikos Logia

A multimedia exhibition exploring the dysfunctional relationship between humans and their habitat is open at R Gallery in Sliema.

Oikos Logia features the work of 10 artists who look to the global misuse of resources and their inherent capability for dramatic reuse, especially as it relates to an increasingly overwhelming ecological anxiety.

The participating artists are Adrian Abela, Anna Calleja, Tom van Maldren, Ian Schranz, Ritty Tacsum, Showzen Kajima, Jon Banthorpe, Cyril Sancereau,  Sam Vassallo and Stefan Spiteri. 

The exhibition runs until April 8. More information is available on the gallery's Facebook page.

Southern Dreams

Artist and poet Paul Cassar is exhibiting his latest works at Esplora in Kalkara.

Southern Dreams includes abstract and landscape paintings, poems inspired by art pieces and several sculptures in a representation of the beauty of the colours of the south of Malta, especially Kalkara.

Southern Dreams runs until Apri 9. For more information about opening hours, visit  https://esplora.org.mt/.

Heart of Matter

Victor Agius is presenting his latest earth paintings and stoneware ceramics at Il-Kamra ta' Fuq in Mqabba.

The core of Agius’s practice can be experienced through his shamanic gestures in which the primordial matter of terrarossa, ceramics, pigments, cement and clay focus on how man uses nature and materials around him to practise his rituals, to satisfy his material and spiritual needs, while exposing his fragile existence.

Heart of Matter, curated by Melanie Erixon for Art Sweven, opens on March 17 and runs until April 9. Consult the venue’s Facebook page for opening hours.

Prestorjha

Enrique Tabone is holding a solo exhibition at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta, featuring works of contemporary art on the theme of the female figure in prehistoric Malta and Gozo, from a feminist perspective.

Works in this series include objects made from the artist’s signature use of plexiglass, site-specific installations, as well as video art from an intimate performance, along with art prints, some of which are produced from the artist’s studies on the structures presented during this exhibition. 

This exhibition includes contributions by photographers Alex Attard and Jean Marc Zerafa, digital work by Solid Eye, along with texts by archaeologist Isabelle Vella Gregory and curator Toni Sant, which appear in a catalogue raisonné, published in limited edition by Kite Group.

This catalogue also features a retrospective of the artist’s work since 2010, as exhibited in 2022 at the University of Malta’s Valletta Campus in collaboration with the Institute of Maltese Studies.

The exhibition runs until April 9. For more information, click here.

When the Moon Waxes Red

A new exhibition opening at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta brings together artists from around the world who address the imbalance between human activities to extract resources and colonial ideologies, justifying the protection of property over people and nature’s degradation, by using ecofeminism as a point of departure.

Curated by Maren Richter, the exhibition − whose title is borrowed from Vietnamese film-maker Trinh Minh-h’s book When the Moon Waxes Red − features the work of Ursula Biemann, Seba Calfuqueo, DIS Collective, Charlene Galea, Romea Roxman Gatt, Folly Feast Lab (Yara Feghali and Viviane El Kmati), Crystn Hunt Akron, Sasha Huber, Nation25 (Elena Abbiatici, Valeria D’Ambrosio and Caterina Pecchioli), Daniela Ortiz, Kanthy Peng, Robertina Šebjanič and Bartolina Xixa.

The exhibition runs until April 16. For more information, click here.

Irregularity

J.P. Migneco (b. 1989), an artist who lives and works in Malta, is holding an exhibition at Valletta Contemporary until May 6.

Titled Irregularity, the exhibition features a series of artworks that explore the relationship between natural and artificial environments. The body of work involves a process of reinterpreting landscapes that are found near coastal areas in Malta, through the use of photography, drawing, digital media and painting.

The theme of this project delves into notions related to urbanisation and the advancement of technology. Therefore, the work attempts to evoke issues related to human-environment interaction in the digital age.

Valletta Contemporary is open from Wednesdays to Sundays from 2 to 7pm. For more information, look up the gallery's Facebook page and website.

Rituals of Passage

Valletta Contemporary is displaying the result of a co-creative project between Ryan Falzon, Aaron Bezzina, Alexandra Fraser, Yasmine Akondo, Mladen Hadžić, and Stefan Kolgen.

Rituals are part of everyday life. During times of distress, they give comfort. The title is based on the fact that rituals can bring one from one stage to another physically and mentally. Post-COVID rituals can help one find balance in a disrupted society where attention to mental health and well-being has become important. 

The artists created the works with the exhibition space in mind, presenting them in such a way that they interact with each other and that they challenge the viewer, offering context for the audience to create their own story.

Rituals of Passage, curated by Ann Laenen and Stefan Kolgen, closes on May 6. During the opening weekend some works will be accompanied by a performance and a discussion session about the meaning of rituals will be organised, followed by a meet and greet with the artists.

Valletta Contemporary is open from Wednesdays to Sundays from 2 to 7pm. For more information, look up the gallery's Facebook page and website.

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GOOD FRIDAY EXHIBITIONS

Il-Misteru tal-Mewt u l-Qawmien

The Saint Joseph the Worker Exhibitions Society is organising the 23rd edition of the annual Good Friday Exhibition at the St Joseph the Worker Parish Centre, no. 71, Bwieraq Street, Birkirkara.

The exhibition includes the participation of about 40 exhibitors from different age groups. Among the items on display, one can find a life-size replica of Christ’s Last Supper, complete with life-size figures, various sets of Good Friday statuettes, a replica of the Golgotha, comprising more than 300 traditional clay statuettes, large replicas of the interior of a church, complete with Good Friday statuettes and scenes and symbols from Christ’s passion, depicted in coloured semolina, rice and pasta.

Other attractions include symbols and costumes of Roman soldiers and a life- size statue of Our Lady of Sorrows. Moreover, a number of items prepared during the year by the Society’s members, will also be on display for the first time during this exhibition. 

The exhibition is open daily until Good Friday (April 7) from 9am to noon and from 4 to 9pm. On Maundy Thursday it will be open from 9am to noon and from 4pm until midnight, while on Good Friday, it will be open from 9am to 1pm and from 4 to 6pm.

Entrance is free of charge. For more information, log on to wirjasgh.webs.com or the society’s Facebook page.

Habiti Biblici - Holy Week Vesture Exhibition

The Sagrestia Vault at the Valletta Waterfront is hosting an exhibition of Holy Week pageant vestments, life-size statues and a set of miniature Good Friday statuettes, among other artefacts. 

This exhibition is organised by the Kumitat Festi Esterni Marija Reġina Marsa. It is open until March 31. Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 8am to 9pm and on Sundays from 11am to 2pm. Entrance is free.

For more information, click here.

OTHER EXHIBITIONS

Viva Viva l-Karnival: The George Zahra Donation

An exhibition celebrating a donation of carnival memorabilia by carnvial enthusiast George Zahra to Heritage Malta runs at the Inquisitor’s Palace in Vittoriosa until April 9.

The exhibition comprises official carnival programmes dating as far back as 1930, models for carnival floats, music scores, trophies and participation certificates, among other memorabilia.

Entrance to the exhibition is part and parcel of the Inquisitor’s Palace experience and there is no additional fee. The museum is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays to Sundays from 9am to 5pm.

Unseen and Unheard: Stories of Women Under Fire

The Storm Petrel Foundation is hosting an archival exhibition that sheds light on overlooked or previously unrecorded war narratives and microhistories from Malta and elsewhere.

It brings together items and artefacts drawn from different collections, with a primary focus on wartime experiences of women and girls.

The exhibition was inspired by a series of conversations between the NGO and Robert Attard, who had found a collection of letters written by a young German woman during World War II, some of which are on display.

The exhibition is organised across five different rooms at the Storm Petrel Foundation’s premises in Attard, with each room representing a different era or focus.

The Storm Petrel Foundation has collaborated with Simon Cusens, Kim Dalli, Sharp Shoot Media, Media Coop, Tayar Foundation for Jewish Heritage in Malta, Sarah Chircop and Giuliana Fenech, Heritage Malta, Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna and Palazzo Falson.

The exhibition runs until April 14. For opening hours and more information, visit the foundation's Facebook page.

Chinese Zodiac Sign Exhibition

The China Cultural Centre in Malta, in collaboration with the China Arts and Entertainment Group, is presenting an exhibition on the Chinese zodiac sign of the rabbit which is this year’s sign.

With the aim to promote an understanding of China’s traditional culture and its connections with local tourism, the exhibition showcases how this particular zodiac sign is transmitted in various cultural facets of different Chinese regions.

Colourful illustrations portray how this rich heritage is passed on through the creation of costumes and dance, opera, silk fabric designs, ceramics, lanterns, pencils, paper-cutting, festive candy and bean flour lamps.

The exhibition is open at the China Cultural Centre at 173, Melita Street, Valletta, until the end of April. Entrance is free. Groups are advised to book in advance through events2023ccc@gmail.com.

Shoah the Holocaust: How Was It Humanly Possible?

The Tayar Foundation for Jewish Heritage in Malta has organised a Holocaust Memorial exhibition which will be displayed at three venues in Malta until June.

The exhibition deals with major historical aspects of the Holocaust, beginning with Jewish life in pre-Holocaust Europe and ending with the liberation of the Nazi concentration and extermination camps across the continent and the remarkable return to life of the survivors.

The display panels feature explanatory texts, with quotes from Jewish victims and survivors, photographs, art documents and videos for eight survivor stories.

The exhibition is open until April 23 at MCAST Paola, opening hours Monday to Friday from 7am to 8pm and on Saturdays from 9am to 12.15pm (closed on Sundays); and from April 24 to June 4 at the University of Malta, Msida Campus, open from Monday to Friday from 7am to 11pm and on Saturdays and Sundays from 9am to 4.45pm.

For more information, visit shoah.jewishheritagemalta.org/.

whatson@timesofmalta.com