The coveted Il-Premju għall-Arti, an initiative by Arts Council Malta, within the Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government is back for its third edition. The awards will be under the patronage of President of Malta George Vella and will be celebrating excellent and outstanding work premiered throughout the 2018/2019 creative season, contributing to the advancement of Malta’s cultural and creative sectors.
President Vella talked about the significance of Il-Premju għall-Arti to help elicit sensitivity towards all that which is considered artistic. He continued by saying that such an initiative is a means of “recognition by the citizen” of every object that can be considered as artistic and nominated for Il-Premju għall-Arti.
President Vella continued by mentioning the element of democratisation of the arts, and how through the way in which citizens vote, one can measure the people’s progress in the appreciation of the arts. President Vella concluded by congratulating the organisers and all those involved in Il-Premju għall-Arti and expressed his appreciation for these kinds of initiatives.
In his address, Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Government Owen Bonnici emphasised the importance of Il-Premju għall-Arti to the cultural and creative sectors through its recognition of the most outstanding projects, productions, artistic practice and methodology.
“As a government, we work towards strengthening the cultural scene in our country, and thanks to this initiative which is now in its third year, we are awarding excellence in the field of culture and the arts, while encouraging more professionalism and distinction within the sector,” stated Dr Bonnici.
Il-Premju għall-Arti has been rebranded with a fresh new look this year, and during the awards night, winners will be presented with a prestigious and newly designed Arts Council Malta trophy created and developed by artist Kane Calì.
The awards will be more community-centred this year, given that it is now easier for the public to nominate individuals or organisations who caught their eye and who they think deserves recognition for work produced during the 2018/2019 season. To this effect, a brand-new website, www.premju.mt, was launched, through which audiences can nominate the work or artists who they believe deserve recognition.
The nomination process is simple – members of the public need only fill a simple form on the website. Once a nomination has been submitted, the Il-Premju għall-Arti team will contact the individuals nominated, asking them if they would like to accept or decline their nomination. Should they accept, they will then have to submit documentation related to their work, which will then be evaluated by sectorial experts.
Arts Council Malta executive chair Albert Marshall highlighted Arts Council Malta’s community effort related to the awards and stated that this year the council has gone one step further by creating a new nomination process that brings us even closer to the people and, in this way, the council will be addressing a wider audience to nominate more productions and talented artists.
There will be 10 competitive categories including Artist of the Year, Production of the Year, Best Creative Enterprise, and an Award for Innovation. Il-Premju għall-Arti will also award three non-competitive honours: the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Honour for Cultural Promoters and the Honour for Artistic Legacy.
The award ceremony will be held on April 2020 and the nomination process on www.premju.mt is currently open and closes on November 15, 2019. Late applications will not be considered.
For more details and information, call Arts Council Malta on 2339 7019, or e-mail awards@artscouncilmalta.org.