A really, really positive yearOwen Bonnici (Minister for National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government.)

(Minister for National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government.)

2024 was a very busy and positive year for the cultural sector. A lot of work has been done and the results are there for everyone to see.

Evidence of this work can be seen all over Malta and Gozo: the restoration of Malta's magnificent fortresses and historic buildings; high quality festivals throughout the year; hundreds of thousands of euro in funds for clubs and organizations that organise our unique Maltese festa; robust funds for local artists; full support for local creatives who made Malta proud across the world; better investment in the national broadcaster; cultural initiatives that expose the rich culture of our country, to mention but a few.

What follows is a brief account of the great work done by the various entities within my Ministry. We have not been perfect and we are always open to improve and learn. But 2024 has certainly been a great year.

MICAS

This was one of the biggest electoral promises in the Labor Party electoral manifesto. A few weeks ago Prime Minister Robert Abela and I inaugurated the first International Contemporary Art Space of Malta, the MICAS. MICAS will leave a unique legacy in the field of art and culture. Finally, Malta has a dignified space of the highest level for exhibitions and contemporary artistic installations, both for Maltese and foreign artists and creatives. This Government has always believed that Malta deserves to be a protagonist in contemporary artistic exhibitions and cultural dialogues of the highest international level. Micas will serve this noble purpose.

NAPA

Launched in 2023, the National Agency for Performing Arts (NAPA), provides a joint legal, administrative and organizational framework for Teatru Malta, KorMalta, and ŻfinMalta. The Agency aims to raise the profile of performing arts in Malta, both locally and internationally. This year NAPA continued to improve the working conditions of its workers to ensure that they are dignified and sustainable. NAPA shall continue to invest in its artistic programs as it embarks on a Creative Europe project that will shine more light on lesser-known languages in Europe, including our language.

VCA

The Valletta Cultural Agency is making an indispensable contribution when it comes to raising international awareness about our unique and authentic capital city, Valletta. The Agency oversees the development and production of an annual Cultural Program with the aim of continuing to strengthen the social, cultural and economic regeneration of Valletta. Throughout the year, the Agency worked and is working on several big projects, including the concert 'LGħanja li Ħadd ma Jsikket: Ray Mahoney', the 'Valletta Green Festival', the 'Valletta Pageant of the Seas' ', 'Opera in the Capital', the 'Valletta Local Food Festival' this month, Verdi's 'Requiem', 'Christmas in the Capital' and the end of the year event. Apart from mass activities, the Agency also organizes other events on a smaller scale such as those at Strada Stretta, at the Valletta Design Cluster, other projects such as theatrical productions including 'Tarah Wiċċ Alla' and art exhibitions including 'Transcending the Material: Anthony Spagnol Retrospective,' which will be held at the end of this year.

Heritage Malta

This entity is doing an amazing job in promoting Malta's heritage. The positive trend that Heritage Malta experienced during 2023 continued during the current year, as reflected in the number of visitors who visited the sites and museums under the responsibility of this agency. At the beginning of 2024, Heritage Malta reopened the Grand Master's Palace after extensive restoration works, as well as partially opening the Maritime Museum, and it also continued its work with various exhibitions and projects.

Not to mention the first ever Malta Biennale, which was certainly a great step forward when it comes to positioning Malta as a destination for culture and the arts.

MPO

During 2024, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra did a great jobbringing music, in its many forms, to the Maltese public. These included a chamber music series and another aimed at children. The orchestra toured abroad, in Rome and Bologna. And this year, for the first time, the Youth Orchestra also traveled when it took part in a festival in Florence. These two tours reinforce the internationalization strategy of our Philharmonic Orchestra.

ACM

Arts Council Malta is a main protagonist in strengthening creativity in our country and giving unique opportunities to local artists abroad. ACM is demonstrating Maltese creativity on the international scene. Last summer, ACM commissioned the Malta Pavilion at the prestigious Venice Art Biennale, featuring an innovative artwork by Matthew Attard which combines cultural heritage with advanced AI-driven technology. Towards the middle of next year Malta, through the Maltese Arts Council, will also participate in the 2025 London Design Biennale with "URNA," a project that explores the theme of cremation. In addition to these exhibitions, ACM submitted an ESF+ project for 2025-2028 aimed at designing and delivering training programs for the cultural and creative sectors, supported by a budget of €1.43M.

A lot more work has been done by ACM and I am very grateful to all the people who made it happen. Truly, ACM is the jewel in the Ministry's crown.

Manoel Theatre

This is a theater with a 300-year history. This often creates challenges, including accessibility issues. The Government, together with the Management of the Manoel Theater, managed to overcome this challenge when a new Passenger Lift was installed so that every floor in the theater is now accessible to everyone. The management of the Theater is always prioritising the protection that a building of historical heritage like the Manoel Theater needs.

The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage

As a measure to improve the service it provides to the public, it organized mandatory training for all employees related to customer care. In collaboration with Arts Council Malta, the Superintendence has allocated a fund of €90,000 for a scheme to restore movable cultural heritage located in Parish Churches that fall under the property of the Archdiocese of Malta and the Diocese of Gozo. The scheme is intended for voluntary organizations that wish to restore mobile cultural heritage.

Most importantly the Superintendence is much more efficient in the way it handles feedback on planning applications and I strongly believe that we are heading in the right direction.

Pjazza Teatru Rjal

2024 saw a good number of activities staged in Pjazza Teatru Rjal which consisted of several local and international concerts and productions. With its artistic programming, Pjazza Teatru Rjal is making sure that the country is offered a vast, diversified cultural experience, but above all one that is accessible both to the audience and to the many promising artists that we give the chance to appear for the first time on the stage of Pjazza Teatru Rjal. This was also done through the series Nights in the Theater as well as through Buskerfest, which was staged for the first time this year.

Restoration

During this year, the Department of Restoration and Preservation successfully completed several restoration projects carried out in different locations around Malta, on churches, fortresses, and other monuments. It is estimated that over 40 restoration projects have been carried out. These include the project for the restoration of the external facades and the bell tower of the Church of Jesus in Valletta, and the project for the restoration of the Sur of Santa Liena in the Linji of Santa Margherita in Bormla among several others.

The Archives

The National Archives carried out radical changes and an update of the digital cataloging system in its IT infrastructure. It started a genealogy service after making an agreement with Ancestry, one of the largest genealogy services in the world, as well as developing a relationship with others, including Family Search. It continued to strengthen support to government departments and entities to fulfill their obligations according to the laws on archives. In fact, over 30 public offices were assisted. During the first 9 months of the year over 165 new document acquisitions were made: 33 from public offices and 132 from private ones. These consist of almost 400 meters of physical documents and 200GB of digital data.

The National Library

This year, a tender was issued to start the work on the roof of the library and some works that were a priority. The work continued to install a lift in the library to enhance accessibility. A survey was made of a part of the building that is in a bad state of preservation. The project of digitizing the library's material continued. In 2025 priority work will be done on the library building and we will continue to strengthen the collection with new material and preserve what we have.

Public libraries

The second phase of evaluation on the Public Libraries in the Western and Eastern Regions of Malta continued to strengthen the level of service offered. Next year the renovation work will continue in the Central Public Library to reflect today's developments, where a Makerspace will be created which includes 3D printing facilities, VR, educational sessions on crafts that are being lost, among other educational activities.

PBS

This year, the Public Broadcasting Services continued to provide a service to the public through its various means of broadcasting; a service that is aimed at reaching audiences of all ages and genders in the Maltese islands through a selection of educational, cultural content, entertainment programs as well as news services, current affairs programs and sports. PBS also received and coordinated several national broadcasts including the appointment of the President of Malta. In the last year, PBS continued to deliver various sports broadcasts, including the matches of the BOV Premier League, the FA Trophy, the matches of the national team, as well as international competitions such as the Champions League and the Europa League. New projects and programs will be launched that will provide a greater service to the viewers and audiences of PBS. Among these, the Malta Eurovision Song Contest will be returning with a bang.

Festivals Malta

2024 was the first year of work for Festivals Malta under its new management, where the philosophy of celebrating the past and creating the future was embraced. This year, apart from the work on its ten festivals and the National celebrations, the Agency staged a new Opera production, which was launched as part of the Malta Biennale 2024. The entity organized an exceptional festival where once again the creativity of Maltese singers, composers and authors was celebrated and rewarded, and the Maltese language continued to be promoted. Finally, there was Notte Bianca - the illuminated night that brings together thousands of people to Valletta where they can enjoy around 50 cultural performances ranging from dance, theatre, singing and music. This year was a special year where historical anniversaries were celebrated, which included the 45th anniversary of Freedom Day, the 20th anniversary of Malta's membership in Europe, the 60th anniversary of Independent Malta and the 50th anniversary of the Republic of Malta.

Culture Directorate

This directorate was very active in promoting Malta's vibrant culture and heritage. The Maltese was recognized as a UNESCO living heritage. In the field of education and research, the Culture Pass program continued to attract more artistic producers and schools that want to participate in it. In fact, during the past year, almost 47,000 students, 91 schools, and 43 productions took part in this program that brings culture closer to schools. For the Directorate to be able to meet the demand, the additional sum of 50,000 euros was requested and granted.

What a year! And I can promise that 2025 shall be even busier. We are all eager to deliver more and more results!