Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/1525926
C O U R T E S Y O F M I C A S locally, but [in] how Malta is [generally] perceived from the outside," adds Francis Sultana, the internationally renowned Maltese-born interior and furniture designer who is a cultural ambassador for the country and sits on the museum's board. "A museum can really change things in a disused area; look at the Tate Modern." MICAS, of course, is a far smaller project than London's landmark, closer perhaps in scope to Istanbul Modern in Turkey, but Sultana's sentiment is well observed. Moreover, MICAS isn't the only effort afoot to upgrade Malta's profile in arts and culture, an idea kickstarted by its title of European Capital of Culture in 2018. Take the country's show at the Venice Biennale this year, overseen by the first female co-curator, Elyse Tonna; it was well received, a notable achievement given that Malta didn't even fund a solo pavilion a decade ago (perhaps premature efforts to launch a biennale back home, at the same time, saw more mixed results and reviews). This summer, Tonna also worked with independent curator Margerita Pulè's Unfinished Art Space, a roving cultural project on Beyond What Drifts Us Apart, a major site-specific art installation on the island of Gozo, one of the two smaller, rural islands next to Malta proper. Another Capital of Culture byproduct is Valletta Contemporary, an independent art space operated by the Norbert Francis Attard Foundation in a series of converted warehouses. Purely commercial galleries remain scarce, mostly because the wealthier Maltese collectors likely have a second home in London, and can buy there. Meanwhile, there's another new museum underway, this time in the heart of Valletta proper. It sits next to St John's Co-Cathedral, with its Aladdin's cave–style interior so exuberant it more resembles the inside of MICAS sits on Valletta's waterfront, across from its marina. Ipostudio marries the contemporary with the historic in its museum design. "Malta has a combination of wanting to be contemporary and modern, but at the same time, it has this sort of burdensome heritage." — A RCHITECT DAV ID FELICE BALHAR B O U RSH O P S .CO M