Plans to expand Fine Arts Museum

Heritage Malta wants to improve the presentation of the museums and historical sites it runs to make Maltese heritage more interesting, interactive and accessible to the public.

Speaking at a media business breakfast, Heritage Malta chairman Mario Tabone said the agency's mission was not just to take care of buildings or sites that belong to the past but to nurture culture - the soul of the nation - among people today.

"This is what Heritage Malta has been trying to do since it was established. One year on, the agency has achieved credible academic standards, improved its intellectual capacity and it has started working hard to achieve results even though it has a giant's task to do with a dwarf's budget."

Dr Tabone said cultural promotion should start being seriously considered not just for the sake of conserving historically important monuments as such but also because of the economic and social potential that could benefit Malta.

"The way Malta is marketed abroad, that is as an island of sun and sea, does not make sense any longer. Our neighbouring countries now beat us in this. It is culture that should distinguish us from other islands around the world and attract tourists here," he said.

Chief executive Antoinette Caruana said the agency, which came into being in January last year taking over from what used to be the Museums Department, now has 240 employees. Twenty of the 32 sites it runs are open every day.

Ms Caruana said the agency had created a new way of dealing with Maltese cultural heritage. "With a management and a good corporate structure, heritage sites can be managed better than they used to be. The idea is yielding fruit, even though it is never enough."

Heritage sites last year attracted 883,009 paying individuals, another 157,808 who entered for free and 469,162 consisting of group visitors.

Apart from the budget allocated by the government, Heritage Malta has to raise its own revenue from admission tickets.

Arts Minister Jesmond Mugliett called for a proper foreign marketing strategy linked to Maltese culture.

He said the arts ministry and Heritage Malta have plans to expand the Fine Arts Museum that is supposed to be the country's cultural flagship. The museum had no real budget in the past, Mr Mugliett said, and a feasibility study to expand it was being drawn up.

"Negotiations to get a loan from a bank will soon start."

He said the private sector had shown a lot of interest in running cafeterias or souvenir shops close to the sites, something that was still very lacking.