In his sustained effort to denigrate the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts, Mr Joseph Vella Bondin (The Sunday Times, January 9) deliberately fails to mention the help extended by the Council to Maltese artists to exhibit or perform their work locally and abroad.
He also deliberately ignores major events for which the Council is directly and financially responsible, like the Jazz Festival, Carnival, the National Festivities celebrations, the Summer Festival, the Song for Europe, lunchtime concerts and a number of performances by the National Orchestra, like last Sunday's Epiphany concert, in which two works by young Maltese composers were premiered.
To these one must add a host of other events organised by private companies and individuals that are supported by the Council through its Cultural Support Fund, supplemented by sponsorships which the Council strives very hard to obtain.
Much of this work only comes to the attention of the public indirectly, when the Council is mentioned in the promotion of particular events. Major breakthroughs, like the selection of Maltese musicians to play with the European Youth Orchestra after auditions organised by the Council, are given wider publicity when they happen, but a lot of work is carried out behind the scenes beforehand.
Impacts are not always measured in decibels. Malta enjoys a vibrant cultural scene, as the culture pages of Maltese newspapers and the Arts Council's own calendar of events published regularly as part of Kultura 21 clearly show. There are exhibitions, concerts, plays and poetry recitals going on everywhere, so much so that it is often impossible, even for the keenest lover of the arts, to attend them all. While not directly organised by the Arts Council, many of these events receive the Council's financial backing and support.
Apart from all this, the Council has also identified a number of projects which, in its view, are necessary and should be given priority if the arts in Malta are to continue to flourish.
These include the setting up of an Academy for the Performing Arts, catering for the teaching and practice of music, drama and dance at the highest level; the setting up of an Artists' Village which could easily become a major tourist attraction; a Carnival Village, incorporating a Carnival museum; as well as a Museum of Contemporary Art, where the works of contemporary Maltese artists would be permanently on display.
Mr Vella Bondin thinks all this is just "a tub of words". He is entitled to his opinion. The MCCA's duty is to continue to push and promote these ideas as part of its vision for the future of the arts in Malta, in the hope that these projects will one day become a reality from which everyone, not just artists, will benefit.
As far as the administration of the Council's budget is concerned, Mr Vella Bondin should know that every single cent received or spent by the MCCA is fully accounted for in the Council's annual income and expenditure report. The report is audited by a firm of professional auditors in accordance with international standards and laid on the table of the House of Representatives by the Minister.