Taking care of our jewels

On Friday I was pleased to inaugurate an exhibition with a difference, not only because of its contents but also because of the venue chosen for it. The historic Fort St Angelo is providing an impressive venue for the hosting of an exhibition of contemporary art, entitled Crossings - a contemporary view.

Crossings is dedicated to the poetry of movement of people, information and ideas in the modern world. The exhibition explores through the medium of artistic installations, including video art projections, the difficult role of the contemporary artist as a figure unshackled by the constraints of political, cultural and ideological divides.

In a different context, I had occasion to refer to Fort St Angelo last Tuesday when I inaugurated the new service by Star Cruises through which this Asian company has chosen Malta to step into Europe and start operating a cruise liner service to different Mediterranean destinations, using Malta for home porting.

I told the foreign journalists as well as first visitors present for this occasion that our Grand Harbour is truly unique and they will definitely be able to appreciate this when the cruise liner sails back into Malta on Tuesday. The continuous line of fortifications that flanks our Grand Harbour, the historic palaces that adorn the Cottonera side, the baroque nature of our capital city and Fort St Angelo overlooking for centuries the same Grand Harbour are all components of a wonderful experience that Malta offers its visitors.

Last year, Government decided that the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage should move to Fort St Angelo. On Friday I visited the new premises of the Superintendence to inaugurate the exhibition being hosted in the three main vaults of the fort's 16th century cavalier, as well as in part of the 19th century British barracks.

This exhibition is the first cultural event to be hosted at St Angelo since Government entrusted part of the fort to the Superintendence. Since then, extensive works have been undertaken with the help of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture as well as the Cottonera Waterfront Group to start the process of rehabilitation of this national jewel. The fort has been cleared of about 100 tons of refuse and vegetation that had accumulated over the last few decades.

Plans for St Angelo include the restoration of the historic fortress, the opening of the monument to the public regularly, and the removal of damaging and unsightly constructions which have been erected inside the fort over the years. These measures are intended to recover one of Malta's greatest architectural monuments from the state of neglect and abandonment in which it has been allowed to descend.

The decision of the Superintendence to host the Crossings exhibition in St Angelo is motivated primarily from a desire to create a suitable opportunity for the public to visit this little known monument.

Even at this early stage of the rehabilitation process - with so much of the damage inflicted to this fort still highly visible - visitors will undoubtedly appreciate the stark beauty of this military establishment and the splendid vistas of the Grand Harbour that can be enjoyed from within it.

The rather spartan and geometric setting provided by Fort St Angelo's military architecture is offering a striking backdrop to the artistic installations forming the Crossings exhibition.

Crossings includes works by 12 contemporary artists from Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Turkey, and Germany. Two Maltese artists, Vince Briffa and Pierre Portelli, are also participating in this international exhibition. Both artists have already participated in various prestigious artistic events, both locally and abroad.

The exhibition will remain open until July 26 from Monday to Saturday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. After Malta, the exhibition will tour two other European venues, namely Espace Camille Claudel in Amiens (France) and the medieval castle of Colossi (Cyprus).

Crossings is a project implemented within the 'Culture 2000' EU programme, and is organised by an international partnership of cultural operators, including the Pierides Foundation (Cyprus), the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (Malta), the University of Picardie Jules Verne (France), the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Italy) and the Foundation of the Hellenic World (Greece).

The curators of the exhibition are Yiannis Toumazis, director of the Pierides Foundation, and Professor Andri Michael of the University of Amiens.

Malta's main harbour and seat of power was for centuries at the south of the island around the Grand Harbour. Fort St Angelo provided the only means of defence for Birgu and the surrounding landscape.

During its long history Fort St Angelo was occupied by many seafaring powers, the last two of which being the Knights of St John and Britain, both of which left their imprint on this fort.

For years this historic fort was falling apart. During the past year Government decided that parts of Fort St Angelo should be entrusted to the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage. This in itself is a signal that we want to rehabilitate and restore this fort to its former glory and the area has already been cleared of refuse and vegetation while restoration works are in progress.

All those who visit this fort will surely note the transformation that is taking place. The hosting of the Crossings exhibition with works of art from 12 European and Mediterranean countries should attract local and foreign visitors to this fort and these will not only have the opportunity to visit the exhibition but also the fortification itself.

Over the past week, a presentation was made to the media to explain the branding process which the Malta Tourism Authority is implementing. In a couple of weeks' time, an aggressive internal branding campaign for Malta will be kicking off.

As our branding consultant, Christian Sinding, has pointed out, the rebranding of our country can only be effective if the Maltese population itself is on board.  Mr Sinding added: "You are sitting on a goldmine," referring to the island's assets and potential.  He added that he had drawn up an extensive list in a very short time of all the activities he could do within half an hour from his hotel room - or for that matter, from any other hotel room, and was truly impressed.

The core values of our brand have been identified as hospitality, heritage and diversity.  On the basis of those values, the vision of brand Malta is to enrich people's lives.  The values have been tested and results are very encouraging.

This is worth reiterating because Malta's assets are there for real. It is not a question of make-believe. Fort St Angelo, the entire area around it and our Grand Harbour, are on the list of those assets and although I have not seen Mr Sinding's list, I am confident that these assets figure prominently on the list he drew up of where he can visit and what he can do within half an hour of his hotel room.

Over the past years, our national agency to manage all the sites that pertain to our cultural heritage has been doing wonders in conserving, explaining and making more accessible our country's jewels. Heritage Malta has been working wonders in this regard and is to be commended for its own sterling work which it carries out not only professionally but also with utter dedication and commitment.

Once the product is there and we become more aware and appreciative of it, then it is up to us to market it better. People zapping to CNN are noticing Malta's adverts on the network. They are crisp, innovative and effective. Another CNN crew is now in Malta to film the fourth advert that will be aired in September. By then we will have feedback on the effect of the first three adverts that have made it to the international news channel.

What we are doing at Fort St Angelo, as well as on other cultural heritage sites is reaping results. We are taking care of our jewels.

info@franciszammitdimech.com

www.franciszammitdimech.com