Festival makes plenty of space for contemporary art

One of the aims of the Malta Arts Festival 2008, being held over the next two weeks, is to continue to push contemporary art, which does not enjoy much space in Malta.

The festival's artistic director, Mario Frendo stressed that "as much as it is important to recognise, conserve and promote our artistic heritage, we also have to allow our art to continue growing. Otherwise, in 100 years' time, we could look back and see we have nothing that is forming us as a nation".

The problem is that audiences tend to go for what they know. "They may rather sit down and relax, which is not a bad thing. But, on the other hand, there should also be an element of risk - the desire to meet what is not known.

"As a result, the artistic product would develop as the artist, who is proposing something new, would be stimulated".

The third edition of the festival, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi at the Ospizio in Floriana yesterday, will for the first time feature a Contemporary Music Series, composed of three concerts.

"If we want Malta to be respected as a centre of artistic and cultural excellence, we have to provide more space for art to develop," Mr Frendo said. "We cannot say, however, that this is not happening. In fact, we have many artists and good ones too."

Many of these are participating in the festival, which includes 25 performances and 225 artists, more than half being Maltese, underlining the importance afforded to the local "product".

"We do receive more requests than we need from participants - they flow in throughout the year - and have to turn them down, not because they are not up to standard but because the idea is to strike a balance, offering a good mix of art forms."

The idea is to bring the Malta Arts Festival to the level of its international counterparts. Of course, it would always reflect the island's geographical size and could not begin to compete with, for example, the Edinburgh Festival, one of the world's most important.

The 2008 festival has also received many requests from foreign artists, which meant that it was being recognised overseas, Mr Frendo continued. In the previous editions, emphasis had been laid on contacting good-quality overseas performances, creating a programme that attracted others' attention, he said.

Mr Frendo maintained that the festival's audience was growing every year, the reason being that the public was being presented with high-level performances.

"Maltese audiences are becoming more discerning; they are getting used to good-quality performances because there are so many," Mr Frendo maintained.

Raising standards, also in terms of organisation, is another aim of the festival, as is the continued creation of space for collaboration with foreign artists in the belief that the encounter of cultures feeds artistic development.

Mr Frendo pointed out that foreigners were equally interested in collaborating and discovering Maltese culture, a fact that tended to be overlooked due to an inferiority complex. The reality was that any artist wanted to experience artistic growth.

The festival, under the umbrella of the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts, also aims at using a variety of venues and is, for the first time, spilling out of Valletta into Floriana and Sliema.

Apart from the Argotti Gardens, which not only provide a pleasant atmosphere but also the required extra space, La Vittoria Bastion at Ospizio in Floriana is being used for the first time.

The government was interested in developing the area for artistic purposes and Mr Frendo said it appeared to be lending itself well to this use and that the artists were finding it inspiring, which augured well for its rehabilitation.

Street theatre was being held in Għar id-Dud, Sliema, because, apart from the audiences that specifically attend, the idea was to hit those who happened to be there, he said.