The results of a National Statistics Office survey regarding, among other things, attendance at local cultural events show that over 50 per cent of the respondents are simply uninterested in attending cultural events. Our new Minister of Culture, Mario de Marco, while admitting that the results were unsatisfying, reiterated that these results provide a realistic picture which he is confident can be worked upon and improved in view of Valletta’s prospective Capital of Culture status in 2018.

... we have to tie up knowledge of our history to a culture that is meaningful and alive- Kenneth Zammit Tabona

As someone actively involved in culture and the arts myself I feel it would be remiss of me not to once again go through the actions that the ministry should take to remedy the situation, always remembering that while one can take a horse to water you cannot make it drink. This is very important as there are, sadly, many people who are under the impression that, like repetitive and interminable religious ritual, cultural events are there solely for the improvement of the mind and not for the uplifting of the spirit and that these same cultural events are things that are best stoically endured and at worst avoided altogether.

This is why it is not just a question of money. It was interesting to note that people attended free performances and shied away from others that were not. Some respondents cited the prices of the Joseph Calleja concerts and other “summer” phenomena and, yet, appear oblivious of the fact that our national theatre, the Manoel Theatre, provides a back-to-back season of varied events at modest and affordable prices and has been doing so for as long as I remember.

So before we examine the “bread and circuses” concept let me state here and now that the disappointing results lie fairly and squarely at the door of two entities: the educational system and the media broadcasting system.

The shortcomings in as far as culture is concerned in our educational system is something that has been under discussion for years and that appears unsolvable. The broadcasting system is a mere reflection of it.

Culture is perceived, when it is at all, to be something peripheral. And how can it not be if, in order of importance, the minister’s own job description puts culture as such at the end of his list of responsibilities? Yes, this is a question of perception as, at the end of the day, it is culture that defines our tourism and, hence, our very livelihood and not the other way around!

I have said it once and I will say it again that our future lies in the enhancement of cultural tourism, as a Mediterranean island, it is just our culture and heritage that differentiates us from the thousands of other islands scattered around this great historic sea. It is our unique history that makes us the sovereign state that is a microcosm of any large country in Europe and that enables us to hold our own in Brussels.

It is essential, therefore, that our culture must start off with a thorough knowledge of our history; warts and all. There are those who are tempted to blank out or distort our history because of something called colonialism. This is criminally wrong. Like it or hate it, we were a subject people and whether our rulers were Trastamara, Habsburg, Rohan, Vasconcelos, or Saxe Coburg, a colony we were and there is no denying it.

What is of paramount importance is that, all through, the Maltese nation was becoming more and more identifiable and distinct up to the point when we achieved independence and republican status not so long ago in a very long history.

With that out of the way, we have to tie up knowledge of our history to a culture that is meaningful and alive.

Baroque is what describes our attitudes and our characters; over the top gestures manifested in kaxxex infernali and festi with their pavaljuni, banners, statues and bands. What could be more patently baroque than this indestructible and evergreen part of our popular culture?

Baroque is everywhere, in our churches and in our houses, in our decor and our traditions. Instead of trying to get rid of it we should celebrate it and enhance it. This is why the Manoel Theatre, the primus inter pares of baroque theatres in the southern Mediterranean, is in the process of putting an international baroque festival together starting off in January 2013. The idea is for it to become a well-known midwinter destination for the appreciation of the baroque idiom in a city that is the epitome of the baroque style in venues that are unique like St John’s Co-Cathedral in addition to the theatre itself and various churches in Valletta like the Jesuits’ and St Catherine’s. It makes such eminent sense, doesn’t it?

To get back to the statistics results and what they mean, we cannot really expect to have people queuing up for tickets for the baroque festival as if they were the London January sales. However, I do remember a time, aged 17, when I had got up at three in the morning to queue for some limited seats for a performance at the Manoel by world famous cellist Mtislav Rostropovich and that the queue went around the corner of Old Theatre Street down Old Bakery...! What has happened to us since then?

Indifferent and cramming educational systems, lack of appreciation and lack of public awareness are but the tip of the iceberg to this malaise that is far more serious than we think unless it is checked. It can be, will and must be, for in it lies our future.

The author is deputy chairman of the Manoel Theatre board of direction and artistic director of the Malta Baroque Festival, which kicks off in January 2013.

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