The curatorship of an exhibition comes with very specific duties. The curator, to a certain extent, is the mediator between artist and audience, between the artist’s intended message and the outsider world.

Yet, the profession is a relatively fledgling one in Malta, with the pool of freelance curators still in its infancy and those wanting to specialise academically having to seek courses abroad.

Within this landscape comes the Valletta International Visual Art Festival’s (Viva) curatorial school. Viva is the first venture into the organising of a holistic contemporary visual arts festival on a local level, one which includes a host of international and Maltese artists, exhibitions, workshops and – for the first time in Malta – a fully fledged curatorial school.

Viva’s curatorial school is a first step towards a solution

I met up with Viva artistic director Raphael Vella and senior curator for the National Museum of Fine Arts Sandro Debono to see how this festival fits in within the wider context of what the artistic community is attempting to achieve in Malta.

“Viva’s curatorial workshops are not intended to replace a possible, eventual degree-level course, of course,” Vella says. “They are intended to set the ball rolling and a discussion going. We want to help Malta’s artistic community move on to the next level, that of embracing the profession of curator with all the responsibilities that it entails.”

The problems, of course, are several. While there are a number of institutional (museum-em-ployed) and freelance curators who make the profession proud, the sector has been, to a certain extent, neglected.

“Most of us who are curators have an academic background. We are art historians, or maybe even artists. There is no university-level course to be followed in Malta, which is a problem within itself,” Vella elaborates. “The lack, of course, is understandable. The realities of the sector and the arts ecology need to be kept in mind. How viable would it be to make such a course available in Malta? These are not questions that can be ignored.”

Vella nods, adding that Viva will help establish that first step, opening up the discussion. And it promises to be quite a vibrant discussion, as the week-long intensive course includes some heavyweight names, like Dutch Mieke Bal. Response has been more than encouraging, with a number of foreign artists flying in just to take part.

“The names we are offering have created considerable interest. Moreoever, a group of Dutch curators will also be working closely with participants, with the intention of collaborating with Maltese artists on future exhibitions,” Vella said.

Which begs the next question. What is a curator expected to do? Many lay people labour under the misapprehension that the curator is but a glorified administrator. In reality, the role involves a lot more.

“A curator is an interpreter. The role is part of a bigger eco-system that includes artist and critic. Nothing exists in a vacuum and the curator is there to help the artist achieve an interactive dialogue through his exhibition,” Debono says. “An exhibition is not simply a showcase for the artist. It is an interaction between him and his viewers, the works interpreted according to their appropriate social context and what the artist wishes to communicate. All this is the role of a curator.”

Vella agrees, adding that sensitivity plays a pivotal part.

“The curator doesn’t impose his own will or ideas on the artist and the exhibition. He interprets the artist’s wishes with sensitivity, figuring out ways of present-ing the artist’s ideas in the best way possible.”

Both agree that ‘curating’ implies a degree of preservation – as the word itself indicates, a curator preserves the artist’s work in the best way possible, without intruding the original idea. Vella is adamant about the latter.

“The curator cannot introduce a new idea that does not belong to the artist,” he says.

To a certain extent, he adds, the curator’s is a political role, with every single choice made being a conscious one.

“To give you an example, a curator to a collective exhibition might decide to include 10 male artists and one female. This is a political and conscious decision. There will have been a reason behind it.”

Curators themselves are very aware of this and of the inherent dangers. Because of this, Debono says, many continuously second guess themselves in an effort to ensure that their will is not intruding on that of the artist. This is another reason why professional training is a must.

“Viva’s curatorial school is a first step towards a solution, so we are working hard to ensure that the international speakers are relevant on a local context. But real change will be wrought over the years. I expect the concept to undergo a lot of refinement after this first edition. But it’s imperative to make it functional locally. We are not curators in Berlin or London. We are curators in a small Mediterranean island and the context has to be borne in mind,” Vella explains.

Debono agrees, adding that despite this, the international context also has to be given its due importance.

“Nowadays you need to be relevant internationally. Comparisons might be odious, but if we do not keep in mind how we are doing on an international scale, then we are not fulfilling our responsibilities. Hence, the importance of Viva. It injects the sector with international relevance within a local context, creating a culture with-in our reality. The sequel to Viva will be the development of this reality,” he says.

Both are insistent that the sequel is just as important as the event itself. Without an appropriate follow-up, everything will have happened in a vacuum, without the potential of growth.

“Viva is like a little seed that will probably start flourishing in about four years’ time,” Vella says.

Just in time for Valletta 2018? Both hesitate.

“We can’t view 2018 as a standalone event,” Debono replies. “Valletta 2018 is but a springboard to better things. It’s not the be-all and end-all.”

Vella concurs.

“Valletta 2018 promises to facilitate a vibrant cultural landscape, but it’s up to us to develop things further. We certainly need to look further ahead than 2018 if we want to grow.”

Viva is organised by St James Cavalier, Arts Council Malta, the Valletta 2018 Foundation and Aġenzija Żgħażagħ and takes place between September 1 and 7.

www.viva.org.mt