In less than two years’ time Malta, together with Leeuwarden in the Netherlands, will enjoy the privilege of providing the European Capital of Culture. It will be joining Paris, Athens, Florence, Prague and many other major cities that have been capitals of culture over the last 30 years, in the honour of promoting the role it has played in European culture, its links with Europe and its European identity. It will be the smallest capital ever to enjoy this accolade, though rightly Valletta’s bid will in practice embrace the whole of Malta and Gozo in its execution.
When the news that Valletta had been selected as one of Europe’s capitals of culture was announced five years ago it was seen as a great tribute to the hard-working team which had been developing Malta’s bid for some years before.
It was also a credit to the way in which the whole of Malta unified behind the bid with all local councils agreeing that there should be one common application in the name of Valletta.
Becoming the European Capital of Culture provides a splendid opportunity, and challenge, for Malta to derive considerable cultural, social and economic benefits and to act as a catalyst for regenerating our cultural heritage and fostering our arts, culture and traditions. The opportunities for every aspect of tourism to benefit are huge.
In 2011, the Valletta 2018 Foundation (V18), operating under the leadership of architect David Felice, felt greatly encouraged that its bid had succeeded. The foundation knew, however, that the hard work which had led to that point would be dwarfed by the challenges which lay ahead.
Preparing to be the Capital of Culture would entail the most meticulous coordination and planning, both by V18 and by a range of government departments, from culture and environment to infrastructure and local government, closely allied with the all-important private sector.
The capital investments in Valletta would have to be completed in order to showcase this outstanding historic capital city in all its splendour and beauty. At the strategic level, liaison between government, the local councils and V18 had to be close and seamless in its execution.
Under Felice’s leadership, V18 had branded its bid “Imagine 18”. Imagine 18 had a most ambitious and worthy aim, no less than “a long-term, culture-led regeneration that would see cultural and creative activity become the most dynamic facets of Valletta’s and Malta’s socio-economic life”. It was a vision which was inspired by the National Cultural Policy, identifying culture as “the driving force in building individual creative careers while promoting well-being.”
The award to Malta was regarded as more than just an opportunity to show off the depth of our cultural heritage. It was also seen as a stepping stone to realise the potential of cultural enterprise and to provide a plan for capacity-building in the cultural field. It strove to bring about shifts in mentality, challenging us to experiment and raising our expectations.
There was a change of government, bringing in a Labour administration determined to put its own place-men in so-called positions of trust
Most commendably, Imagine 18 aimed to do this by encouraging wide participation of individuals and organisations from different parts of Maltese society embracing four main themes: generations, routes, cities and islands.
Unfortunately, however, the dead hand of Maltese politics intervened. A year after the announcement of the award to Valletta, there was a change of government, bringing in a Labour administration determined to put its own place-men in so-called positions of trust. Felice’s face apparently didn’t fit. Instead, a former head of Super One news, Jason Micallef, a man with no known track record in culture or the arts, was appointed chairman of V18.
The Brussels-based monitoring and advisory panel of the European Capital of Culture has recently published a report highlighting a number of key concerns about the work being done by Malta in preparation for V18.
The panel’s criticisms range from lack of a coherent programme of events to serious questions about financial planning in which the administration costs appear to be excessive.
The panel was worried that a drastic reduction in scheduled events might prove inevitable if the promised private sector funding fell through.
Moreover, and perhaps most importantly, the panel expressed concern about the crucial “cultural legacy” aspect of V18, which is supposed to lie at the heart of the Capital City of Culture concept. It appears that Malta has not made any budgetary provision for 2019 and beyond.
Although the preparations for the programme of events should be the core of the work being done, the panel also pointed out that not enough had been accomplished on this front.
The list of projects seemed “general” and the European dimension – a key facet of the project - was still unclear. It gave Malta until the beginning of 2016 to provide more details, pointing out that the Melina Mercouri Prize for €1.5 million given to the selected capitals was not guaranteed.
The criteria established for Malta becoming the European Capital of Culture will require us to encourage cooperation between Maltese artists and cultural stakeholders, and other European Union countries. We will need to highlight, through our participation, the riches of cultural diversity in Europe and to bring to the fore the aspects of European culture which are common to all of Europe.
Malta is uniquely well placed to do this. Our 7,000-year-old Euro-Mediterranean history, our artistic, religious and other traditions, are a vibrant mirror of the richness and variety of Europe. In raising awareness of the common history binding Europe, which lies at the heart of the concept, Malta is well placed to be an exemplary European Capital of Culture.
Given this outstanding heritage, it therefore seems unconscionable that the progress report by the monitoring panel highlights so many fundamental deficiencies in our preparations. Being awarded the designation not only necessitates considerable capital investment, but also meticulous planning.
It requires strong central organisation, leadership and direction – including one supremo artistic director - to bring together the disparate and, very often, competing players in the Maltese cultural field – from NGOs to band-clubs, local councils to government ministries.
Ensuring the right mix of domestic and international events, and most importantly, that they are of the right professional calibre, will be crucial. This will need foresight, early planning and a clear vision of what we want to achieve and what the theme of our Capital of Culture for the year is to be.
The long-term legacy for Malta lies in what it could do for our attitudes to culture as a nation in general. V18 has to be seen not just as a flash in the pan for one year – important and exciting though it will be – but as the creative vision for the whole of Malta which translates into cultural structures, activities and initiatives that bring tangible benefits to our art, music, heritage and quality of life.
Malta’s designation as the European Capital of Culture provides a most exciting opportunity for us to redeem years of neglect in the cultural and artistic fields to the benefit of the whole country. But it will take focused and well-led organisational skills and funding resources to make it happen successfully. The monitoring panel’s report raises concerns that a much tighter grip than is currently being exercised is required to achieve success.