When you do not go to the art museum, the art museum comes to you. Or so happened in Marsa and Kalkara, where a set of artworks chosen by the residents themselves has been put on display.

Samson Yoseph Abdela is one of the 11 people from the Marsa community whose choice of artwork from the national collection at the Museum of Fine Arts is being displayed in the same locality.Samson Yoseph Abdela is one of the 11 people from the Marsa community whose choice of artwork from the national collection at the Museum of Fine Arts is being displayed in the same locality.

“When I saw this painting for the first time, it broke my heart. It is not art. It is real. It speaks about my past. I experienced these conditions in the storm,” reads a postcard depicting a storm scene that is also being displayed at the Marsa Open Centre.

The painting by Thomas Lyde Hornbrook, depicting menacing waves hitting the bastions inside the Grand Harbour, brings memories of the sudden storm that, eight years ago, rocked the boat which Samson Yoseph Abdela was travelling on.

“In those circumstances, it doesn’t matter whether you can swim or not. We were on a small boat in the middle of nowhere with nothing in sight,” Mr Abdela told this newspaper, postcard in hand.

“But the painting also reminds me of how Malta saved us and took us in.

“This scene was painted several decades ago but there are people on the shore who seem to be concerned for those on the ships caught in the storm. We also found people waiting for us after the rescue,” the 45-year-old refugee told this newspaper.

This poster, hung on a fence at the Marsa Sports Complex, calls for more green and open spaces in the locality.This poster, hung on a fence at the Marsa Sports Complex, calls for more green and open spaces in the locality.

He is one of the 11 people from the Marsa community whose choice of artwork from the national collection at the Museum of Fine Arts made its way to the locality. Each participant is distributing postcards showing the painting they chose in a bid to reach more residents.

A joint Valletta 2018 Foundation and MUŻA Project (Heritage Malta) initiative, Naqsam il-Muża comes in the run up to 2018 when Valletta will be crowned European Capital of Culture, and Muża – the new museum hosting the national collection –opens its doors at the Auberge d’Italie, in Valletta.

The first installation took place in Valletta last March and, this month, artwork is being displayed across Marsa and Kalkara. The next community participating in this activity will be Gżira.

Mr Abdela hopes the initiative encourages others to visit the art museum, pointing out that he often speaks to people who visited the place when they were of school age but have not set foot in the museum for years.

For many refugees, this painting is a reminder of their rescue by the Maltese authorities.For many refugees, this painting is a reminder of their rescue by the Maltese authorities.

“Young generations might consider such artwork and heritage as old-fashioned but exploring your cultural heritage can provide you with an automatic sense of unity and belonging within a group of people and also a better understanding of previous generations,” he noted.

Although all those residing at the Marsa open centre have their own individual experience, surviving the trip by sea is a common factor, which means they can all relate to the painting chosen by Mr Abdela.

Mr Abdela, who works at the centre as a support worker with the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers, is a political refugee who spent more than nine years in prison.

He grew up as an Oromo, which, he noted, was the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia that, sadly, remained politically marginalised and unrepresented.

Mr Abdela was in fact detained on campus while studying international relations, for speaking up for the community’s rights.

Oromo people, who often asked the international community for solidarity in their peaceful call for independence, were systematically persecuted and killed by the ruling party, he said.

Fellow students who had been arrested with Mr Abdela are still in prison. He was only released in 2002 because the International Committee of the Red Cross intervened on his behalf. Following another arrest attempt, he had no other choice but to flee in 2003. “I had no plan of where to go. My only plan was to get away. No one wants to spend their life in prison where the situation is too traumatising to recount,” Mr Abdela said.

He travelled through Sudan and Libya and eventually arrived safely in Malta, where he is continuing his studies and has also been reunited with his child and wife.

Mattia Preti’s depiction of a young St John the Baptist has made it to Albert Town, where a people-curated art exhibition has taken to the streets in Marsa.Mattia Preti’s depiction of a young St John the Baptist has made it to Albert Town, where a people-curated art exhibition has taken to the streets in Marsa.

Naqsam il-Muża, managed by Kristina Borg, kicked off in Valletta and is being extended to the capital’s neighbouring towns – Marsa, Kalkara and, soon, Gżira. Photo: Inigo TaylorNaqsam il-Muża, managed by Kristina Borg, kicked off in Valletta and is being extended to the capital’s neighbouring towns – Marsa, Kalkara and, soon, Gżira. Photo: Inigo Taylor

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