News that money from high-rise developments will be used to finance a new arts fund has been met with anger from artists – some of whom have described the prospect as “an insult”.

Public frustration over high-rise buildings has increased in recent months with the approval of the developments in Tigné and Mrie)el.

“I hope the arts council has the decency to inform us of the name of the fund, so like-minded artists can exempt ourselves from applying for even a cent of it,” Mario Vella, frontman of the band Brikkuni, wrote on Facebook, echoing the sentiments of dozens of others.

The Office of the Prime Minister announced last week that the upcoming high-rise projects in Mrieħel and Tigné, both of which proved highly controversial, would each contribute €50,000 to a new artistic fund.

The Arts Council has since said the money will fund “local cultural initiatives”, with a focus on developing and making better use of local cultural spaces such as theatres and community arts venues.

Other artists criticised the size of the contribution – which compares unfavourably to the multimillion-euro cost of the projects – as well as what they see as the appropriation of art to legitimise developments which have met with opposition across the board.

“They’re trying to use artists as a fig leaf but they’re not even willing to pay for the fig leaf,” Chris Gatt, former artistic director of St James Cavalier centre for creativity, told The Sunday Times of Malta. “It’s an insult. If any artist wants to accept that, more fool them.

I hope the arts council has the decency to inform us of the name of the fund, so like-minded artists can exempt ourselves from applying for even a cent of it

“This is not the way to go about things. It boils down to a question of goodwill, and I’m not seeing much goodwill from developers. There’s an arrogance to what they’re saying.

“Artists should be part of the brief right from the start, because they challenge the obvious ideas. For the developer, the final product will be even more prestigious and worth living with.”

When questioned by this newspaper, the Arts Council did not respond to the criticism aimed the source of the funds. “Arts Council Malta is committed to managing the allocated funds in a transparent, accessible and responsible manner,” a spokeswoman said. “As the national funding body for cultural and creative sectors, the council plans to do so based on its current priorities as established in the Arts Council Malta strategy.”

Public frustration over high-rise buildings has increased in recent months with the approval of the controversial developments in Mrieħel and Tigné. Both were strongly opposed by residents and environmental groups, who intend to appeal the decisions.

The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) is also planning its own appeal against the Townsquare tower, while an application for a 40-storey tower just 100 metres away, at Fort Cambridge, will soon be considered by the Planning Authority.