Artists in Malta are blessed with a number of financial incentives to work on their art – what they lack is the bureaucratic acumen to get their project off the ground. Arts executives LISA BALDACCHINO, ELAINE FALZON and Simone Inguanez tell David Schembri that art and paperwork go hand in hand – at least when public funds are at stake.
Origami is the Japanese art of folding paper into decorative shapes and figures. It requires skill, patience, a delicate touch and mastery of geometry. Not everyone is fit to be an origami artist, and people often choose different art forms to express themselves. For many, artistic endeavour is not something they do full time; often, their artistic inclinations play second or third fiddle to other more pressing concerns – work, family and so on.
There are times, however, in the life of an artist, when there is a project that requires more time, energy and funds than other projects, and it is times like these when artists can choose to apply for funding. The idea of having an outside entity supporting one’s creative project financially is appealing for many artists, but what defeats many in this quest for public funds is the paperwork and planning involved in putting in a solid application to get there.
Noticing this very evident stumbling block, three of the island’s cultural entities, the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts (MCCA), the Cultural Contact Point and the Valletta 2018 Foundation (V.18) have decided to tackle the problem head-on and organise a two-day workshop focusing on project development for artists and cultural operators – the principles of which remain the same, whatever fund one may be applying for.
The participants – who take part free of charge – bring a real or fictitious project to be assessed and to give some practical context to the workshop, which will be led by representatives of the three cultural entities.
The MCCA is very aware of the responsibility that arts funding brings with it. After all, what is funded ultimately becomes our culture which is why it is important to keep Malta’s priorities in mind, say the three executives. Simone Inguanez, the literature arts executive agrees.
“Funds are always limited; in our case perhaps they are more limited than in other countries, so it’s even more important that choices when funding a project are done responsibly. Every choice you make has its own opportunity cost – in choosing to finance a project, you are also choosing to exclude other projects, and that makes us acutely aware of the responsibility we have.”
Inspiration is important in a business plan, let alone in art
With this amount of responsibility, funding bodies have to be guarded in what projects are chosen and which not. The eligible projects will have a certain amount of groundwork behind them, but not to the point that the project would be in full swing – and thus ineligible for funding.
Baldacchino gives an example: “If you’re researching a particular topic and you’ve been to the UK to research it, you cannot apply for funds for the trip retrospectively, for example.”
The latter is one of the pitfalls evaluators encounter on a regular basis. Inguanez believes that many applications are “half-baked” because of a reluctance to commit too much work before applying for funding, in case it is made ineligible.
In that case, all three executives insist they are ready to meet potential applicants before and after the call to improve their application.
Art, however has its risks – apart from challenges – which the creative team may face; there is also the very real risk of an artist not being up to the job of living up to his/her own vision.
“There is always an element of risk and that is why we ask for very clear plans, timeframes, credentials and budgetary estimates, to minimise the risk as much as we can,” Inguanez says.
“You cannot eliminate risk completely, however.”
Elaine Falzon, the council’s performing arts executive, stresses that artists do not have to go through this process alone: “We help advise on the artists’ projects, where and when needed; if we see there’s scope for development in the application, we’d be ready to meet applicants and guide them.”
Inguanez says: “Inspiration is important in a business plan, let alone in art; however, planning is equally important in both cases.
“You’ll find artists who were really averse to this process admitting the process really helped them focus on their work,” she says.
Baldacchino agrees, adding that even though the process of compiling an application “may be tedious and bureaucratic, it helps the artist to focus on the process of the next few months, and also ensures transparency and accountability; after all, they are being given public funds to see their project through”.
There are, however, some key pitfalls which have been noticed.
Falzon notes that “sometimes there is a lack of detail to make a strong case for public funding, and we need this detailed information to justify it”.
Transparency is not required only on the part of the evaluation but also on the part of the applicants.
“A common pitfall is that people don’t challenge their comfort zone enough and insist on working with the same people. I understand that there is comfort in a familiar collaboration, but there is more scope for growth if you stay on the lookout for new collaborators,” Inguanez says.
In the end, however, what the three organisers of this week’s workshop hope will produce is an understanding that planning and art do not have to be enemies – and in the run-up to Valletta 2018, this takes on a more urgent note.
“Anything artistic that happens in the coming years is happening in the run-up to Valletta 2018, and that has to be taken into consideration,” Baldacchino says.
“We want to see as many projects as possible get funded, and we want quality projects.”
The project development workshop organised by the Malta Council of Culture and the Arts, the Valletta 2018 Foundation and Cultural Contact Point will be held on Wednesday and Thursday at the Phoenicia Hotel, Floriana, between 9.30am and 3pm.