[attach id=378638 size="medium"]Mario Azzopardi. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi[/attach]
Film and theatre director Mario Azzopardi has been appointed artistic director of the Valletta 2018 foundation, informed sources have told Times of Malta.
Neither the foundation nor the culture ministry would confirm or deny the information, saying an announcement would be made next week.
Mr Azzopardi is a television and film director and a writer who spent most of his career working in Canada, having left Malta in 1978. His appointment is controversial in the arts scene.
The V-18 Foundation is entrusted with preparing Valletta to become the European Capital of Culture in 2018 and Mr Azzopardi is not seen as having the necessary arts management experience to merit the position.
His appointment is an open secret among local cultural experts and enthusiasts, even though the foundation has kept silent on the matter.
Sources told Times of Malta his appointment was largely a fait accompli and the call for applications an attempt to settle the expected controversy surrounding the appointment of someone who is close to the Labour Party.
If we ruin this, we’re done for the next 20 years and we spoil the chances of two generations of creators
The foundation confirmed that a call for applications was made earlier this year and the number of applicants was “around 20”. There was no indication given of the level of experience and expertise of the other applicants competing for the position.
Sources mentioned the lack of transparency surrounding the appointment, saying they found it extremely hard to believe that Mr Azzopardi was the most suitable individual for the post.
When Times of Malta asked the foundation and government why they believed the artistic director chosen was the best person for the job, the foundation stressed its independence. It said that as a public cultural organisation it operated at arm’s length from government. Yet its reply was almost a replica of that received from the culture ministry.
In its justification for the choice, the foundation said only that it believed its search was thorough.
It did not elaborate on the criteria on which Mr Azzopardi was chosen or the experience that made the foundation believe “the artistic director being appointed is the best person for the role”.
Sources told Times of Malta that V-18 was probably the last chance for Malta “to get its culture out there”.
“If we ruin this, we’re done for the next 20 years and we spoil the chances of two generations of creators; apart from the fact that there are economic implications,” they insisted.