One room: No bigger than a luxury-sized bathroom. That's all it takes to create an exhibition space and, often, it is more than enough.
Art..e Gallery in Victoria might not be the ideal place for shows featuring large paintings, bulky works or even complex audiovisual installations. However, its small, intimate and quaint nature, in addition to being located in the heart of the Gozitan capital, are characteristics that have aided its success and have also placed this gallery in high demand with Maltese, Gozitan and foreign artists alike.
The gallery opened its doors in September 2005, with a collective exhibition featuring the works of John Martin Borg, Austin Camilleri, Pawl Carbonaro, Gabriel Caruana, Debbie Caruana Dingli, Alfred Chircop, Andrew Diacono, George Fenech, John Grima and Raymond Pitrè.
Since its onset, Art..e Gallery can boast a colourful track record as well as a very active cultural calendar resulting in the organisation of roughly one show per month.
Owned and managed by Maria Cassar, her story reveals that a limited exhibition space is an obstacle that can and has been defeated.
This is the first Gozo gallery being featured, and I am also intrigued as to the challenges faced in this business on the sister island.
"Perhaps all art galleries face approximately the same challenges. However, we face additional challenges because of the size of the island. Another obstacle is that a good number of locals are still very much seeped in the 'traditional/figurative' style of art. We are doing our best to open up our gallery to all artists, especially modern artists, so that we would help people appreciate new styles..."
She tells me that "demand from artists has been exceptionally good and in fact the gallery is booked months in advance. We offer a good deal... as we also help them organise their opening night".
Art..e Gallery also has "a healthy list of art lovers who are invited to these events. Naturally, the artists themselves add their own list of names... each opening night is well attended. Many times the audience spills out onto the street in front of the gallery that, in turn, transforms it into a sort of a joyous street party-cum-opening night".
Art..e Gallery operates in a different fashion to Opus 64 or Artitude; it is a temporary exhibition space not one which represents a select number of art practitioners. Although many galleries abroad are committed to a select stable of artists, Ms Cassar feels that such an arrangement "would be difficult to operate locally as many of the established artists would not want to have such an arrangement and be tied to one outlet only... this type of business engagement between artists and a particular gallery was attempted in the past in Malta, but in the end it proved unsuccessful".
She also tells me that "All businesses are presently experiencing the international financial squeeze, especially businesses such as ours, which cater for a specialised niche of the market. On the other hand, there are also those artists whose names are well known and are continually in demand, irrespective of the general financial attitude. From experience, we find that certain styles, such as local street /landscapes are always saleable. As such, there are several artists who know how to tap into this demand".
With obvious limitations of space, I ask Ms Cassar whether this factor is of hindrance to potentially exhibiting artists. "I can say that all artists have approved of our gallery and, in fact, several have decided to return to exhibit new works. From the feedback we get, it appears they do not find the size of the gallery as limited.
One has to say that many art galleries, especially those situated in the centres of the major cities like Paris, are approximately the same size of our gallery.
People visiting the gallery also comment that the size of the gallery bridges the viewers' distance from the works of art and the surroundings makes them have an immediate intimacy with the works being exhibited.
"One added advantage is that the gallery is very well designed, having a wide fronted glass window that opens onto the street... which provides a sort of a walkway to the gallery."
Ms Cassar tells me that her job is a source from which she derives much enjoyment and that she does it because she loves art above anything else. "Being an artist... I get a lot of pleasure out of being surrounded by works of art" and therefore, the gallery is the kind of environment she relishes thoroughly.
In fact, size doesn't always matter as the Strait Street public convenience project proves. Space can be manipulated accordingly, if one has the desire, inclination and necessity to do so. Space can be made to suit one's needs and reflect one's work, although, all too often, a space is simply viewed in terms of walls on which to hang, prop things up against or act as a backdrop to three-dimensional pieces.
Art..e Gallery is a "challenging" space; and yet the cell-like quality of the space - which uncannily reminds me of modest mediaeval chapels - was not an issue which deterred its growth. It just goes to show that all it takes is the drive, the passion and a room.