Seventy artists, including several high-profile figures, have written to the Valletta 2018 Foundation board flagging up serious issues in the running of the European Capital of Culture initiative six months before its start.

In an open letter, a copy of which was sent to The Sunday Times of Malta, the 70 signatories denounce the “erosion of rigour, autonomy and accountability” in the governance of the foundation and the creation of a “climate of insecurity” among its participants. (The open letter, including the whole list of signatories, can be read in the pdf link below.)

They also claim that the foundation’s top-down approach and politically appointed leadership has effectively silenced key cultural stakeholders and discouraged “dialogue, openness and critical thinking”.

Among the high-profile signatories are writers Immanuel Mifsud, Trevor Żahra and Alex Vella Gera, actors Pia Zammit and Jo Caruana, curator Raphael Vella, theatre director Christopher Gatt, Science in the City director Edward Duca, artist Austin Camilleri and photographer Darrin Zammit Lupi, alongside dozens of others.

Artists who spoke to this newspaper said the signatories were not an established group with leaders or representatives “but individuals from different fields who agreed to take a common stand on an important issue”.

“We note with dismay the erosion of qualities like rigour, autonomy and accountability in the governance of Valletta 2018 Foundation,” the signatories write in the open letter.

V18 chairman Jason Micallef (right) and Deo Debattista, Parliamentary Secretary for Consumer Protection and Valletta 18, at a press conference two weeks ago. Photo: Mark Zammit Cordina

“Changes in key personnel over the last few years, including the recent dismissal of two senior members of the foundation, have jeopardised plans for creating a sustainable legacy of the title in the country and have contributed to a climate of insecurity among many participants as to whether their engagement is still valued.

“Years of trust-building and conviviality between individual artists and cultural workers based in different institutions are being replaced by uncertainty and discontinuity.”

The artists’ criticism follows the removal of V18 executive director Karsten Xuereb and programme coordinator Margerita Pulé from their posts three weeks ago as preparations entered their crucial final stages.

The dismissals prompted a stern warning from the European Commission monitoring panel, which described them as “very risky steps” which “seriously compromise the prestige and success” of Valletta 2018, and said the decisions appeared to have been made “without the usual legal requirements, due transparency and communication”. V18 chairman Jason Micallef and Culture Minister Owen Bonnici have given no explanation, except to say that the changes were “in the interest of V18”.

Mr Micallef also told The Sunday Times of Malta he was not aware of any “concerns or preoccupations among the general public” over the issue.

In the open letter, the signatories took particular exception to Mr Micallef’s comments, stressing that any change that could affect the foundation’s performance was of interest to all participants and communities.

“The top-down approach of the foundation’s administration silences key stakeholders in culture and other groups by speaking in the name of a ‘general public’, effectively discouraging qualities like dialogue, openness and critical thinking that are vital requirements in the arts, cultural management and arts education,” the artists said.

“The fact that government institutions like Valletta 2018 Foundation tend to dominate the local cultural scene and are led by political appointees makes the situation even more problematic.

“Moreover, the foundation’s access to substantial funds for culture, combined with its contractual demands – often including a clause that forbids criticism of the foundation’s decisions – unfortunately helps to nurture a sense of political quietism that is absolutely detrimental to the cultural scene.”

Read: European Commission seeks V18 explanation on high-profile dismissals

Concluding the letter, the artists state their belief that the V18 foundation, along with all national cultural entities and community enterprises, play an important role in the development of arts and culture in Malta.

“However,” they conclude, “the public relevance and moral strength of such cultural entities can only be guaranteed by the participation of different cultural practitioners in decision making and relationships characterised by mutual trust, transparency and constructive criticism.

“It is our duty to form part of this democratic process.”