Editor’s note: It is always a pleasure to see a consistent flow of emerging Maltese artists whose practices are achieving well-deserved professional recognition. Malta -based artists are also exhibiting abroad more frequently, including – again this year – at the Venice Biennale. This huge bi-annual event, dating back to 1895, has become a mecca for art enthusiasts, having been recognised as one of the most dynamic art events in 1951, when the inimitable Peggy Guggenheim exhibited her personal collection at the event’s twenty-fourth edition. Guggenheim was one of twentieth-century America’s most influential patrons of the arts. She fought to establish the names of the numerous artists she exhibited – which include Jackson Pollock and Man Ray – and that today are household names. Participating in the Venice Biennale has become an enviable milestone in any artist’s career, and a valuable addition to their curriculum vitae.
The Biennale – which lasts over 6 months – is hugely popular; in 2017 it registered almost 650,000 visitors. This is an important international art event and Malta’s participation again this year will no doubt strengthen the international recognition of Maltese art, which will, in turn, elevate the position of Maltese artists within the global art market.
This year’s main Biennale exhibition, titled May You Live in Interesting Times runs until 24 November, so there’s still plenty of time for art enthusiasts left to visit. I suggest visiting towards the end of the event’s stint, when the weather is more forgiving and the crowds less daunting! The satellite exhibitions dotted around outside the main venues curated by various galleries and countries are also worth popping into, and remember, you don’t have understand or like it all – it is art, after all, created by one human being for another… and sometimes it can be lost in translation.
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Lily Agius
