The Shift launches online art exhibition in bid to raise crucial funds

The Shift News’ annual art exhibition, ‘Art for The Shift,’ has launched online, showcasing a selection of art from top local artists donated to help raise money to keep the platform running and investigations going.

For over six years, The Shift has been pioneering investigative journalism in Malta, holding power to account, unearthing scandals and winning international awards.

But to do this and more, it relies on funding and donations since The Shift does not accept funding or advertising from government or political parties to ensure its independence in a compromised media landscape.

A part of drumming up more support to ensure the continued viability of The Shift is fundraising events such as the exhibition including the work of well-known artists such as Luciano Micallef, Michelle Gialanze, Kurt Arrigo, Antonella Muscat, Anna Anastasi, Kevin Sciberras and many more.

Founder and Managing Editor of The Shift, Caroline Muscat, said: “We thank the artists supporting our work for democracy in Malta. The Shift is about pushing boundaries to create change. We’ve had many artists supporting this event since our inception. Funds raised will go to improving the product that we offer. We also have an ongoing crowdfunding appeal because we need to improve the delivery of our content on our site by bringing in new technology.”

The exhibit includes 22 pieces of work selected and priced by the artists. The artists receive 30% of each sale, with the rest going to help keep The Shift running and the stories coming.

Spanning different mediums, including watercolour, etching, acrylic, oil, mixed medium, photography, and digital, the works include illustration, abstract, still life, landscapes, and more depicting or reflecting Malta.

Since its launch in 2017, The Shift has exposed some of the biggest scandals in the country’s history.

These include the Steward/Vitals Global Health Care deal and the Electrogas deal that cost the Maltese taxpayer hundreds of millions of euro and others that have contributed to investigations by the police, National Audit Office, the Commissioner of Standards in Public Life, and the European Commission.

More recently, The Shift was the one to reveal Rosianne Cutajar’s “irregular” and “fraudulent” ITS contract, brokered with CEO Pierre Fenech.

The Shift has also won international acclaim for its work, including an investigation into Malta’s connections to Qatar, which was shortlisted for the European Commission’s 2023 edition of the Daphne Caruana Galizia Price for Journalism and the Independence award from Reporters Without Borders in 2019, among other awards.

Then, in October, The Shift’s conference on combatting strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) garnered international attention and a panel of stellar guests from around Europe.

All of this has taken place amid constant legal threats and challenges designed to silence or try to discredit The Shift’s work.

Currently, The Shift is facing 40 legal challenges filed by government institutions against the news portal’s Freedom of Information requests filed to shed light on how they spend your tax money,

But there is much more to be done to expand the scope of our work and bring you more news and investigations.

By purchasing one of these art pieces, you support independent reporting, transparency and accountability, democracy and high standards of governance and the rule of law. You also support the artists who donated their work.

The artwork can be viewed online here.

If you are interested in purchasing artworks, or would like to arrange a viewing, please contact The Shift on 9988 2633 or by sending an email to kgalea@theshiftnews.com.