Malta’s first biennale falls flat forcing half-price ticket sales

Malta’s first art biennale has failed to gain traction despite the lavish opening ceremony a few weeks ago, attended by Prime Minister Robert Abela and the bienniale’s ‘president’, former principal permanent secretary Mario Cutajar.

The government agency organising the biennale is Heritage Malta, and the event has attracted few visitors despite exhibitions being held around 20 different Heritage Malta venues.

This was reflected in a critique of biennales published in the UK magazine ‘The Spectator‘, which called Malta’s first attempt at a biennale “rubbish,” “decidedly weird,” and “dysfunctional”.

Paris-based art writer Digby Warde-Aldam spent a few days visiting Malta’s first effort, only to conclude it was a complete flop.

“In Malta, I got the sense that the organisers had visited the last couple of biennale art exhibitions and used them as a template for how theirs should look. That the last handful I visited, in France, Germany, and Liverpool, seemed almost identical to each other and indeed to this one (Malta), does not speak volumes of their wisdom,” Warde-Aldam wrote.

The critic also noted the lack of any reference to Malta’s international story – the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Biennale tickets are now being sold at a 50% discount.

According to the biennale’s website, Cutajar is “the founder and president of the Malta Biennale.”

Around 20 Heritage Malta venues, from historic forts to the Grandmaster’s Palace in Valletta, have been taken over by approximately 70 local and foreign artists.

Artists who spoke to The Shift questioned why Cutajar was organising such an event when this was the remit of other government art agencies, such as Malta’s Arts Council or the Malta International Contemporary Arts Space (MICAS).

A biennale is a major international contemporary art exhibition held every two years. Countries, cities, or even private organisations often organise these events to showcase the work of artists from around the world.

Some of the best-known biennales are the Venice Biennale, the Documenta in Kassel, Germany, and the São Paulo Biennale.