Cost of state-sponsored ‘Siggu’ to remain secret while biennale costs challenged

Heritage Malta refuses to state how much it paid Gozitan artist Austin Camilleri to produce a controversial temporary monument in front of the imposing statue of Queen Victoria in Valletta.

The organisation turned down a Freedom of Information (FOI) request filed by The Shift and insisted that it could not give an account of the money involved as this “would have an adverse effect on the artist”.

The Shift has filed for a reconsideration, arguing that since this work of art involved public funds and was commissioned through a direct order, Heritage Malta must be accountable and transparent.

Camilleri’s latest art installation, part of Malta’s biennale, is a replica of the chair from Queen Victoria’s iconic statue in Valletta’s Pjazza Regina.

It was installed directly in front of the statue, obscuring it from where it usually dominates attention on Republic Street outside Malta’s National Library,  sparking mixed reactions.

Sources at Heritage Malta told The Shift that no one at the organisation knows how Camilleri was selected, as no open competition was held to identify Maltese artists to participate in the biennale.  Other artists also complained about their exclusion.

Camilleri has produced various other works commissioned by the government in the past.

A few years ago, Camilleri also caused controversy through his art when a three-legged bronze horse, Zieme, was temporarily placed in front of Renzo Piano’s Parliament building.

More recently, the Gozo Ministry selected Camilleri to replicate his Zieme concept on the coast of Xwejni, one of Gozo’s pristine coastlines.

Sponsored by Minister Clint Camilleri’s Ministry and costing €250,000, Camilleri insisted on his installation in the environmentally sensitive area despite objections by the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, which declared it incompatible with the area.

Notwithstanding hundreds of objections,  the Planning Authority (PA) still issued the permit, but the statute has not yet been installed.

Heritage Malta’s resistance to providing all the details on the amount of public funds it has spent on the biennale has increased suspicions about the figures published so far.

Following another FOI request by The Shift, Heritage Malta said it had spent €700,000 to hold Malta’s first biennale. However, critics highly contest this, insisting that much more has been spent.

Mario Cutajar‘s list does not include payments, such as the one to Austin Camileri for his ‘siġġu’ sculpture and many others.

Sources told The Shift that the final figure for the biennale costs is likely to be much higher than what has been stated so far and includes several hundreds of thousands coming from other organisations, such as MICAS, the Malta Tourism Authority, and other ministries.