The Malta International Arts Festival is back again. Happening between the 18th June and 3rd July, there are no other cultural events that help welcome the summer months better. 

Having a jam-packed programme, let’s take a look at the top fifteen unmissable acts you simply cannot skip when visiting the Malta International Arts Festival. 

1. Arti – Full Immersion 

Opening the festival with a bang, this immersive project will be accessible throughout the entire 15 days of the festival. A selection of artworks from Maltese sculptors have been chosen to portray the varying perspectives their sculptures bring about. The son et lumière video installation will take audiences on a spectacular journey to experience some of Malta’s artistic masterworks on a large scale.

2. Leġġendi

This theatrical production will happen on the 19th and 26th of June and will have a final night on the 3rd July. Completely in Maltese, Leġġendi follows the tale of Maltese sailors and their trials and tribulations. Accompanied by songs and a music score, this performance will happen on the sea.

3. Visual Arts Community Project 

Over 20 artists will get the opportunity to showcase their work along the Marsaskala promenade on the 19th June. Organised in collaboration with the Rudy Buhler Art Gallery, a selection of art pieces will decorate Marsaskala. During this street exhibition the Malta Street Art Collective created a mural, which was exclusively commissioned for this festival.

4. Harbour Odyssey 

This site-specific production will be happening in the Grand Harbour on the 20th, 21st, 27th, and 28th June in Valletta. Designed to take place on the front deck of a gorgeous 38-metre long two-masted vessel – the audience will get a sneak peek into local legends and historical anecdotes synonymous with the Maltese islands. 

5. Chaotic Harmony 

Experience this musical journey through the use of the modern flute sound by Massimo Mercelli together with a string quartet. Connecting local artists with international ones this production was born from a collaboration between the Malta Philarmonic Orchestra, Massimo Mercelli and Moveo Dance Company.

6. Sunrise Mass 

Start off the month of July on the right foot with Sunrise Mass. Featuring ŻfinMalta and KorMalta, this programme includes Krzysztof Penderecki’s striking string quartet no. 1 and Béla Bartók’s String Quartet No. 4 choreographed by Paolo Mangiola for ŻfinMalta. Both quartets will be performed by the Belgian string quartet Boho4. KorMalta will present Ola Gjeilo’s “Sunrise Mass” under the baton of choirmaster Riccardo Bianchi.

7. Carolina Eyck – Theremin & Voice 

Playing an instrument without any physical contact may have sounded impossible, until now. Welcoming Carolina Eyck onto the stage, she knows how to play the Theremin, the contactless instrument. Carolina’s voice and the theremin create the perfect symbiosis together, making this a performance you don’t want to miss. 

8. Fighting Monkey Practice – Open Workshops

Giving you the chance to feel young again, make sure you visit the Fighting Monkey’s dance workshop on the 24th June between 10am and 1pm. Mixing gymnastic techniques with her contemporary dance knowledge, Linda Kapatanea together with Jozef Frucek will help you improvise, imagine, and create

9. Beethoven Forever 

Get ready for an experience like no other at the Teatru Manoel on the 24th June. combining a full orchestra, digital animation, and theatre, this family-friendly production will take you on a journey across all of Beethoven’s nine symphonies. 

10. Stones & Bones

Coming all the way from Greece, this dance-theatre production perfectly encapsulated the narrative of human struggle through time and space, gravity and decay. Revolving around four female performers and large solid marble sculptures, the way that these two presences interact on stage is breathtaking. 

11. M.A.D. Music And Dance 

The third edition of this production is brought to the stage thanks to the residency by artists Dmytro Gyrnov and Sarah Vella. Three new choreographies that are set to the live performance of contemporary music will also be presented.

12. RITO

Combining choreography and an art installation, RITO aims to create a complex artistic production that merges the human body with sculpture, light and sound. Choreographed by the Otra Danza dance company, make sure you check out the performance on the 29th and 30th June. 

13. Moving the Skin 

Knowing what your body is saying and how to listen to it can be tricky at times. That’s why ASUN has curated this workshop to help you understand the body as a whole. Placing the focus on sensation, this workshop will help you explore the infinite possibilities of movement. 

14. Hip Hop Practice 

Houssni MIJEM will be helping you sweat it out on the 3rd July. Encouraging everyone to come as they are, hip hop is all about creating a space where everyone feels safe to be their true selves. 

15. Les Nuits Barbares Ou Les Matins Du Monde 

Amalgamating dance with acrobatics will result in a spectacular show. This enthralling performance, created by Hervé Koubi’s Cannes-based company, draws on a mixture of cultures and religions through the foundations of having common geography. 

16. Contemporary Dance 

Get moving with Guillaume Gabriel, one of the astounding performers who form part of  Hervé Koubi’s Cannes-based company. Guillaume will lead the participants through the vocabulary traditionally used within the company and the subtle nuances that make Hervé Koubi’s company unique. 

Excited about the Malta International Arts Festival? Get your tickets here!

Take a look at the entire schedule of activities here, as these fifteen events aren’t the only ones taking place throughout the course of the festival’s 15 days.

Promising cultural activities that all of the family will enjoy, make sure you attend the Malta International Arts Festival. Regardless if you adore classical music or more experimental means of art, you will enjoy a piece or two from the festival. 

Tag someone who’s been waiting for the return of the Malta International Arts Festival!

Cover image credit: Sarah Vella, Darrin Zammit Lupi