Red Bull’s worldwide popularity is undisputed. We’ve all seen the cartoon ads claiming the drink gives you wings. We’ve seen the double bull logo on Formula 1 cars. We’ve literally seen people jump from space adorned in the iconic silver and blue. And we’ve probably ingested a couple of dozen vodka Red Bulls in Paceville before. Now, 10 artists were given a blank canvas in the form of a Red Bull cooler, given only one inspiration; Valletta.

The artists were unleashed onto the streets of the capital this week, and they were each given a bar in Valletta to take inspiration from.  The result, as expected, was amazing, and it culminated in a glorious mix of colours and styles. And if you want to check out all the designs, you’d better hurry; they’ve only got two days left of being exhibited!

The second edition of the Red Bull Curates: Canvas Cooler Project Valletta Edition actually started off with over 50 artists applying, and shortlisting down to 10 was definitely not an easy task. 

Eventually, Aleksandar Vojvodic, John Mark Sammut, Bernard Montebello, Belen Parades, Joshua Parlato Trigona, Fran Borg Costanzi, Gabrijela Parigros, Daniel Romero Cala, Zach Ritchie and Edgar Farrugia were each given a classic Red Bull cooler, one of the trendiest bars in Valletta, and the best view of them all; the new Valletta City Gate.

After the artists went wild on the coolers, the final results were open for exhibition last Tuesday 13th March. On that day, a winner was chosen – Fran Borg Costanzi and her thought-provoking, colour-switching cooler mix of realism and design. 

Fran managed to impress both the guests and the judges with her cooler, which was a mix of style and colour paying homage to Ordinance Pub, the cooler’s eventual resting place.

“I wanted to keep the essence of Valletta and V18 but have my character in it as well,” Fran said of her cool cooler design. Coincidentally, Fran was also recently featured on popular page The People of Malta this week, ending her week off with even more exposure.

The exhibition’s opening night also featured an awesome runway show courtesy of fashion designer Ritienne Zammit, who provided her own tribute to the capital.

Eight pieces each highlighting different aspects of Valletta and Maltese heritage debuted at St. James on the night, adding their own layer of local awesomeness

The St. James Cavalier exhibition will be open for viewing daily between 8am and 8pm, but will only be open until next Monday the 19th March. 

So if these awesome coolers are something you’d love to check out in person, we’d recommend you hurry up before they’re gone!

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David Grech Urpani

Lovin Malta's Head of Content, Dave has been in journalism for the better half of the last decade. Prefers Instagram, but has been known to doomscroll on TikTok. Loves chicken, women's clothes and Kanye West (most of the time).