MICAS Finally Opens Its Doors In A Wonderous Inauguration Ceremony Featuring Works From International Artist
The wait is finally over, Malta’s first-ever international contemporary arts museum, MICAS, has been officially declared open.
In an inauguration ceremony held yesterday evening, Friday 25th October, Prime Minister Robert Abela together with Minister for National Heritage, Arts and Local Government Owen Bonnici, and the MICAS board, led by executive chairperson Phyllis Muscat, officially opened the space with a joyous and monumental exhibition from the renowned Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos.
Located in the newly restored Ospizio Complex in Floriana, the venue boasts an approximate 4,000 square kilometre floor plan that is open for local as well as international artists to exhibit their installations. The restoration of the 17th century fortification, previously housing the Knights-era Ospizio, was a €23 million state investment, bolstered by over €9 million in ERDF funding.
“It is a strong investment in the people’s well-being, families, and our quality of life,” said Minister Owen Bonnici at the event, “Art not only beautifies and feeds our souls, but it strengthens the nation. A future without culture would be a future without humanity.”
Prime Minister Robert Abela, who paid tribute to all the ideators and workers who had brought the concept to fruition, emphasised the importance the government sees in artistic and cultural investments such as MICAS.
“MICAS symbolises the collective progress of this country, and now I believe it is part of the quality leap we have achieved in these last years, with a cultural platform for art, that sends out our message of faith in artists, who will document our history with their work,” said Abela, “Thanks to this progress, Malta can truly be a centre for artistic creativity in the Mediterranean, and a natural home for artists.”
Executive chairperson Phyllis Muscat explained the long-term commitment the MICAS board had to provide a highly-anticipated space for artists, which was in development since 2018.
“It was a challenge for us to present what was essentially a start-up, with no history or a completed building, and from a small nation to boot… our enthusiasm pushed us to develop this concept and build up interest in the circles of international art, and we achieved this concretely through the networks we built with international artists, curators, museums, foundations and art historians, and the acquisitions we made.”
She continued by extending her gratitude to MICAS’ board, Malta ambassador of culture Francis Sultana, Dr Georgina Portelli, Dr Claire Cassar, Gabriella Agius, Patrick Camilleri and Martin Scicluna.
The four-storey building housed three major works by Joana Vasconcelos: the Garden of Eden, the Valkyrie Mumbet and the jaw-dropping Tree Of Life, with its 110,000 hand-stitched and embroidered fabric vegetation. The exhibition also saw a plethora of other magnificent instalments that filled the space for guests to view.
The whimsy does not end there however, accompanying the Tree of Life was a musical composition developed especially for the piece which was sung live by baritone Rui de Luna Vasconcelos.
One can experience the grandiose display of artistic wonder from tomorrow 27th October, as the building’s doors open to the public. Multiple other exhibitions are peppered throughout the space that you can find more information about on MICAS’ official site micas.art
Will you be visiting this new cultural landmark?
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