Malta’s biggest artists’ lobby has accused Culture Minister Jose Herrera of belittling artists who were left devastated by pandemic lockdowns.

Answering questions by Net News after a press conference, Herrera claimed that art is a vocation and that “the majority of artists are not business-minded”, statements that disappointed the Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association.

“These comments, which are contradictory to the actual press conference he was part of, insult hundreds of people employed and self-employed in the sectors as well as the creative entrepreneurs who have built the industry through decades of hard work and investment,” the MEIA wrote in a statement.

The lobby also called Herrera’s comments confusing and contradictory to what he himself outlined in a press conference on the positive impact of creative sectors on Malta’s economy.

“Such comments, which might have had a different intention, can have a devastating effect and counteract all possible efforts and sacrifices made by the various sectors as well as other Ministries to respond to the current crisis.”

“It is therefore of great concern that such sentiment fuels a narrative that can belittle artists at a time where they require all the support they can get,” it continued.

The lobby finished by calling on the Minister of Culture to issue an apology to all professionals in the “hardest-hit industry” in the pandemic.

What did you make of Jose Herrera’s comments?