Ongoing and upcoming art exhibitions this September & October
What have local artists been working on recently? What have they got in store for you over the coming weeks and months? We’ve put together a list of ongoing as well upcoming exhibitions set to open later in September and October , that you should definitely pay a visit. Check it out!
‘SPRING v1.4’ – Group Show
Running until September 24 at the Gabriel Caruana Foundation (The Mill), Birkirkara.
SPRING is back! SPRING is a programme by the Gabriel Caruana Foundation to support early career contemporary artists. Supporting artists and collectives by exhibiting at The Mill has been a core principle of the Foundation. With works by Abigail Agius, Rhea Micallef Gavin and Martina Spiteri. Visit the event page for more info.
‘P A N D E M O N J U – P A N D E M I K U – P E N A L I’ by Charlene Gálea
Running until September 25 at Balzan (kommunhuvudort).
Pandemonju, pandemiku, penali by Performance artist Charlene Galea is on show in a new secret pop-up location in Balzan. This installation and performance are a result of Charlene’s experience working at the back of the house in a vaccine center. She questions how the Covid-19 vaccination has been perceived in different forms by the public, moments of chaos, drama, and dependence. Charlene questions and examines her feelings throughout and how the vaccination process during her work has influenced her.
The main wall hanging piece filled with batch codes from hundreds of vaccines; was created in a confined space making the process of this large work almost a performance in itself. Whereby Charlene had to navigate different ways on how these batch numbers were marked on canvas and imprinted forever. Visit the events page for more info.
‘GRAVITY’ – Group Show
Running until September 30 at Blitz, Valletta.
Gravity is a dual concept. In physics, it is a force of attraction, yet it is weak enough to not change the property of matter. It controls bodies in space, and binds them to the Earth, where it bestows them weight. Gravity is the condition we live in as human beings, regardless of our ethnicity, gender and cultural background; it also relates to our own bodies and the relationship with others. With works by Kane Cali, John Coplans, Jesse Darling, Simon Fujiwara, Eva Kotátková, Adrian Paci, and Pierre Portelli. Visit the event page for more info.
‘Din hi li hi’ by Patrick Dalli
September 17 – October 12 at Il-Kamra ta’ Fuq, Mqabba.
‘Current/s II’ – A Collective Exhibition
September 27 – October 12 at Desko, Valletta.
‘MALTA – TUNIS – MARSEILLE’ by Katel Delia
September 17 – October 31 at Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta.
‘When Your Voice Shakes’ by Ġulja Holland
September 22 – October 6 at Studio 87, Valletta.
‘When Your Voice Shakes’ shall be Ġulja Holland’s third solo show in Malta and marks her return to the local art scene following her move to London in 2019. Thematically, the exhibition links to her previous solo exhibition which was reflected upon man’s impact on the natural environment. In her new body of work, the artist offers a more intimate and localised interpretation of a global crisis. Visit the event page for more info.
‘Uncovering Transition’ – A Collaborative Exhibition
September 17 – November 14 at MUŻA, Valletta.
‘Rajt ma rajtx … naf li rajt’ by Matthew Attard
September 25 – November 15 at Valletta Contemporary.
Deriving from a local oral tradition the title hints at taking on a playful yet critical approach to interpreting socio-political contexts. Whilst in Maltese, the original phrase: rajt ma rajtx … smajt ma smajtx (I/you saw but I/you did not see … I/you heard but I/you did not hear) instils a code of silence behaviour commonly known as omertà, it also subtly hints at the complacency of individuals to act or react to ongoing happenings. Albeit slight, the intentional modification to the phrase makes a direct reference to Matthew’s dialogue with an eye-tracker in their intention of drawing with the eyes. Visit the event page for more info.
Visions of Peace by Eduard Milan
30th September till 15th October 111Art Gallery, Gzira
64a, Flat 1
1st October till 31st October at Arthall Gozo
The unforeseeable events of 2020 led artists Burlὸ and Lydia Cecil to a flat in Xaghra. Here they set up a studio overlooking Marsalforn valley that gradually turned greener as autumn moved to winter. Hiding away from Malta and London respectfully, the works they produced were directly inspired by the island of Gozo. Like many during the pandemic home became their workplace. For Burlὸ and Lydia, 64a Flat 1 became the site that collated their separate and complimentary interpretations of Gozo.
Prior to the pandemic, Lydia’s figurative oil painting took her from London to Florence to Samoa, where she painted on location and from life. Deprived of life models to work from in 2020, Lydia turned to photography to get her figurative references. This opened new opportunities for capturing people in candid, unscripted moments. Taking a vast assortment of spontaneous imagery back to 64a Flat 1, Lydia painted sensitive portrayals of Gozitans from the viewpoint of the unseen observer.
Swapping the pen and ink of his political cartoons for brush and oils, Burlò’s new body of work still retains his brand of social commentary born from his lived experiences on the island of Gozo.
His still-lifes celebrate locally sourced produce, while his landscapes depict the diminishing beauty of Marsalforn Valley and Gozo as a whole.
PASSIVATION - An exhibition of limited edition photographs by Matt Thompson
8th October till the 17th October at Studio 87, Valletta
Award winning British photographer Matt Thompson will unveil his most recent series of work entitled ‘Passivation’, a series of unique prints at the Studio 87 art gallery between 8th and 17th October 2021.
‘Xlokk Kaħlani’ by Kamy Aquilina
October 21 – November 11 at the Malta Society of Arts, Valletta
‘Xlokk Kaħlani’ unfolds through an intensive documentative research project highlighting a life in Birżebbuġa experienced by the artist, Kamy Aquilina. The “camera”, being used as the main artistic tool, enables the artist to develop experimental works blending photography, light and sound installation, and alternative drawing approaches. Visit the event page for more info.
‘Refraction’ – Group Show curated by Bobb Attard
September 10 – October 24 at Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta
REFRACTION is a celebration of what is often unseen, glossed over, or misunderstood. A recognition that the ongoing fight for LGBTIQ+ rights is global.The platform travels beyond the West, and past homoerotic cliches and heteronormative bubbles that we are accustomed to;highlighting the multitude of experiences faced by LGBTIQ+ individuals from different parts of the world.REFRACTION echoes a sense of strength, resilience, and power, illuminating every colour in the rainbow, and others. Visit the events page for more info.
‘Reconstructed Landscape’ by Thea Vella
October 22 – November 5 at the Marie Gallery, Mosta
‘Elective Affinity’ by Nadette Clare-Talbot and Caroline O’Callaghan
October 14 – at Lily Agius Gallery, Sliema.
Drawing inspiration from their different artistic backgrounds, Nadette and Caroline began collaborating in Malta in 2019 and ultimately formed their collective, duopunctumstud.io, in early 2021. Their launch collection, Elective Affinity, showcases their complementary talents which are inspired by a powerful, shared aesthetic. Each of the twelve works showcased in the exhibition began with a visual idea, which was typically developed into a three-dimensional botanically themed sculpture, followed by a live installation and, finally, a photographic image that captures the theatrical magic of their unique artistic approach.
20×20 International Art Exhibition: 2nd Edition
October 1 – October 15 at Christine X Art Gallery Sliema as well as online between the 1st and 17th October.
In Dialogue, Art Exhibition by HOASA
4th october and 9th October at University of Malta
We are pleased to announce the launch of our next exhibition in collaboration with Betapsi – the Malta Psychology Students’ Association.
‘In Dialogue, Art Exhibition’ is an attempt to express the internal struggles of people experiencing mental illness through the expressive medium of visual art in light of Mental Illness Awareness Week.The exhibition will be open from Monday 4th to Friday 8th October from 07:00 to 20:00 and on Saturday 9th October from 09:00 till 12:15. It shall take place at the UoM Main Library foyer and will coincide with the KSU Freshers’ Week 2021.
We invite you all to visit during the opening of ‘In Dialogue’ on Monday 4th where we will have guest speakers delivering brief talks. We also encourage you to attend during the rest of the week to meet the artists who will share their creative concepts, and also people who will share their struggles with mental health.
Poster: Francis Bacon, ‘Self-Portrait’ (detail), 1975, oil and dry transfer lettering on canva.
‘Out of Now – Beauty Reimagined’ by Alex Attard
October 14 – November 14 at Il-Kamra ta’ Fuq, Mqabba.
Withering flowers, wilted, wrinkled, and rapidly fading from existence. ‘Out Of Now’ is a metaphor on permanence and impermanence. It represents creation/extinction, earthly/divine, reflection/termination. The photographer interrupts the ‘Now’, reinterprets the future and reconfigures impermanence.Having dazzled with their beauty at their peak, ‘Out of Now’ may be viewed as a reversal of the flower’s role wherein the flower becomes the pollinator instead of the pollinated, impregnating the photographer’s psyche with their current aesthetic. Consequently, these expiring blooms drifting at the edge of uncertainty are reimagined and cast onto another dimension for future retrospection, thereby extending the legacy of their short existence.
Debatable Land (S)- closing event
22nd October – 24th October
Chasing Rainbows by Rosanna Ciliberti
Extended till the 5th October at Rudy Buhler, The Colour Art Project, Marsaskala
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