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14 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 29 AUGUST 2018 CULTURE Victory Day celebrations at Fort St Angelo ON 8th September 2018, Herit- age Malta will open Fort St An- gelo's doors to the general pub- lic on a reduced admission price of €2 to commemorate Victory Day. The event will feature the opening of Upper Fort St Ange- lo which is managed by the Sov- ereign Military Order of Malta. Victory Day happens to be very significant for the Maltese Islands and its people since it marks a number of momentous events, including the victorious end of two terrible sieges. On 8th September 1565, the Ot- toman forces gave up their at- tempt to take over the Islands after three months of relentless fighting and heavy losses. The same day in 1943 saw the end of the brutal bombardments of the Islands after the announcement of the armistice of the Fascist regime in Italy. Incidentally, the day coincides also with the cel- ebration of the birth of the Vir- gin Mary. In remembrance of these events, Heritage Malta will be organising a series of activities in Fort St Angelo: At 10am, Mass will be cel- ebrated at the Chapel of the Na- tivity of the Virgin Mary. At 11am, there will be a com- memoration of the Great Siege victims. At noon, another Mass will be celebrated at the Chapel of St Anne. Various re-enactment groups will animate the site throughout the day. These comprise Show of Arms, Historic Re-enactment Group Malta, and Battlefront Malta. There will also be the participation of Malta Historical Fencing Association, the Malta Royal Navy Association, and Fridericus Rex Malta Falconers. Visitors can also enjoy the tra- ditional Regatta at the Grand Harbour in the afternoon. Opening hours: From 9:00am – 6:00pm, last admission at 5:30pm. Free entrance for Heritage Malta members who present their membership card. Gaulitanus Choir off to London for concert-tour THE Gaulitanus Choir's will shortly be returning to the UK after an absence of 24 years for its 14th concert-tour abroad. Following the invita- tion of the Malta High Com- mission, the choir will be in London between the 6th and the 10th September. Its key commitments will be the Malta Day events or- ganised in the UK´s capital on September 8th under the auspices of the Malta High Commission in London. In- deed, it will initially perform during the Maltese Fair held at the Westminster Cathedral Hall, which will be opened by the recently-appointed High Commissioner Joseph Cole and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion Carmelo Abela. Apart from a cappella works, the choir will also join the UK´s St Se- bastian Brass Band for a few other Maltese numbers. The choir then moves to Westminster Cathedral to animate the liturgy during the official mass celebrating the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which will be celebrated by Mgr Paul Cremona, Arch- bishop Emeritus of Malta. During this highly prestigious event at the mother church of the Catholic Church in Eng- land and Wales, also known as the Metropolitan Cathedral of the precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the choir will be accompanied by the organ scholar of Westminster Cathedral, Jonathan Allsopp. Towards the end of the ser- vice the choir will again join the Brass Band for some num- bers. On September 9 the Gozitan choir will round up its artistic commitments by singing the main mass at Our Lady of Vic- tories Church in the very cen- tral Kensington district cour- tesy of episcopal vicar and parish priest Mgr Jim Curry. During this London concert- tour the choir will be con- ducted by its founder-director Colin Attard, of whom the choir will also perform several compositions and arrange- ments. This concert-tour, support- ed by the Ministry for Gozo, will be the first of a number of Gaulitanus events on for- eign soil planned for the last quarter of 2018. The choir´s previous forays abroad have seen the choir performing in the UK, Germany, the Neth- erlands, Greece, Corsica- France, and Italy. Maltese art in dialogue for Nisga - Storja Kontemporanja SEVERAL local works of art from different generations will come together in the shape of a dialogue between artists in Valletta 2018's upcoming art exhibition; Nisġa - Storja Kon- temporanja. The exhibition opens on the 7th of September at Space A, Spazju Kreattiv, St James Cavalier in Valletta. Nisġa: Storja Kontemporanja is an art exhibition that ex- amines the multifaceted iden- tity of the Maltese artist in six chapters. The Maltese word 'nisġa' connotes 'weave' and much like a piece of cloth, this exhibition is woven out of un- usual narratives, connections and relations. This contemporary exhibi- tion, curated by Alexander Debono and Irene Biolchini, seeks to create a virtual dia- logue between some of the most prominent Modern and Contemporary Maltese artists. The collection includes the work of Josef Kalleya, Vincent Apap, Emvin Cremona, Esprit Barthet, Antoine Camilleri and Frank Portelli. These were acknowledged to be leading Modern artists in Malta: six modern artists (1991), com- piled by Dominic Cutajar, Emanuel Fiorentino and Ken- neth Wain. For Nisġa - Storja Kontem- poranja, the work of these art- ists comes together with other artistic interventions from Contemporary artists, includ- ing Carmelo Mangion, Darren Tanti, Pierre Portelli, Harry Alden, Anton Agius, Gabriel Caruana, Victor Agius, Austin Camilleri, George Preca, Al- fred Chircop, Norbert Attard, Isabelle Borg, Vince Briffa, Raymond Pitrè, George Fenech and Ruth Bianco. Most of the contemporary works are found in digital format, creating an exhibition akin to an instal- lation where all the elements converse and interact with one another. The exhibition pre- sents meaningful dialogues be- tween these pieces, each stand- ing for a given narrative. The exhibition bridges artists across generations by featuring both works that employ tra- ditional techniques as well as those which incorporate mod- ern media. Set in a carefully curated space, the exhibition explores the persona of the Maltese artist, while also illu- minating Malta's connections to European and international art narratives. Valletta 2018 Chairman Ja- son Micallef said that "we are happy and proud to be giving the public the opportunity to view this collection of local works of art all together in one exhibition free of charge. The selection or works will create a significant dialogue: a dialogue between several artists, some of whom are no longer with us". Parliamentary Secretary for Consumer Protection and Valletta 2018, Deo Debattista said that such displays are a full spectrum of emotions that continue to enhance this unique emotion that is Valletta 2018. Entrance to this seminal art exhibition is free of charge. Nisġa - Storja Kontempo- ranja takes place between the 7th September and the 4th November 2018 at Space A, Spazju Kreattiv, St James Cava- lier Valletta. The exhibition is also part of the Spazju Kreattiv Pro- gramme.