Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1062629
15 CULTURE maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 DECEMBER 2018 a christmas PantomiMe written and directed by malcolm galea 23/12/2018 to 5/1/2019 Shows at 3.00pm and 7.30pm at mfCc ta'Qali book at www.madc.com.mt Palazzo de La Salle conservation project crowdfunds on Zaar Crowdfunding campaign launched in support of the conservation of the Baroque wall paintings of the Chapel of Palazzo De la Salle, Valletta A crowdfunding campaign on the local platform Zaar has been launched to support the professional conservation of the Baroque wall paintings of the Chapel of the splendid Palazzo de La Salle in Val- letta. Palazzo de La Salle was built in the late 16th century and was home to the Knights of the Order of St John for hun- dreds of years. The Palazzo has been the seat of the Malta Society of Arts (MSA) since 1923, and is currently used by the MSA for arts educa- tion, exhibitions and perfor- mances. The little-known Chapel in- side the Palazzo is decorated with stunning 1730s wall paintings, depicting the Coats of Arms of Fra Guillaume de La Salle, Grandmaster Manoel de Vilhena, and scenes from the Life of St John. The paint- ings are highly significant his- torical and artistic evidence of the era of the Knights, and some of the few Baroque wall paintings in Malta to survive within a domestic context. Extraordinarily, they survive in their original form, never having been restored or over- painted over the past decades. Such important paintings, however, have been long for- gotten and they are currently virtually unknown to the pub- lic. The conservation project of the wall paintings of the Chapel was started in 2016 by the University of Malta's Department of Conserva- tion and Built Heritage team, composed of professional conservators and students. The Department is now crowdfunding in order to complete the conservation project. The final phase of the project will include the cleaning and retouching of the paintings and is a crucial stage of the work, since it will return full legibility and aes- thetic value to the paintings. This will require six months of full-time work of two re- cent professional graduates, under the continuing guid- ance of the professional de- partmental staff, after which the paintings will be pre- sented to the public. The Chapel will then house exhi- bitions, showcasing the work of the Department and its sponsors. For this final phase, the De- partment and the Malta So- ciety of Arts need your help. Through this crowdfunding campaign on the ZAAR plat- form (http://www.zaar.com. m t / p r o j e c t s / c o n s e r v a t i o n - palazzodelasalle/), everyone can contribute to bring this project to life. Everyone can, and should, feel part of it. The Department estimates that, in order to complete the project, a total of €25,000 is required over a six-month pe- riod, to fund both the human and material resources neces- sary. The Department of Conser- vation and Built Heritage and the Malta Society of Arts are proud to help bring life back to a heritage site that belongs to all of us. Conservation is not about the past, but about the future. What we choose to preserve today determines the legacy that we leave for the following generations. Whoever supports this con- servation project should be proud to be actively part of this amazing process. The restoration will require six months of full-time work of two professional graduates