Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1130632
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 JUNE 2019 5 THIS WEEK ART draw a more nuanced map of the development of contempo- rary art in Malta. What was the reason behind the time period that you've chosen for the timeline, and what were some of the most significant historical developments, changes and upheavals that influence and characterise the timeline? Art happens and exists within the wider context of commu- nities and society. It is inher- ently nested in the fabric of temporality, interwoven with innumerable other timelines. We opted for a timeline that takes Malta's rare presence at the Venice Biennale from 1958, 1999 and 2017 as its guideline. This period also includes the Commonwealth Exhibitions between 1958 and 1977, one of the few international opportu- nities available to Maltese art- ists at the time. A significant number of local exhibitions are represented, in- cluding those that illustrate the palpable shift in practice from 1989 onwards. This shift was happening against the back- drop of increased artist mobil- ity, the millennium aspirations, the opening of St James Cen- tre for Creativity, the launch of MCAST, the Council for Culture and the Arts Act, EU accession, the rise of social me- dia and the first ever Cultural Policy document. The timeline is more of a snapshot of the de- velopment of the contemporary idiom within our geographic context. Was it a challenge to parse through the more recent years of the timeline, which naturally thins out the benefit of hindsight? The overriding challenge, per- vasively, is the absence of any readily available all-encompass- ing catalogue to consult, and this applies across the board throughout the period chosen. Poor or absent documentation implies that a lot has been out of sight and out of mind, lost to ob- solete technology or simply not recorded in a structured manner. The ethos behind jumpstart is less to do with an appraisal with hindsight, and more to do with developing a prototype visualisa- tion that tracks the flight path of contemporary Maltese art. How did the truly contemporary artists fare, and what would you say they communicate about Maltese society at the moment? The change in perception and contemporary practice in Malta was mostly artist-led. Whether the group of artists who pushed for this change were validated enough or not is another matter for analysis. Whether they struggled, cre- ated new hegemonies or quickly became part of the status quo is another. What is evident is that in previous decades individual artists emerge as isolated inno- vators whereas artists from the late 1990s and early 2000s be- come assertively pro-active as a cluster, with the barriers fac- ing visual artists becoming their source of inspiration. Artists challenged the notion that art had to be exhibited in a museum or gallery space. They experimented with demateri- alisation, new forms and aes- thetics, materials and technolo- gies, questioning social norms and identity through their meaning-making process. They critically responded to such is- sues as power, politics, gender, displacement, diversity and the environment. How would you say the timeline fits into the overall schema of the MICAS project? The MICAS mission is essen- tially about valorising contem- porary art and artists. As part of the MICAS Summer Celebra- tion, Jumpstart: An Incomplete Timeline, celebrates art and artists from the perspective of our geographic context. This is what the MICAS Summer Cel- ebration on June 21 is all about. MICAS's remit is to champion contemporary art and raise public awareness about the sig- nificance of the visual arts in contemporary life. Jumpstart expresses the intentions of this remit as it brings to the fore- front how artists mediate and interpret the contemporary world we live in, acknowledging artists as innovators. It also ties in with MICAS's educational remit, which includes the devel- opment of educational resourc- es and archives for research and documentation. Though still a work in progress, the timeline is a small first step forward in this process. To further raise the issue of documentation and contem- porary art, the MICAS sum- mer celebration on June 21 kicks off at 7pm with an art talk by Edith Devaney, Head of the summer exhibition and con- temporary curator at the Royal Academy of Arts (London), who will give a presentation on Artists and their Archives at the MUZA Courtyard. This will then be followed by the launch of Jumpstart: An In- complete Timeline at Castille square at 8.30pm. The MICAS Summer Celebra- tion is organised in collabora- tion with the Valletta Cultural Agency and supported by Herit- age Malta and Spazju Kreattiv. For free registration and further details visit https://micas.art or send an email to events@micas. art 'Homo Melitensis', Malta's pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2017, marked the island's return to this crucial international visual arts platform, and serves as one of the guidelines for Jumpstart: An Incomplete Timeline Some key flashpoints in recent Maltese art history: (left to right) The installation of the Triton Fountain in Valletta in 1959; Vincent Apap's monument to Dante Alighieri, completed in 1967; An exhibition of works by Victor Pasmore at the Malta Society of Arts in 1970 and Pornolitics by Raphael Vella, which challenged notions of censorship in 2009 Georgina Portelli and Katya Micallef