Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1543288
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 FEBRUARY 2026 The student and the emperor Editorial AND the child spoke, calling out the truth: 'The emperor is naked.' This is what a simple question put to the prime minister by a student, who attends the Malta Visual and Performing Arts School, felt like. Dur- ing a discussion with the prime minister, the boy asked: "Why is my performing arts school without a hall?" He received no reply. The discussion quickly moved on to another topic. It was an inconvenient question; one that may have been too uncomfort- able to answer. And yet, that single question re- mains pertinent. Since opening its doors in 2018, the MVPA has been left without a theatre, where students can perform. The MVPA is a specialised middle and secondary school where in addition to the ordi- nary academic curriculum, students also special- ise in their chosen art form—music, dance, thea- tre, art and media. For these students, a theatre is an essential com- ponent of their studies and not simply a hall where the Christmas concert for parents is held, or where the school assembly takes place. For these students, a theatre represents the space where they get to perform in a professional setting what they would have studied and trained for; it is the stage where they are assessed. For these students, a theatre is not an added attraction to the school facilities but a space necessary for their artistic growth as future professionals. The absence of a theatre at MVPA is akin to hav- ing a specialised sports school without a football ground and gym. Indeed, the student's question 'why is my per- forming arts school without a hall?' requires an honest answer from the authorities. More impor- tantly, it demands from the authorities a commit- ment to invest in today's young talent so that they can become tomorrow's creative professionals. After all, Goal 5 of the guiding principles in the 2025 draft strategy for the creative sectors, re- leased for public consultation by Arts Council Malta, states: "We will dedicate investment, ad- vocacy, and facilitation efforts towards the de- velopment of knowledge and skills competences needed by cultural and creative practitioners, to flourish in their sectors." The MVPA sits at the core of this goal since it provides a specialised stepping stone for students, who dedicate many hours of training in and out of school to their respective art forms. It is the place where knowledge and skills are being developed; guided and improved. The school staff and management do wonders within the limitations but having dedicated teach- ers and committed students is not enough. Would we be happy having very dedicated coaches and good players in football nurseries, while children play on gravel pitches? In 2026, this is unthinka- ble. The Arts Council strategy makes it clear that in- vestment in infrastructure is necessary to improve educational provision in the creative sectors. Goal 10 of the guiding principles states: "We consider infrastructure as a prerequisite in improving the educational provision and further professionalisa- tion of the sectors." Once again, the MVPA sits at the core of this goal, which is why it makes no sense for such a school to be left without an adequate theatre. If government truly believes its own strategy for the artistic sector, it should stop ignoring the core needs of the performing arts school. The Educa- tion Ministry should adopt a more equitable ap- proach when providing the necessary financial re- sources to the state's two specialised schools—the National Sports School in Pembroke and MVPA in Hamrun. But this is not just about the MVPA and the lack of a professional performing space for its students. Writing recently in solidarity with the student who questioned the prime minister, artistic direc- tor and creative producer Sean Buhagiar made a pertinent point when he emphasised the lack of a contemporary, professional, purpose-built na- tional performing arts space. Buhagiar said Malta needs a "professional per- forming arts venue designed from the ground up for contemporary creation, rehearsal, production and international exchange". Such a space can al- so act as a home for our national companies. He also noted that smaller cities, with fewer re- sources and smaller populations than Malta's, have invested deliberately in contemporary per- forming arts spaces. Malta needs to have a space where human en- deavour meets technology, where creativity be- comes a hybrid experience of different disciplines, where audiences can be wooed in immersive per- formances. The theatres we have today, good as they may be, do not fit this bill. So much more can be accomplished with a modern performing space that meets contemporary artistic demands. But for this dream to become a reality it requires the authorities to have a vision that is backed up by meaningful and sustained investment in the performing arts sector. It is in this context that the student's question to the prime minister gains even more relevance since it exposes a flaw in the foundations. The authorities need to make two commit- ments: Equip the state's performing arts school with a functional theatre where students can have a fulfilling educational experience; and develop a national performing arts venue, where those stu- dents can eventually flourish into professional art- ists and perform in front of paying audiences. Quote of the Week "A perfect recipe for the most heinous crimes." – The court describing the conduct and views of Sliema cat killer Okamura Satoshi in relation to animals and women, when confirming a two-year prison sentence and €15,000 fine. MaltaToday 10 years ago Dry winter spells trouble for local fruit production 17 February 2016 THE uncharacteristically dry and warm winter Malta is cur rently experiencing will have implications on the harvest of sum mer fruits, farmers at the Farmers Market in Ta' Qali told MaltaToday. "The heat has resulted in very high yields for some crops rela tively early this year, but we will definitely feel the effects of this dry weather during the summer months," Farm- ers Market president Anna Zahra told Malt- aToday. "The warm winter has eased and hastened the growth of vegetables like marrows, cauli flowers, broccoli and cabbages, so that there are currently a lot of them available on the market, making prices much cheaper than usual," Zahra said, add ing that alternately, cold-loving vegetables like artichokes had had a very bad season. Zahra's comments were ech oed by all the farmers who spoke to the newsroom, with Stephen Bartolo adding that the weather had been benefi cial for consumers, given that it provided them with cheaper products. [...]