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8 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 24 JUNE 2026 CULTURE Malta to make debut at the Gwangju Biennale 2026 with BEJN / IN-BETWEEN MALTA will participate for the first time in the Gwangju Bien- nale 2026, one of Asia's most prestigious platforms for con- temporary art. Taking place from 5 September to 15 November 2026 in Gwang- ju, the Biennale – now in its 16th edition – provides a global stage for experimental and innovative artistic practices. Titled You must change your life and led by Singa- porean artist and curator Ho Tzu Nyen as Artistic Director, this edition explores the transforma- tive power of art in a time of mul- tiple crises and urgencies. Marking this significant mile- stone, the Malta Pavilion will present BEJN / IN-BETWEEN, a major new commission that brings together four leading con- temporary artistic voices from the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Gozo: Norbert Francis Attard, PONKS (Sam Alekksan- dra & Julien Vinet) and Michael Quinton. Working together as the BEJN Kollettiva, the artists will cre- ate site-specific installations as part of a three-month residency in Gwangju, which will unfold as one collaborative exhibition at Horanggasy, one of the Bien- nale's main exhibition venues. The project is curated by Moon Hyun Jeoung and managed by Toni Attard. BEJN / IN-BETWEEN unfolds as three connected spaces and a "living threshold", forging a connection between Malta and Korea: two cultures separated by continents, but united by a shared preoccupation with com- munity, ritual and resilience. Through installation, sound and poetry, the project explores the concept of the 'in-between' as a space of tension, dialogue and transformation. Minister for Arts and Culture, Malcolm Paul Agius Galea said, "Malta's debut at the Gwangju Biennale is a historical milestone for Malta and a testimony to the potential and quality of our local artists and creatives. Our par- ticipation further strengthens Malta's cultural presence on an international scale and creates new opportunities for collabora- tion, exchange and dialogue with other countries and with interna- tional communities. The BEJN / IN-BETWEEN project strongly reflects just how art can create bridges between different cultures and creates opportunities for shared under- standing. Our government re- mains committed to investing in culture and supporting our local artists so that they may keep ex- pressing their creativity and rep- resent Malta in the best way pos- sible on a global level." Executive Chairman of Arts Council Malta, Luke Dalli, said: "Malta's first participation at the Gwangju Biennale marks an im- portant milestone for the local cultural sector and reflects the growing international recogni- tion of Maltese artistic practice. As one of Asia's leading con- temporary art platforms, the Bi- ennale offers Maltese artists and creatives valuable international exposure and opportunities for cultural exchange. Through the theme of BEJN / IN BETWEEN, the project explores identity, coexistence, transition, and human connection through an interdisciplinary artistic ap- proach combining installation, poetry, sound, performance, and emerging technologies. Arts Council Malta remains committed to supporting artists and creatives while strengthening Malta's presence within interna- tional cultural platforms such as the Gwangju Biennale." In the Art Polygon, Norbert Francis Attard, one of Malta's pioneers of contemporary art, creates spatial interventions that hold opposing forces in tension. Drawing from Maltese festa tra- ditions — vibrant communal cel- ebrations dedicated to a town's patron saint — and Korean Obangsaek colour principles, his works explore balance through colour, elasticity, light, and struc- ture. Using stretched elastic bands, mirrored surfaces, illuminated elements, and architectural met- al forms, Attard transforms the space into a field of movement, pressure, and reflection. For example, PERISTYLE - a pen- etrable sculpture constructed from hollow metal sections and gold-painted forms reminiscent of festa decorations — places ritual celebration directly against contemporary devastation, draw- ing uneasy parallels between Malta's historical culture of siege, collective commemoration, and the ongoing international con- flicts. PONKS transforms the Glass Polygon into ROPE TEMPLE, where hundreds of suspended ropes form a room within a room. At its centre, a dense tree-like structure of ropes rises through the space, rooting the installation both physically and symbolically. The work ties together the ritual significance of Geumjul — tra- ditional Korean sacred ropes intended to ward off evil spirits — with Malta's deep rope tradi- tions, from maritime vessels to religious processions, where rope becomes both functional necessi- ty and sacred symbol. Scripts of Maltese and Korean poetry cover the surrounding glass, creating an immersive environment where language, material, and ritual dissolve fixed cultural bounda- ries. Visitors ascend through the tree-like structure towards a fi- nal intervention at the top of the building, where the installation resolves into a luminous gesture suspended above the city. The Base Polygon forms the subterranean roots of the tem- ple through three interconnect- ed rooms that explore differ- ent facets of poetry: musicality, word, and worlds. Beneath the Glass Polygon, the space unfolds as a quieter, more introspective counterpart to the installations above. In the first room, Michael Quinton's soundscape draws on field recordings captured across Malta and Korea, combining sonic manipulation, resonance, silence, and immersive surround sound. The work treats sound as a condition of being, creating an environment of deep listening and reflection. Alongside this, the Portal pro- gramme hosts an exchange be- tween Maltese and Korean artists performing across various sites, inviting audiences into the visual worlds and personal responses of poets and performers in relation to their surroundings. The final room is dedicated to an anthol- ogy: an experimental publication that documents the creative pro- cess, poetic contributions, and artistic exchanges, offering visi- tors a tangible "fragment" of the in-between to take with them. Malta's debut at the Gwang- ju Biennale marks an important moment for the country's con- temporary cultural landscape, presenting Maltese artistic prac- tice within an international con- text of exchange and dialogue. BEJN / IN-BETWEEN reflects Arts Council Malta's commit- ment to supporting ambitious contemporary work that engages across borders, disciplines, and communities. Led by the International Cul- tural Relations Directorate under Annabelle Stivala, the Malta Pa- vilion positions cultural diploma- cy as an active process of encoun- ter, collaboration and shared imagination between Malta and South Korea. BEJN / IN-BETWEEN is com- missioned by Arts Council Malta and supported by the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs, Cultural Diplomacy Fund. This project is supported by the Arts Council Malta, with the sup- port of the Ministry for the Arts, Lands and Local Government.