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3 ART maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 SEPTEMBER 2026 JOHANN Agius is honouring the artistic legacies of his father and grandfather through his first-ever exhibition. His father, Joseph Agius, known to many as 'id-Dylan' because of his alleged likeness to singer Bob Dylan as a teenager, was a belov- ed Maltese artist. Primarily, Joseph was known for continuing his own father's legacy as a clay sculptor, par- ticularly through their famous and traditional 'pasturi' (small Christmas crib figures). Both Joseph and his father, Car- melo, had many other passions as talented artists, however, and it is these lesser-known aspects of their creative lives that Jo- hann Agius hopes to bring to the forefront through his first-ever exhibition. Aptly entitled 'Jo- seph Agius id-Dylan: The Last- ing Legacy of a Beloved Maltese Artist', the exhibition is being hosted on the second floor of the Inquisitor's Palace in Birgu for over four months, until the end of January 2027. Joseph himself spent a year as a resident artist at the aforementioned Palace in 2012, in turn aiming to honour his late father's statuary work, mainly because Carmelo was shy and tended to hide behind his creations. Joseph passed away in August 2025 at the age of 72, following a tough battle with lymphoma that lasted a number of years. Despite his illness, he continued to lov- ingly draw and paint until almost the very end. Curated by Audrey Rose Miz- zi, for whom this is similarly her first experience as a lead curator, the exhibition presents a narra- tive that welcomes visitors into the world of three generations of artists who, during difficult times, always found solace in their chosen creative medium — be it pencil and pen on paper, clay, watercolour or a plethora of others. The exhibition is accompa- nied by a mini-documentary of around 10 minutes, made by Ni- na Musumeci and including ar- chival footage provided by Omar Camilleri. The documentary is being played in the exhibition room itself and will eventually also be available to view fully on- line. Aside from showcasing the wide variety of sculptures Joseph and Carmelo crafted through the decades, both religious and folk- loristic, the exhibition spotlights their shared love for drawing, painting, illustrating, cartooning and even music. Carmelo loved playing the accordion, while Jo- seph was a drummer in a band for almost all his life. A few key pieces on show in- clude an original copy of the iconic Maltese book Leli ta' Ħaż- Żgħir by Ġuże Ellul Mercer, for which Joseph designed the cover; a complex Christmas crib that Carmelo built within a wooden box when he was first starting out; as well as a similar, but much more miniature, concept by Car- melo depicting the Lourdes chil- dren's apparition inside a clam. As the third-generation artist intending to keep the family's legacy alive, the final portion of the exhibition highlights some of Johann's own latest artworks. These include pieces created specifically for the exhibition in tribute to both his father and grandfather, alongside an in- teractive section encouraging visitors to sit down and write or sketch out their thoughts. Members of the general pub- lic can attend the exhibition by purchasing a ticket to the whole Inquisitor's Palace at the ground- floor reception desk. Alternative- ly, entry is free for Heritage Mal- ta members or passport holders. The exhibition is sponsored by Dormax Press, Bookie App, Mind Reframed, ARTZ-ID, E Boffa Tanti, Route216 and Dota Frames. Honouring his father and grandfather's artistic legacies through his first exhibition Angie Balzan wins international Spotlight Awards grand prize MALTA-BASED photogra- pher Angie Balzan has won the grand prize at the 2026 Spot- light Awards, an international competition recognising work in commercial photography and image creation. Balzan won the overall award for her photograph The Not-Today Committee, which also took first place in the Travel, Documentary & Landscape category. The ninth edition of the Spot- light Awards featured 14 catego- ries, with entries judged by more than 50 creative directors, art buyers, producers, editors and other industry professionals from around the world. The jury included representa- tives from international brands, agencies and publications includ- ing IKEA, Volvo Cars, Mattel, Unilever, Marriott International, H&M, WPP Production, Publicis Production, WGSN, The Times, Hearst, UNICEF, Ogilvy, Cartier, Louis Vuitton and Condé Nast Traveller. Balzan's winning photograph shows three women by the sea- side in what the photographer describes as a humorous moment. "Three women, one sea, and a unanimous vote to think about it a little longer," Balzan said in her description of the photograph. "Two stand guard at the shoreline like a jury still deliberating, while the third strides past having ap- parently already reached a verdict. Somewhere, the Mediterranean is filing a formal complaint about being kept waiting." The image was selected as the overall winner from the 14 cate- gory winners by the international jury. Speaking after the announce- ment, Balzan said the award demonstrated the importance of photography in capturing mo- ments that cannot be recreated. "If anything, this win is proof of the opposite of what everyone fears," she said, referring to the growing use of artificial intelligence in im- age creation. "AI can imagine a thousand ver- sions of a beautiful image, but it can't have been standing on that shoreline, at that exact second, when three women decided the sea could wait...That kind of truth only happens once, and it's gone the moment you miss it. Pho- tographers are still the ones who show up for it." The Spotlight Awards are organ- ised by Production Paradise and aim to connect photographers and image creators with those who commission, produce and select imagery for international brands, agencies and publications.