Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/652704
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 13 MARCH 2016 News 11 just a museum city what this was all about – they wanted to know all about it. I think this helps in getting the message out there." Asked about the wider implica- tions of an initiative like Valletta 2018 – with its plans to turn Val- letta into a more concentrated 'cultural hub' and upgrade the city's 'market value' in every sense – Grech was glad that certain ba- sic improvements are taking place – "the streets are cleaner, the city looks nicer overall and some of the older houses that were falling apart are being bought up" – but she's equally apprehensive about these signs of apparent 'progress' as desirability to affluent foreign- ers also means that the city is get- ting more expensive to live in. Another participant, Lesann Caldwell, a Communications Fa- cilitator who moved to Valletta from Paris four years ago, also expressed concern about Valletta losing some of its intrinsic appeal as it's being polished up for 2018. In a nod to Valletta 2018 chair- man Jason Micallef's misguided nightlife spot comparison back in January 2014, Caldwell – who chose Edward Lear's 'St Julian's Bay' (1865) as her Naqsam il- MUZA selection – Caldwell said, "I don't know what the latest is on Strait Street becoming the 'new Paceville', but for me the essential qualities of Valletta are not suited to the kinds of people who are looking for late night excitement and all that it brings with it – I can't understand anyone wanting to transform it into something you can find elsewhere." The spectre of gentrification' In fact, the threat of total gen- trification is what's at the core of Grech and Caldwell's concerns; a concern also shared by Valletta Mayor Alexiei Dingli, who wel- comed the boosting of Valletta's cultural scene – even saying that the city's "true vocation" is to serve as a brimming 'creative hub' – while hoping that this doesn't alter the way of life of the Valletta residents too drastically. "We have to be wary of the spectre of gentrification which is pushed by these initiatives. We have to ensure that initiatives are in place in order to ensure that the residents of Valletta are saved from extinction. We have to guar- antee that young couples can start a family within the city walls. It won't be easy but we have to move in this direction for the benefit of the city," Dingli said, adding that while such cultural initiatives are an obvious attraction for visi- tors, "visitors are always visitors, they use the city and then go back home. That's why it's the residents we have to protect – we don't want a museum city but one bub- bling with life." On this note, Dingli describes Naqsam il-MUZA as an unprec- edented example of "outreach ex- ercises in the cultural sphere". "The fact that a local grocery shop started discussing a painting with me, which was placed close to his shop, shows that Naqsam il-Muza is definitely a step in the right direction. But I think that we and all the other cultural entities in Valletta need to do much more. It's a pity that we have the Medi- terranean Conference Centre, the Manoel Theatre, the MITP, City Theatre, the Pjazza Teatru Rjal, St James Cavalier and museums in Valletta, yet they rarely engage with the community." treljic@mediatoday.com.mt 'View of the Three Cities from Valletta' (late 18th–early 19th Century) by Louis Ducros – Antonella Grech's selection for Naqsam il- MUZA Michael Azzopardi, young and ambitious co-founder of remote, design-based startups Sebazzo and Heyday, cut his teeth in London before deciding to return to Malta and make Valletta his home base. As such, he may very well be the prototype of the kind of up-and-coming creatives that a V18-boosted Valletta seeks to attract. He tells us why he decided to return to the homeland during this crucial time Close to home "FOR me it boils down to its proximity to things and the comfortable size. I use buses to get about the rest of the island, they are fairly reli- able and are still an inexpensive mode of trans- port (if you can get your hands on a Tallinja card, that is). If you enjoy the city nightlife, you'll get to walk to all your favourite hangouts and cultural events, which are plenty, by the way. Spazju Kreattiv for instance, is one of the best things to have happened in the city in re- cent years, creatively-speaking. "And I always wanted to live in Valletta. It's a gorgeous city with an impressive legacy un- derpinned by diversity. Once again it finds itself in an understated but very important cultural turning point, much of it happening organically through the music and art scene, foreign invest- ment and the property market. It faces all the challenges of bigger cities too – gentrification, soaring property prices… this is arguably posi- tive. The city has a future. I enjoy living in the midst of all the change, but it's the stillness I relish, too – the serenity of the Grand Harbour and streets at night are unique and wonderful. This accentuates one of our key weaknesses as a country: urban planning and change man- agement. Will we retain this balance? Sadly, it doesn't self-regulate. "Then there's also Valletta 2018, whose big- gest challenge is its ambitious agenda, which stands in its own way because of a combination of hype (unavoidable) and constant scrutiny from a group who are by nature anti-establish- ment. Artists operate in fraternities and V18 is trying to, and rightly so, appeal to all of them and the masses at the same time. That is much easier said than done." Michael Azzopardi