International collaboration putting Malta on the cultural map

Over the next three years, Valletta 2018 will be working closely with its Maltese and international partners to host a number of key high-level arts-related events with positive repercussions on the cultural, economic and social aspects of Malta.

Karsten Xuereb reports in the Times of Malta on plans for forthcoming cultural collaborations.

In 2016, Malta will be welcoming, for the first time, the 7th World Summit on Arts and Culture that will take place from October 18 to 21. The event is being co-hosted by the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) and the Arts Council Malta (ACM).

Ifacca is the global network of arts councils and ministries of culture and is keen to engage in forward-looking discussions with a view to develop globally-reaching actions.

On the other hand, ACM has enjoyed a recent restructuring that will strengthen its management of the implementation of national cultural policy in a more coordinated manner with all other public cultural organisations that fall under its umbrella structure.

In October 2016, a number of Ifacca member events will take place alongside others for the public, including the CEO Leadership Seminar, the 5th General Assembly, regional chapter meetings and members’ lunches.

In preparation for the World Summit, ACM, within the framework of Valletta 2018, will be stepping up its international efforts that are aimed at putting Malta on the cultural map.

These will primarily support the mobility of Maltese artists to Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia through the Malta Showcase and its mobility funds, which can support the successful exposure of local talent abroad.

However, mobility is mutual and, in collaboration with the Valletta 2018 structure developed together with the Roberto Cimetta Fund (RCF), artists, researchers and creatives in general can access funding to travel to Malta.

During a series of workshops held in 2014 and this year, RCF and Valletta 2018 established mobility opportunities to geographical regions from around the world, from Brazil to Australia.

In 2017, Valletta 2018 and ACM will support the government and the ministry responsible for European Affairs in particular, in organising the six-month cultural programme accompanying the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the EU between January and June.

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