With the launch of MICAS, Malta is about to take a “great step forward” and become a proactive player in the contemporary art world. The newly restored space aims to inspire the nation across generations and kickstart a new chapter as a global platform for both international and local artists.
Words by Passaġġi
One of Malta’s most ambitious projects for the arts and culture, the Malta International Contemporary Art Space was officially inaugurated last month with a highly-anticipated exhibition of celebrated Portuguese installation artist Joana Vasconcelos. The restoration project of the art space brings back to life the 17th-century Ospizio, as well as the Floriana Lines’ Knights-era fortifications, namely the San Salvatore Counterguard and the La Vittoria Bastion, with an intervention that has delivered a multifaceted campus of indoor gallery spaces. Vasconcelos’s large-scale installations breathe more life into MICAS’s four-storey galleries in a vibrant show that is presented within the beauty of the ‘raw’ building, with natural light flowing throughout its excavated and historic walls.
The space
The iconic element of the MICAS space is its new structure, capped by a monumental roof of welded steel beams that seamlessly overcomes the conflict between the surrounding fortress and the contemporary art museum. In this dialogue with the Bastion of Provence, the MICAS roof rises vertically and turns into the main façade, highlighting the contemporary character of the intervention in contrast with the existing monument. Ipostudio of Florence, led by Carlo Terpolilli, together with architecture firm EMDP and architect Hermann Bonnici, were the designers of the steel roof – a structure that has unified the scattered historical elements of the site, namely the San Salvatore Counterguard, the Barbara skewed arch and the La Vittoria Bastion.
As if gently suspended over the ramparts and the fortification skyline, the roof is now visible as a sign of Floriana’s cultural identity – an unmissable aspect of MICAS’s mission to host international contemporary art. Internally, the three main gallery floors appear like terraces within the historic Ritirata, in between the bastions and under the same glazed steel roofing. The roof also provides functionality to MICAS’s ‘terraced’ levels between the bastions, allowing for natural ventilation and lighting, as well as a structure that carries all the systems for moving, hanging up and lighting the galleries beneath.
Covered with float glass panes, a solar shading system filters the natural light, while internally, the roof is itself the technical machinery that allows for different exhibition scenarios, with the void between the beam intersections used for LED strip lighting systems. With construction stewarded by the Restoration Directorate, the works at the former Ospizio complex have proven to be of varying and increasing complexity. “We faced extraordinary challenges in a relatively short period of time – higher costs resulting from the pandemic and war in Europe, apart from supply chain disruptions, yet MICAS is now here,” said Norbert Gatt, director-general of the Restoration Directorate. “Indeed, its tiered galleries prove to be the ideal setting for its ambitious opening exhibition by the celebrated Vasconcelos.”
“Exciting times”
Celebrated furniture and interior designer Francis Sultana, who has served on the MICAS board since its inception, is driven by “exciting times ahead!” The opening of the museum “heralds a bright future for Malta at the heart of the international world of contemporary art,” he said, describing MICAS as a place that will “inspire our nation across generations”. From launching the project with Ugo Rondinone to its first show with Vasconcelos, “Malta welcomes a new chapter as a global platform for both international and local art,” Sultana said. “MICAS will strengthen Malta’s cultural infrastructure by providing a platform for contemporary art and internationalisation. With its launch, the island is about to take a great step forward and become a proactive player in the contemporary art world,” said MICAS CEO and board chair Phyllis Muscat, who has stewarded the project from the start. “Most importantly, we have focused on an international programme of contemporary art that will delight both motivated viewers and lovers of art who visit Malta, as well as those who will enjoy exploring a rich, historical landscape and stunning contemporary architecture.”
On now
MICAS’s artistic director Edith Devaney has described the opening exhibition as “both colourful and exuberant”, presenting a subject matter of wide resonance and relevance to the museum’s visitors. “Vasconcelos’s appropriation of traditional crafts in the making of many of her works will echo several cultures, including her own in Portugal, but also that of Malta. “The decision to present her work in the ‘raw’ building, before the internal museum structure is installed, thereby revealing the natural beauty of the excavated and historic walls, with natural light freely flowing throughout, will also be a celebration of this new heritage project and its contemporary architecture,” Devaney said.
Set against four major signature works, which resonate with the more contemplative side of human existence – Tree of Life, The Garden of Eden, Loft and Valkyrie Mumbet – this exhibition also presents her more conceptual art, which focuses on the quotidian and the home. Like all Vasconcelos’s works, gender and cultural politics are evident – with the materiality of the art also playing a role. Constructed with everyday non-precious materials, often associated with the domestic, Vasconcelos creates works of monumental scale and significance.The exhibition illustrates the way the artist explores the challenging aspects of daily life and “how this creates a desire and need to connect with the spiritual side of our existence in the quest for both solace and inspiration.
“With her ability to present conceptual art in a celebratory and sumptuous manner, and her deep commitment to engaging with communities and schools in the exploration of the visual arts, a Vasconcelos exhibition presents the perfect opening exhibition for MICAS as it invites visitors to step into her magical vision and, in doing so, explore the museum and its campus,” Devaney said. “Like all international contemporary artists Malta Contemporary works with, it is important that each engages with Malta and its culture and that this experience informs and inspires their approach to the selection and placement of work in the galleries and grounds. “Vasconcelos formed a deep connection with Malta and its history while developing this exhibition with Malta Contemporary,” she said.
Plan ahead
“A pillar of the upcoming programme will be to showcase the work of global artists, who have earned recognition from their singular approach to creating art,” Devaney continued. Future exhibitions will feature works from master colourist and respected American artist Milton Avery – who influenced artists like Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko – and Reggie Burrows Hodges, with a new exhibition of work, much of which has been created for Malta Contemporary. A core body of paintings from Avery will mark a first for Malta in 2025: rarely has his work been seen in Europe. Together with Harold Ancart, March Avery, Gary Hume and Nicolas Party, among others, the exhibition will be a captivating study of how contemporary art remains rooted in Modernism, revealing these artists’ debt to Avery’s compositions and unique approach to colour. In 2025, Malta in Focus will host the island’s leading contemporary artists, including Caesar Attard, Austin Camilleri, Joyce Camilleri and Anton Grech, illustrating the depth and richness of contemporary Maltese practice.
“This marks MICAS’s commitment to regularly explore, showcase and celebrate Malta-based art at its highest form and bring it to a wider international stage,” Devaney said. In 2026, African-American artist Burrows Hodges will bring a visual narrative that explores questions of identity, community and memory. Leading up to 2024, MICAS has displayed works in several outdoor spaces across Malta from artists including Conrad Shawcross, Pierre Huyghe, Cristina Iglesias and Michele Oka Doner.
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