MICAS at the Malta Book Festival: the museum in print and much more
MICAS brings three talks and a printmaking workshop in its first-ever appearance at the Malta Book Festival, from 4 to 8 November
MICAS – the Malta International Contemporary Art Space – is taking part in the 47th edition of the Malta Book Festival, organised by the National Book Council at the Malta Fair and Conventions Centre (MFCC), Ta’ Qali, from 4 to 8 November 2026.
Across the festival’s final three days, MICAS presents three talks and three sessions of a hands-on printmaking workshop.
The MICAS programme includes a presentation of its latest art catalogue A New Life Force, published by global art specialists Skira Editore. Indeed, as exhibitions close and one season of shows gives way to the next, what remains is the publication – so each MICAS session at the festival will take up one part of that record: the heritage site that the institution now occupies, the catalogue of its current exhibition, and the catalogues produced across its exhibition programme to date.
Admission to the festival and to all of its events is free of charge.
Friday 6 November, 5-6pm at Is-Sala tal-Kittieba – in English
Spatial Relations: Temporal Layering at MICAS – Heritage, Architecture, and Contemporary Art
The opening talk traces the historical and architectural journey through which part of Malta’s built heritage was regenerated as galleries for contemporary art. MICAS occupies the Ospizio Complex, a restored 17th-century site within the Floriana fortifications, and the presentation follows the process that brought it into its present use.
The talk draws on key contributions to MICAS: Malta International Contemporary Art Space, published by Electa in 2025
Saturday 7 November, 10-11am at the Atelier – in English
‘A New Life Force’: Urgency and Vitality in Contemporary Painting
Following the opening of A New Life Force, the latest exhibition at MICAS, this talk presents the catalogue that accompanies it and offers insight into the three invited artists and their work.
Curated by Edith Devaney, Artistic Director of MICAS, A New Life Force brings together the painters Nathanaëlle Herbelin, Kemi Onabulé and Megan Rooney. The exhibition is on view at MICAS until 31 January 2027, and its catalogue is co-published with Skira.
Sunday 8 November, 10-11am at Is-Sala tal-Qarrejja · In English and Maltese
Curatorial Disruption: Exhibitions at MICAS – Two Years On
Two years after the opening of MICAS in 2024, this talk looks back at the exhibitions the institution has proposed, and at how its exhibition catalogues are developed to record shows that are, by their nature, temporary.
Saturday 7 November, noon-2pm, Sunday 8 November, 10am-noon, Sunday 8 November, 1-3pm at the Atelier – in English
Marks, Patterns & Prints – print wokshop
Running alongside the talks, Marks, Patterns & Prints invites participants to experiment with simple printmaking techniques and to make and personalize a bookmark of their own to take home.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Event | Hall |
| Friday 6 November | 5-6 pm | Spatial Relations: Temporal Layering at MICAS (talk, English) | Is-Sala tal-Kittieba |
| Saturday 7 November | 10-11 am | ‘A New Life Force’: Urgency and Vitality in Contemporary Painting (talk, English) | Atelier |
| Saturday 7 November | Noon-2 pm | Marks, Patterns & Prints (workshop, English) | Atelier |
| Sunday 8 November | 10-11 am | Curatorial Disruption: Exhibitions at MICAS – Two Years On (talk, English and Maltese) | Is-Sala tal-Qarrejja |
| Sunday 8 November | 10am-noon | Marks, Patterns & Prints (workshop, English) | Atelier |
| Sunday 8 November | 1-3pm | Marks, Patterns & Prints (workshop, English) | Atelier |
Visiting
Malta Book Festival 2026: Malta Fair and Conventions Centre (MFCC), Ta’ Qali, 4–8 November
Wednesday 4 November, 9 a.m.–9 p.m
Thursday 5 and Friday 6 November, 9 a.m.–1 p.m. and 5–9 p.m
Saturday 7 November, 9 a.m.–9 p.m
Sunday 8 November, 9 a.m.–8 p.m.
Admission to the festival and all events is free. The full programme is available at ktieb.org.mt.
A New Life Force is on view at MICAS, Ospizio Complex, Floriana, until 31 January 2027
