MICAS will be launching its first Summer Celebration in Valletta on the 21st of June. In close collaboration with the Valletta Cultural Agency and supported by Heritage Malta and Spazju Kreattiv, the event will feature an art talk, a curated visual timeline projection of Maltese modern & contemporary art, and a celebratory party with music. MICAS’ remit looks at the validation of contemporary art in Malta and the recognition of artists’ contribution to the development of the local contemporary idiom. It also seeks to raise awareness and create a platform for the critical discussion and documentation of contemporary art practice in Malta.

Documenting the work of artists and their practice is important for critical analysis and understanding. Artists may or may not document and archive their work. Should they even focus on documenting their practice or should they just get on with making art? How important is it that such material becomes accessible to researchers and students?

Seeking to explore this issue, the evening starts off with a MICAS Art talk at MUŻA by Edith Devaney, contemporary curator and head of the summer exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, who will be discussing the importance of the personal archives of practicing artists with examples from her own curatorial and research experience.

MICAS will further the discussion on the asynchronous development of the contemporary idiom in Malta through the showcasing of a visual timeline/mapped piece, co-curated by Katya Micallef and Georgina Portelli. Jumpstart: An Incomplete Timeline celebrates Malta’s artists as meaning makers, movers and shakers.