The MICAS International Art Weekend is back on 27, 28 and 29 October 2023. It will focus on two key events – the unveiling of sculpture by Conrad Shawcross in the MICAS grounds, and a keynote lecture presented by Timothy Rub, the George D. Widener Emeritus Director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, on the subject of museums’ responsibility to support continuity as well as change.
We are excited to announce that this year’s MICAS International Art Weekend presents What is to become is already here, a showcase of three distinct bodies of work by celebrated contemporary British artist Conrad Shawcross. MICAS worked closely with Shawcross to curate a display of his works across the MICAS site, which is now in the final stages of construction. Shawcross was one of the first artists to visit Malta as a guest of MICAS and he immediately connected with the history and geography of Malta and found inspiration in the location of the MICAS site, its history, proximity to the sea and the marina and the views it afforded from the high areas. The title of this show alludes to its nature: a prelude and a harkening of things to come at MICAS, which opens next year. This also stands as a direct reference to the fact that while MICAS is set to open imminently, the new building is contained within the historic fortifications which have existed for hundreds of years and have witnessed the most breathtaking of histories. The title suggests a sense of foreboding, of unknown, invisible things beginning to materialise, of unknown forces at play, or a predestined outcome.
On the morning of Sunday, 29 October, Conrad Shawcross and MICAS’ artistic director Edith Devaney will lead a tour and speak about What is to become is already here. This is the first time that any works have been installed in the grounds of the MICAS site and access to the complex will only be possible through booking. VIEW EVENT
In the light of MICAS’ opening in 2024, The MICAS International Art Weekend will also include a keynote lecture by acclaimed American Museum Director, Timothy Rub. Entitled Preserving the Past/Programming for the Future: this lecture and ensuing panel discussion moderated by MICAS’ Artistic Director, Edith Devaney, and including Timothy Rub, Waqas Wajahat, Conrad Shawcross and Dr Georgina Portelli, will both focus on the need for not-for-profit museums and art institutions to look forward as well as back, in order to reflect the ever-evolving expectations of the constituencies and communities which they serve. This will be held on Saturday, 28 October at the National Museum of Archaeology, Valletta. VIEW EVENT
Preserving the Past/Programming for the Future will be followed in the evening by the MICAS Annual Fundraiser Art Party curated by Malta-based creative Michele Tufigno and held at the specially transformed Malta Maritime Museum in Birgu. VIEW EVENT
The MICAS International Art Weekend 2023 is supported by the Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Restoration Directorate, Visit Malta and Heritage Malta.
