On Culture: Mapping Valletta 2018

On Culture

Mapping Valletta 2018 EDITED BY

Vicki Ann Cremona

ON CULTURE

MAPPING VALLETTA 2018

On Culture Mapping Valletta 2018 EDITED BY

Vicki Ann Cremona PHOTOGRAPHY

Tomoko Goto

Published by Midsea Books Ltd in collaboration with The Valletta 2018 Foundation in association with

Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government

University of Malta

Copyright © The Valletta 2018 Foundation together with the University of Malta, 2016 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the previous written permission of the rightful owners.

Editor’s Note All the papers in this publication have been peer-reviewed Photo Acknowledgements Argentine Tango with Nathalie Mifsud, Mosta; Catholic Institute, Floriana; Ċentru Tbexbix, Bormla; Feast of St Gaetan, Ħamrun; Heritage Malta; Malta Maritime Museum, Birgu; Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, Floriana; Milk Festival, Għargħur Local Council; National Library of Malta, Valletta; National Museum of Fine Arts, Valletta; Notarial Archives, Valletta; Orpheum Theatre, Gżira; St Paul’s Catacombs, Rabat; Spiteri Lucas Entertainment, Msida; Strawberry Festival, Mġarr Local Council;Teatru Manoel, Valletta; Good Friday Procession, Żebbuġ Parish Church; Żurrieq Local Council

First published in 2016

Produced by Midsea Books Ltd 6 Strait Street, Malta Tel: +356 2149 7046 Fax: +356 2149 6904 www.midseabooks.com Printed in Malta

ISBN: 978-99932-7-564-0

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Contents

vii Introduction

Vicki Ann Cremona

01 Cultural Participation in Malta: The Who,

the How and the Why

Marie Briguglio

17 The Public Policy Matrix of Maltese Culture vis-à-vis Valletta 2018: Analysing the Relationship between Central and Local Government

Colin Borg

33 Quality Assessment of Culture Space: The Theatre

Ruben Paul Borg

47 Dusty Volumes to Digital: Valletta’s Memory Institutions as Cultural Spaces

William Zammit

59 ‘Contentious’ Politics and the Production of Place:

The Case of Cottonera

JosAnn Cutajar and John Vella

69 Unapologetically Political: Developing and

Renewing Museum Spaces

Carmel Borg and Peter Mayo

85 The Maltese Don’t Dance…

Jean Paul Baldacchino

97 Bibliography

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VICKI ANN CREMONA

Introduction Mapping Culture in Malta

The title of European Capital of Culture (ECoC) celebrates the community of a specific geographical area, as well as the country it is part of. The intention behind the ECoC title is to celebrate the city within the context of European cultural diversity, and to give it European and international visibility which will spur it on to create a dynamic cultural reality with and for the city community. The ECoC title aims to bring added value to the community itself as well as to the country in social, economic and political terms. The fresh dynamism generated within a capital of culture and the activities that sustain it are aimed to leave lasting effects well after the city cedes its title. The year-long activities are meant to work deeply within the city’s social and economic fabric. They are to be planned in such a way as to enhance the image the community has of itself and that it wishes to project, with the ultimate aim of creating interest, growth and investment.

Another aspect of the ECoC title refers to the city’s European dimension, by developing among citizens a greater sense of being part of the European picture. This may also be achieved through partnerships and collaborations with other European cities, and the development of models that may be followed by other ECoCs. On 12 October 2012, Valletta was awarded the title of European Capital of Culture for 2018 on the basis of two main themes – exchange and imagination. The bid itself was the end result of a long and intense thinking-process in the cultural sector that had produced Malta’s first cultural policy vii

in 2011. This was later to give rise to the draft for creative and cultural industries, which was followed by the ‘Create 2020 Strategy’ in 2015.

Cultural Mapping Cultural mapping is a methodology for policy-making that in recent years has been adopted in Malta in order to satisfy the demand, from within the cultural sector, for an informed framework in planning arts and cultural facilities on the national level. It is also intended to reflect the local councils’ contribution to the sector. This methodology is linked to cultural planning, which caters for the arts and for the development of sustainable communities.1 On a basic level, mapping implies the identification and location of particular features in relation to particular geographies and landscapes.2 Cultural mapping targets the cultural resources of a place, using both qualitative and quantitative methods of assessment to identify and describe local resources.3 It is a means to locate and register a community’s cultural assets. Determining the distinctive resources of a locality should contribute to ensuring that its cultural development will include all sectors of the community.

The Valletta 2018 Foundation commissioned a cultural map in 2012 in view of the lack of information concerning the location of cultural spaces in the Maltese Islands, and how these are used. This task became the basis for research collaboration between the University of Malta, the Valletta 2018 Foundation and the Ministry responsible for Culture.

The Foundation established a Cultural Mapping Working Group in collaboration with the University. A project was developed to ‘analyse cultural use and practices in public and publiclyaccessible spaces, venues, and sites in Malta and Gozo’. Space in this context was given a wide definition that ranged from ‘spaces used for community or national celebrations, to others

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for niche audiences, and included both the general public and minority groups’. A series of maps cataloguing most public spaces that are used for cultural purposes was drawn up.

These maps, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology have been compiled into a single interactive map of Malta and Gozo (www.culturemapmalta.com), and made freely available to the general public through a proprietary website. This tool will allow researchers, cultural operators, artists and users to develop the map further by contributing valuable layers of data, which will then be visually represented on the map.

Parallel to this process, an academic publication researching into different aspects of the cultural interaction between space and community was also carried out, in view of Valletta as a European Capital of Culture, in order to examine how the title is impacting the cultural sector as well as the ordinary citizen, and to assess citizens’ involvement in the creation and appropriation of cultural realities. This book is the preliminary result of this research, which will be further developed in a special edition of the Journal of Mediterranean Studies that is published by the University of Malta. The scope of this collection of studies is to go beyond the simple identification of geographic locations, and map out the significance of the country’s cultural assets both from the perspective of particular communities, as well as with a view to determining strategic priorities.

The research that has been undertaken has already produced some offshoots. Most notable of these is a systematic audit of theatres in Malta and Gozo, following a pilot study that was carried out, the results of which are reported in this book.

The national audit is intended to provide a clearer picture of the location, state, and current use of theatre buildings in the two islands, and constitutes the first step towards a more comprehensive strategy regarding decentralisation and greater diffusion of the arts on a more local level. Moreover, since the awarding of the ECoC title, the Valletta 2018 Foundation has

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organised a series of annual conferences focused on Cultural Relations in Europe and the Mediterranean which have dealt with themes such as ‘Cultural Dialogue’ (2014), ‘Cultural Mapping’ (2015) and ‘Cities as Community Spaces’ (2016).

These conferences will continue, certainly up to 2018, and possibly beyond.

The Process Since its foundation in 1566, Valletta has served as the country’s governmental, financial and cultural capital. The city can certainly be defined as a place of exchange. The city’s intense harbour activity has constantly brought exchange between the local inhabitants and people from other areas of Malta, as well as with those of other lands and cultures. The pre-selection bid book for Valletta 2018 promoted the idea of cultural regeneration through an ‘environment of exchange’. It argued that ‘environments create the conditions for different types of exchange’, and can ‘transform, modify, or re-inspire forms of exchange’.4 The final selection bid book was entitled ‘Imagine 18’; it set out to promote the idea that each citizen could have a say in shaping the vision of Valletta as capital of culture, and included a series of projects that were proposed by various persons and entities. The bid book focused on using Valletta 2018 as a tool to allow the cultural sector to make a huge leap of quality, and ensure that Valletta’s cultural environment shifted from an ‘inward-looking’ isolated milieu to one of openness and exchange both on the local and European levels. It was connected to a strategic development plan for the city and for the country. While acknowledging these ambitious targets, the judging Panel stressed the fact that ‘access to culture, increase of practice and level of improvement, are key issues that need to be addressed more coherently’ and that ‘the cultural ambition of the bid need[ed] to be raised’.5

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Cultural realities, cultural aspirations The local culture of Valletta underlies the entire indigenous social fabric and determines its manifestations. The three parishes of the city, each with its own patron saint, are foci of cultural realities such as competing band clubs, particular street decorations, processions, passion plays and much more.

Many Beltin - as Valletta residents are referred to - participate in various local activities such as one of the three parish feasts and the national carnival celebrations that take place in the city. Valletta as Capital of Culture looks at involving the local community in different cultural activities which include new forms of expression on a local, national and European level, as well as bringing local participation in the traditional rituals more to the fore.

Cultural activities in Valletta do not only depend on local output. The city houses public theatres and libraries, a section of the University of Malta, as well as government buildings, heritage institutions, private clubs and enterprises. Many of these entities provide a substantial cultural contribution to the city. Valletta is densely populated by a large workforce and by many shoppers during the daytime.6 Thanks to the cultural offer that has become wider and more diversified in scope, more and more people are frequenting the capital in the evenings. As a consequence, the increased influx has triggered investment in the form of restaurants, cafés, bars, art galleries and other meeting places.

Although Malta’s artistic manifestations have improved greatly in recent years and have attracted more public attention, this interest has also brought out more clearly the need for greater professionalism in the arts. Valletta 2018 is expected to create a cultural impact that will produce artistic depth, as well as broaden cultural perceptions and perspectives that will help change educational, social and economic mind-sets. Given that the ECoC programme is one of ‘the most visible and prestigious EU initiatives’,7

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the cultural programme for every ECoC needs to stand out from the cultural programmes of other years. In fact, the annual duration of a capital of culture is there to ensure that activities are thought of in relation to a city’s strategic priorities, and not as a year-long festival. The cultural programme that is being designed by the Valletta 2018 Foundation aims to reinforce citizens’ pride and self-esteem, allow for active participation, and develop initiatives that leave concrete and durable effects leading to a citizenship that can affirm itself, generate international interest, and fully exploit the new or regenerated cultural infrastructure offered by the city. Since Valletta’s bid was upheld by all local councils on the two islands, the cultural, economic and infrastructural benefits that derive from the ECoC are geared to benefit all social sectors across the Maltese Islands.

In order to plan strategically, it is essential to have a clear picture of the structures and infrastructures that are linked to the arts, as well as citizens’ thinking with regard to different artistic sectors. This volume sets out to provide that picture, and to suggest possible ways forward that can be taken up in a comprehensive cultural plan that can use Valletta 2018 as its platform. The variety of aspects that are provided in the various chapters by the individual discussions of specific cultural realities, are a clear indication of the broad area of study and research that a capital of culture has to take into account when creating its programme and determining the strategies to implement it.

A study by Marie Briguglio assesses the response and involvement of Maltese citizens in the build-up to the Valletta European Capital of Culture, and the relationship of such involvement with well-being. The author’s analysis helps to shed light on cultural participation as well as indifference to cultural initiatives, and brings out areas where work on ECoC should be intensified, for Valletta 2018 to leave a cultural legacy.

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Colin Borg looks at the way the National Cultural Policy is being perceived at the level of Local Councils, and whether there is any effective policy implementation within the different local communities. He examines the relationship between cultural policy and other policy areas, and questions whether the shift from ‘government’ to ‘governance’ is really taking place, and the effects that this is having on the cultural life and involvement of citizens.

Ruben Paul Borg assesses the resources and shortcomings of theatre spaces in Malta and Gozo through a methodology that targets a detailed expert appraisal of the quality of the spaces. The results of this pilot study, which are discussed in this article, have led to a more extensive project comprising a comprehensive evaluation of existing theatres in the Maltese Islands7. The aim of the study is to establish a priority list with regard to restoration or infrastructural development of theatre spaces, in order to ensure that these can assume more fully a catalysing role within the community in a process of cultural decentralisation.

William Zammit examines the state of national and private written memory institutions in Valletta and proposes a series of measures to improve and radically modify existing standards, particularly with regard to the National Library of Malta and the Public Registry.

JosAnn Cutajar tackles the citizens’ appropriation of their space, and the socio-cultural and economic benefits that may derive from this. Taking as a case study two of the three cities across the harbour from Valletta, which together constitute the area known as Cottonera, she shows how citizen awareness and direct participation in decision-making can be the motivating factor for concrete action that can benefit the community at large. The flexibility of this methodology can easily be adapted to Valletta, and would be susceptible to providing legacy for Valletta’s inhabitants.

Peter Mayo and Carmel Borg discuss museums from a critical cultural studies and leftist viewpoint, focusing

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particularly on the national project concerning the relocation and redevelopment of the National Museum of Fine Arts, which was launched immediately after the awarding of the title and which is one of the Valletta 2018 cultural infrastructure projects. This project, bearing the suggestive acronym of MUĹťA (Muse), is developing new lines of thinking with regard to the national collection, which is to be transferred to a more prominent site in Valletta, and the ways the public may be encouraged to view and interact with it.

Jean-Paul Baldacchino presents a case-study concerning dance in Malta, and focuses particularly on the development of Argentine tango. Through his discussion, he shows how private initiative has created a cultural reality without any financial help or infrastructural support, and how these aspects continue to be absent in its growth. His case-study serves as a concrete example of areas that cultural strategies need to pay more attention to, while elaborating ways to assist that respond to the needs of the particular cultural community.

The writing of this issue has been made possible thanks to the advice and dedication of a number of people. The two editorial advisors to this volume are Prof Greg Richards, an international expert in cultural tourism, and partner in the organisation Travel, Research and Consultancy (TRAM) and Dr George Cassar, Senior Lecturer within the Institute for Tourism, Travel and Culture, whose research focuses on culture and heritage. I would like to thank both of them for their valuable feedback. This volume could not have seen the light without the indefatigable help of Mr. Glen Farrugia, who not only dealt with logistics, but provided advice and ironed out all the difficulties that go into compiling such a work. I would also like to thank the former Rector of the University of Malta, Prof Juanito Camilleri, for entrusting me with this work, as well as the team at Valletta 2018 Foundation, in particular Ms. Graziella Vella and Mr. Neville Borg, who were always willing to meet and discuss the progress of our work and research.

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Editing this volume has allowed me to acquire new insights into Malta’s cultural reality, and together with the authors, to work towards a vision that could help Valletta 2018 become an important milestone in Malta’s cultural development. I express my wish that Valletta 2018 can indeed fulfil its intention to produce a shared vision and ambitious, forward-looking and of European relevance, involving a wide stakeholder base, that is supplemented by research. If the arts and culture are to claim a more vital position within Maltese society and its institutions, Valletta European Capital of Culture 2018 is dutybound to leave a vibrant legacy that will positively impact the cultural reality of the Maltese Islands.

Notes 1 Evans, G. and Foord, J. (2008) ‘Cultural mapping and sustainable communities: Planning for the Arts revisited’, Cultural Trends, 17(2), pp. 65–96.

2 Lee, D. and Gilmore, A. (2012) ‘Mapping cultural assets and evaluating significance: theory, methodology and practice, Cultural Trends, 21 (1), March 2012, pp. 3-28 3 Bianchini, F. and Ghilardi, L. (2007) ‘Thinking culturally about place’, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 3 (4), October, Palgrave Journals.

Available at: https://www.academia.edu/1639644/Thinking_Culturally_ About_Place (Accessed 10 February 2016).

4 Valletta 2018 Foundation (2011) V.18. An Environment of Exchange. Proposed Application for the Title of European Capital of Culture. Malta, Valletta 2018 Foundation.

5 Malta Selection Panel (2012b) Final Report, Selection of the European Capital of Culture for 2018, Valletta, 11 November 2012. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/creative-europe/actions/documents/ ecoc/2018/panel-report-malta_en.pdf. - (Accessed: 29 March 2016).

6 Valletta 2018 Foundation (2015) ‘Valletta Participation Survey’, The Impacts of Valletta 2018. Initial Research Findings 2015, Malta, p. 3. Available at: http://valletta2018.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/The-Impactsof-Valletta-2018-compressed.pdf (Accessed: 29 March 2016).

7 The Theatres Audit project forms a part of the Valletta 2018 Foundation Cultural Mapping project, a publically funded research project commissioned by Arts Council, Malta.

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importance to any city that aspires to engage its citizens in processes of civic and artistic creativity.

Valletta’s title as European Capital of Culture 2018 encourages a critical reflection on this issue, examining the various cultural practices undertaken by the local communities and raising questions on how these activities are mediated and negotiated through a city’s space and cultural infrastructure.

This collection of essays presents a multidisciplinary perspective on these issues, exploring the use of cultural spaces for different types of cultural interaction – from Argentine tango to the use of theatre spaces – from a broad range of academic fields. This analysis is carried out in light of the Malta’s ever-changing cultural sector (both in terms of cultural infrastructure and cultural policy) in the runup to Valletta 2018, bringing forth compelling new thinking on Malta’s cultural realities.

On Culture

– for cultural activity and expression is of primary

Mapping Valletta 2018

The use of space – public, private and communal