Malta torna alla Biennale

Malta, dopo 17 anni, ritorna alla Biennale con un progetto artistico curato da Raphael Vella e Bettina Hutschek dal titolo “Homo Melitensis: An incomplete inventory in 19 chapters”, ne da notizia il sito di https://news.artnet.com

Curatori per Malta

Arts Council Malta has announced that Raphael Vella and Bettina Hutschek will be the two artist-curators for the Malta Pavilion at the Biennale di Venezia to be held between 13th May and 26th November 2017.

Arts Council Malta has announced that Raphael Vella and Bettina Hutschek will be the two artist-curators for the Malta Pavilion at the Biennale di Venezia to be held between 13th May and 26th November 2017.

With their concept Homo Melitensis: An incomplete inventory in 19 chapters, the two artist-curators will present the Malta Pavilion as a poetic compilation of unique things that supposedly define the imaginary of the Maltese identity.

The exhibition will be designed in collaboration with an architectural team led by Tom Van Malderen (Architecture Project). A transmedia storyworld developed in collaboration with Stefan Kolgen will augment Homo Melitensis by creating an interactive and expanding online fictional space that communicates with, yet also transcends, the physical exhibition space in Venice.

Bettina Hutschek is a visual artist, filmmaker and curator who lives and works between Malta and Berlin. Raphael Vella is an artist, curator and educator based in Malta. Both have extensive curatorial and artistic experience and have exhibited their work internationally. 

The international call for the engagement of a curator/curatorial team to curate the Malta Pavilion at the 57th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia 2017 was published by Arts Council Malta, in its capacity as Pavilion Commissioner, in collaboration with MUŻA (Malta’s National Museum of Fine Arts, Heritage Malta), under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice, Culture and Local Government.

A total of 22 applications were received in response to the open call; of these, 14 were deemed eligible. All the eligible projects were given the opportunity to pitch in front of the jury committee.

The winning project was unanimously selected by the jury committee, which included a mix of high profile international names and local expertise on the culture sector. The Jury Committee chaired by Albert Marshall, Arts Council Malta chair, was made up of the following members:

• Fulya Erdemci, an international curator and writer based in Istanbul
• Alfredo Cramerotti, director of MOSTYN Visual Arts Centre, Wales
• Vince Briffa, artist and researcher, Head of Department of Digital Arts at the University of Malta
• Alexander Debono, senior curator, National Museum of Fine Arts and Project Lead for MUŻA.

“I am delighted that Raphael Vella and Bettina Hutschek have been selected to curate Malta’s Pavilion at the Biennale Arte 2017,” said Arts Council Malta chair Albert Marshall. “Their exploration of a concept related to identity promises to be relevant to both local and international audiences. Their project will also involve collaborations with other artists, ensuring that the Biennale also serves as a means to an end.”

In their first comments to the media after the announcement of the result, the two artist-curators stated they were honoured to be appointed curators with the proposal of Homo Melitensis. “It is not simply an exhibition about various elements of Maltese identity. It is also about the presentation of these elements in various social and international contexts; in other words, it seeks to show how cultural traditions are presented in public manifestations and internalised by a public. Given the self-critical as well as creative function, the role of the artist-as-curator as an agent of deconstruction of canons, traditions and the actual processes of public presentation is central to the proposed Malta Pavilion.”

Next year’s Malta Pavilion will see Malta officially returning to the Biennale di Venezia after an absence of 17 years. It has so far participated with a special exhibition of Maltese Artists in 1958 and a National Pavilion in 1999.

Malta’s Pavilion at the Biennale di Venezia is one of the 70 actions which is being implemented as part of Strategy2020, Arts Council Malta’s five-year strategy for the cultural and creative sectors. It also formed part of government’s electoral programme.

The declared aim of the Malta Pavilion is to offer a platform through which Maltese contemporary artistic practices understood within the broadest sense of the term can be exposed, contextualised and presented to an international audience.

The Maltese Pavilion will also form part of the Cultural programme of the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2017. The project will also bridge with the contemporary art programme of Valletta as European Capital of Culture in 2018.

ARTIST CURATORS’ BIONOTES

Bettina Hutschek is a visual artist, filmmaker and curator who lives and works between Malta and Berlin. After studying Art History and Philosophy (BA) in Florence and Augsburg, she received her MA from Universität der Künste (UdK) Berlin and her MFA in Fine Arts from HGB Leipzig. She trained and worked in Art Mediation and spent one year as Visiting Scholar at the Department of Performance Studies at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Bettina’s work has been exhibited internationally; since 2013, she is also founder and director of FRAGMENTA Malta, a project to organize pop-up exhibitions in the public space of the Maltese islands.

Raphael Vella is an artist, curator and educator based in Malta. He received his PhD in Fine Arts at the University of the Arts London and is an academic at the University of Malta, where he lectures in art education, practice and theory. He has exhibited his work internationally and has been active as curator since 2002, working with emerging and established artists in institutional as well as alternative settings both locally and internationally. He has initiated several artistic and educational projects, including the Valletta International Visual Arts festival (VIVA), the Curatorial School organised by Valletta 2018 and Divergent Thinkers organised by the youth agency Aġenzija Żgħażagħ. 

Call Rationale for Malta

Call Rationale 

Arts Council Malta, in its capacity as Pavilion Commissioner, and in collaboration with MUŻA (Malta’s National Museum of Fine Arts, Heritage Malta), under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice, Culture and Local Government is publishing an international call for the engagement of a curator/curatorial team to curate the Malta Pavilion at the 57th International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennale in 2017.

The Malta Pavilion 
Malta is officially returning to the Venice Art Biennale after an absence of 17 years. It has so far participated with a special exhibition of Maltese Artists in 1958 and a National Pavilion in 1999.
In October 2015, Arts Council Malta initiated discussions with the Venice Biennale Foundation with a view to securing Malta’s participation in 2017. Malta’s participation has been subsequently confirmed and the venue secured. The Malta Pavilion is approximately 300 square meters with exposed brick walls. It will be located at the Artiglierie in the Arsenale Area. Details of the chosen venue can be found in the image.

The International Art Exhibition will be held from 13th May to 26th November 2017.

Arts Council Malta is now seeking proposals from curators/ curatorial teams to curate the 2017 Malta Pavilion. Expressions of interest can be submitted in the form of a concept proposal for the visual language and design of the exhibition. The declared aim of the Malta Pavilion is to offer a platform through which Maltese contemporary artistic practices understood within the broadest sense of the term can be exposed, contextualised and presented to an international audience.

The Maltese Pavilion will also be part of the Cultural programme of the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2017. The project will also bridge with the contemporary art programme of Valletta as European Capital of Culture in 2018.

Curatorial Profile and Requirements 
The call is open to Maltese and international curators with a strong curatorial track record. Multi-national curatorial teams including Maltese will be favourably considered.
The curator/ curatorial team shall be answerable to the Malta Commissioner (Arts Council Malta) and shall: 
• Develop, articulate and define both concept and themes of the Malta Pavilion;
• Select the contents and artists for the Malta Pavilion, including artworks and other requirements chosen in response to theme/s and concept, with the support of recourses and expertise made available by Arts Council Malta as required; 
• Liaise with representatives of the Venice Biennale with regards to logistics and transfer of Pavilion contents, including set-up in Venice as required by the Biennale Regulations for National Participations; 
• Curate the exhibition catalogue including choice of contributors, and liaise directly with the publishing house with regards to layout and other editorial requirements as necessary; 
• Assist and support marketing and PR requirements as required by the Malta Commissioner.

The current allocated budget is EUR150,000. This amount excludes the rental of the space that will host the Malta Pavilion, as this will be covered by Arts Council Malta. Additional funding may be sourced through private sponsorship as required in response to the submitted proposal.

The lead applicant shall be engaged on contract by Arts Council Malta for the National Participation of Malta at the 57th International Art Exhibition. Such contract shall define curatorial remit and other requirements that the candidate agrees to deliver in response to this brief.

Proposals 
The proposal in response to this brief is to be submitted to Arts Council Malta, in the form of a concept proposal, including themes and proposed visual language for the Malta Pavilion. It also needs to include the following, but not exclusively: 
• An understanding of the Maltese contemporary artistic scene;
• The proposed curatorial strategy, guiding the selection methodology; 
• A detailed CV highlighting previous experience on similar high-profile projects; 
• Tentative budget breakdown of the proposed concept including curatorial and proposed artist’s fees, transport and insurance, mounting and dismantling, marketing and PR, catalogue, including contents and production and any other requirements that may arise. If additional budgets are required, the proposal shall also include how these ought to be sourced. This should also include a strong track record on how additional alternative resources for past similar projects were acquired. 
• Any other information relevant to and required for a better and comprehensive understanding and evaluation of the submitted proposal.

Proposal Submission and Assessment Criteria 
Proposals are to be submitted via email by noon, Wednesday 30th March 2016 onvacancies@artscouncilmalta.org indicating ‘Curatorial Proposal for the National Participation of Malta at the 57th International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennale’ as subject. 
Submitted proposals will be assessed by a panel of experts, purposely appointed and chaired by Arts Council Malta. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to pitch their project and discuss it in more detail during an interview to clarify any information submitted as required. The final decision will be announced by 30 April 2016.
The panel shall be guided by the following criteria throughout the process leading to the final selection: 
1. The strengths and merits of the exhibition concept;
2. The methodology to select and/or commission the artist (s) for the Pavilion;
3. The profile and exhibition records on a national and international level of the curator (s);
4. The logistical and financial viability of the proposed curatorial strategy as presented in the general breakdown of costings and budget allocation for each of the proposed components; 
5. The preliminary understanding of the Maltese artistic ecology, including its broader connections and relations beyond Maltese territory, and how the proposal intends to highlight and contextualise it; 
6. The track record for completing projects on time and on budget.

Should you have any questions as a result of reading this brief please contact
Romina Delia, Internationalisation Associate at Arts Council Malta onromina.a.delia@artscouncilmalta.org