MALTA INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE OFFICIALLY OPENS TO THE PUBLIC

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• USA - English

VALLETTA, Malta, Oct. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Malta International Contemporary Art Space (MICAS), the country's first-ever museum dedicated to contemporary art, officially opened to the public October 27. The highly-anticipated museum launched its exhibition programme with visionary Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos. The two-year schedule includes five diverse exhibitions that will feature international artists in addition to celebrated Malta-based artists.

The museum, set against a series of 17th century fortifications, fronting Marsamxett Harbour and overlooking the capital city of Valletta, sits on an 8,360 square-metre (90,000 square-foot) campus that comprises 1,400 square-metres of indoor gallery space (15,070 square-feet), outdoor sculpture gardens, restored fortifications, a shop and café.

"We are delighted to finally share with the world what our team has been working so diligently to curate over the last several years," said Phyllis Muscat, MICAS CEO and Chair of the Board. "The creative scene in Malta is thriving, and the opening of MICAS will put Malta on the global arts stage for years to come. We welcome the opportunity to share this special place with guests from around the world."

The initial two-year programme commences with an exhibition by Joana Vasconcelos; future exhibitions will feature works by Milton Avery, Reggie Burrows Hodges, Ray Pitrè and other Maltese artists. Avery, a modernist painter who influenced past artists such as Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko, will be shown alongside a group of contemporary artists that continue to be inspired by him. The painter Reggie Burrows Hodges will present a new exhibition of work, much of it created for the museum. A full description of the exhibition programme at MICAS can be found HERE.

Vasconcelos was tasked with pulling inspiration from the historic site and taking advantage of the height that is created by the space's unique design. The famed artist showcases four monumental works across the new galleries, including The Tree of Life, which sits on the lowest gallery floor and soars upward. Valkyrie Mumbet is suspended from the ceiling on the top level. A work entitled Loft, placed on the second of the three terraced galleries, is an elaborate three-dimensional plan of an apartment that can be viewed from above as a floor plan and encountered physically when the visitor wanders through the rooms.

The final piece of work, The Garden of Eden, is installed in a separate space and in darkness. This exhibition examines how we balance the quotidian side of life with a more spiritual outlook and how this is very much part of the human condition, as the title Joana Vasconcelos: Transcending the Domestic suggests. 

"It is an incredible experience to be the opening artist for the launch of MICAS. I have never opened a museum before; it doesn't happen often and is a privilege in the art world," Vasconcelos said. "I have felt a deep connection to Malta as a woman and as an artist. The space at MICAS is incredibly unique, and we are opening a place of perfection here."

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