Malta. Land of sea : rethinking Maltese 21st century identity

Abstract

In February 2017, BOZAR Centre of Fine Arts opened its doors to the main cultural event of the Maltese presidency of the Council of the European Union, then happening in the first semester. The cultural event, an international exhibition featuring a broad spectrum of national stakeholders, presented Malta as a territory of land and sea with a history inspired by the ways and means through which the two connect and merge, overlap, and retreat. The exhibition was a celebration of Maltese cosmopolitan identity presenting material culture connecting Malta across the European Union. Indeed, what stood out was not the masterpiece of identity or the cultural sainthood of national identity. The carefully chosen and unusual selection of objects and artworks were featured within a sequential narrative of dialogues which also stood for the extent of hybridity, cultural polyphony and cosmopolitanism that Malta’s cultural histories could yield forth. [Excerpt]