Communities, values and the “new” museology at MuZA : a reply to Sandro Debono's 'MuZA - rethinking national art museums and the values of community curation'

Abstract

Sandro Debono's “MuŻA – Rethinking National Art Museums and the values of community curation” (published in the Malta Review of Educational Research in December 2014) makes many promising claims in articulating Heritage Malta's new Museum of Art project (MuŻA). I decided to write this reply after I was asked to join a discussion about the paper on academia.edu but found the format of an online discussion inadequate to deal with the issues I felt the paper needed to address. I hope that by conjoining with Debono's conversation in an essay form, this response will help refine MuŻA's ambitious objectives by critically engaging the guiding vision driving the new Museum. The orientation of my reply is derived from a number of perspectives; Professionally, I speak as a contemporary artist who has practiced in Australia, Holland, Germany, as well as Malta; I speak as a Resident Academic and educator of contemporary art and culture (including museology) at the University of Malta; I speak too as an art researcher and cultural theorist working both within and beyond the academy; I speak as an occasional curator and exhibitions/performance organiser; And I speak as an ordinary citizen, a Maltese-Australian expat presently residing in Malta who has more than a passing interest in Maltese art and culture.