Rotta tal-Arti 2011 - The Inauguration - September 9, 2011

Resting Boats & The Fight

2nd Floor

Yesterday, I was present at Dar Partit Nazzjonalista for the inauguration of the 6th consecutive exhibition entitled ‘Rotta tal-Arti’.  This exhibition, which was inaugurated by the Maltese Prime Minister Dr Laurence Gonzi, forms part of the Malta Independence festivities, which are organised annually in Malta.

This exhibition is one of the vastest exhibitions annually held in Malta under one roof.  It comprises different art forms including sculpture, ceramics, paintings and mixed media.

Inauguration of the 2008 exhibition by Prime
Minister of Malta Dr Laurence Gonzi

One is also to note that this exhibition honours late famous Maltese artists.  In fact a section of this exhibition is dedicated to renowned names such as Wille Apap, Ċensu Apap, Anton Agius, Emvin Cremona, Antoine Camilleri and Victor Diacono.

My works are exhibited in the second floor of the building.  For further information about my works, ‘The Fight’ and ‘Resting Boats’, please follow this link: Rotta tal-Arti 2011.

Entrance to the exhibition is free and it will be open to the public until the 30th of September 2011.

Modern Artistic Sensibilities in Maltese Art - The Exhibition

Recently Heritage Malta has invited me to what I consider as a major event when it comes to reassess Modern Art in Malta. I was present to the official book launch of ‘Pioneers of Modern Art in Malta’ written by Prof Joseph Paul Cassar. This event was accompanied by an exhibition entitled ‘Modern Artistic Sensibilities in Maltese Art’, also curated by Prof Cassar.  The exhibition featured Modern works of art from the National Collection and it was held at the National Museum of Fine Arts, Malta.

Heritage Malta in collaboration with Prof Cassar, organised an onsite lecture, in which Prof Cassar revisited a good number of the works exhibited.  His lecture was a very detailed and inspiring one.  


On a personal note, during this lecture, I recalled my past days at the UOM Junior College and University of Malta when I used to attend Prof Cassar’s enriching and well-prepared lectures.

Prof Cassar, who is reputed to be one of the major scholars on Modern art in Malta, in his book, sheds light on the Maltese modern artistic sensibility and states as follows:

“History makes it apparent that modern sensibility in the realm of the visual arts in Malta is a belated experience. This does not take away the efforts brought about through a group effort mainly by the Modern Art Circle, Atelier ’56, The Modern Art Group, The Artists’ Guild, Spectrum ’69 and Vision ’74...”

Biographical note:

Prof Joseph Paul Cassar is a practising artist, art historian, art critic, curator and educator. He was a decisively inspiring academic spearheading the formation of a generation of Maltese scholars, educators and professionals in the field before moving to University of Maryland University College where he is currently Professor of Art. He is also engaged in designing dynamic online art courses for the New York Times Knowledge Network. Professor Cassar is also one of the Malta National Museum of Fine Arts'  internationally acclaimed consultants and advisors. 

Naqraw u Nirrimaw by Therese Pace and Hilary Spiteri

In 2009 poet and author Therese Pace and myself set on the market a set of six story/poem books for children entitled Naqraw u Nirrimaw.  This series is intended for children attending primary schools.  All the six books are fully colour-illustrated picturing a fresh application of the aquarelle medium.

Therese proposes an innovative way of writing and promoting poetry amongst children. In fact the short stories are all intended to compose short poems, which I am pretty sure that are appealent to a young audience. 

The illustrations show a high degree of creativity and immagination and all characters presented were created for the purpose of this series.


To buy book Naqraw u Nirrimaw 1
To buy book Naqraw u Nirrimaw 2
To buy book Naqraw u Nirrimaw 3
To buy book Naqraw u Nirrimaw 4
To buy book Naqraw u Nirrimaw 5
To buy book Naqraw u Nirrimaw 6

L-Għeneb Qed Jiswied u Novelli Ohra by Carmel G. Cauchi

‘L-Għeneb Qed Jiswied u Novelli Ohra’ comprises eleven acclaimed short stories which were written by novelist Carmel G. Cauchi in the 1960s.  The stories reflect several social aspects including family and marriage elements.

Cauchi’s outstanding literary qualities were praised at the Konkors Letterarju Farsons in 1986.  In fact the winning novel of the contest, L-Għeneb Qed Jiswied, christened this published collection of novels.  The examiners noted as follows:

“L-eżaminaturi qablu unanimament li n-novella L-Għeneb Qed Jiswied tal-konkorrent li ffirma Dmugħ  id-Dielja tingħata l-ewwel premju. Din il-kitba tinqata’ għalkollox mill-oħrajn. Hi ġrajja meħuda mill-ħajja ta’ kuljum, miktuba b’realiżmu ħaj, u bi stil letterarju ta’ livell għoli.” (Mir-Rapport tal-Ġurija, Konkors Letterarju Farsons imniedi mill-ġurnal “Il-ħajja” fl-1986. L-eżaminaturi kienu Dr Rena Balzan, Anton Grasso u John Sciberras.)

Hilary Spiteri illustrated the front cover. It represents a semi-abstract interpretation of a vine leaf as seen against the light.


To buy book L-Gheneb Qed Jiswied u Novelli Ohra

Miraggi Lasaljani by Patrick Sammut (ed.)

The book ‘Miraggi Lasalljani’ inlcudes a compilation of poems, edited by Patrcik Sammut, which was published in 2009 by De La Salle Publications, Malta.  The book includes poems from four poets being Joseph Axiaq, Mario Attard, Patrick Sammut and Stephen Cachia, all of them teachers at De La Salle College, Cottonera, Malta.  Also, the book includes two analytic studies on the late Bro. Henry Grech FSC and Bro. Michael Buttigieg FSC (Brothers of the La Sallian community). Both Brothers contributed, throughout their lives, to Maltese poetry and literature.

‘Miraggi Lasalljani’ comprises four sections which are illustrated by young and talented artist Hilary Spiteri.  He also matched the publication with a vibrant cover design representing St John Baptist De La Salle and his love for teaching and education.

UNEASY RITUALS - Contemporary Tales from Malta by Patrick Sammut

This week, a dear friend of mine and colleague, Patrick Sammut paid a visit at my studio. He came forth with his newly published book entitled ‘Uneasy Rituals – Contemporary Tales from Malta'.

The book comprises a collection of meticulously interpreted contemporary stories, which were later translated to English by Alfred Palma. This publication also includes 16 photographic works by me. This was my very first opportunity to have my photographic works published and exposed in such a powerful manner.

Sammut and I have worked constantly on this project through the very first months of this year.  We have discussed and collaborated on the choice of images which were to be featured. Also, I was in charge of laying out an innovative cover-design complimented by, what I may describe as a, simplistic but effective page setting.  This collaboration resulted to be a fruitful one. I proudly claim my input in this enriching and worth buying book. Thumbs up goes to Patrick Sammut for his excellent creative writing and for allowing me the opportunity to expose my photographic creativity.  I highly recommend this book!

Patrick Sammut was born in Malta in 1968. He studied Maltese and Italian language and literature at the University of Malta, and later obtained a Masters Degree in Contemporary Italian Literature with a thesis on “The Novel of the Resistance Movement”. Between 1994 and 1996 he studied Italian literature and literary criticism at the Università degli Studi of Florence. He teaches Maltese and Italian Language and Literature at De La Salle College since 1992. He is vice-president of the Maltese Poets Association, editor of the poetry magazine VERSI, and coordinator of a literary page of a local and virtual weekly newspaper, Il-Gens illum. He writes poetry in Maltese, English and Italian. He is author of various publications: literary criticism, poetry and short stories for children. His poems were published in both local and foreign journals and magazines. In 2008 he participated in the “Progetto Dante” of Ravenna, together with Maltese poet and translator, Alfred Palma, and won a “Special Mention” in the Nosside international poetry contest. In 2011 he participated in the Gaeta Mediterranean Poetry Festival. He keeps in contact with other poets and writers through e-mail and has a personal blog: www.patrickjsammut.blogspot.com He is married to Rosalie and father of Andrew, Kristina and Matthew.

To buy book Uneasy Rituals