Sandro Debono | University of Malta (original) (raw)

Papers in Museum Studies by Sandro Debono

CHAIN 2022 Crisis and Cultural Heritage/ Crisi e Patrimonio Culturale (Conference Proceedings), 2022

Museums have embraced the digital in varied ways slowly acknowledging its relevance and significa... more Museums have embraced the digital in varied ways slowly acknowledging its relevance and significance over time. Its relevance to the museum experience subsequently increased during the Covid-19 pandemic when digital practically became the only medium at the disposal of museums worldwide with which to stay relevant. This paper seeks to discuss in detail the ‘Phygital Museum Scale’ and expand on the five corresponding scenarios originally published by the author in the ICOM peer-reviewed journal Museum International in 2022. It shall discuss the research informing the ways and means how museums pivoted to the digital in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and review in detail the pos- sible application of the ‘Phygital Museum Scale’ for museums at various levels. In conclusion, this paper shall take a case study approach by stress-testing and reviewing the ‘Phygital Museum Scale’ in the case of traditional narratives of museum display generally and predominantly focused on material culture and materiality that informs both container and content.

The paper is a synthesis of the keynote speech delivered at the opening of the CHAIN 2022 conference - Crisis and Cultural Heritage/ Crisi e Patrimonio Culturale organised by the doctoral school of the University of Catania in 2022.

Custos Divitiarum : festschrift in honour of Joseph Schirò, Malta, 2024

This paper presents a biographical first-hand experience of the thinking, process, and conservati... more This paper presents a biographical first-hand experience of the thinking, process, and conservation framework guiding the restoration of Auberge d'Italie and its adaptive use as a museum. Drawing from archival and secondary sources, the paper charts the history of Auberge d'Italie, with particular reference to its structural stability and the history, both known and as yet unknown, of conservation interventions, happening over the years. By defining the Auberge d'Italie a lieu de memoire, informed by Pierre Nora's concept, this paper subsequently illustrates the ways and means how theory, research and study informed some of the interventions carried out on site.

Lete e i musei - Modi, forme e ragioni del dimenticare nei luoghi di memoria, 2024

This paper focuses on forgotten publics through the lens of representation as defined and underst... more This paper focuses on forgotten publics through the lens of representation as defined and understood in the case of historic museums and their collections. It charts the dialectic between audience development practices
and socio-museological frameworks understood as the wireframe within which to locate forgotten publics. Two purposely chosen case studies, each of which refers to museums keen on becoming public-centred institutions, shall illustrate the strengths, challenges and opportunities of engaging with ignored publics.

The publication is edited by Prof Nadia Barrella (Universita della Campania) and features the proceedings of a day seminar on the same topic.

L'Arte che Parla. Radio e podcast per la valorizzazione dei beni culturali, 2024

The concluding remarks of a day seminar on the subject of sound and podcasts in Italian museums h... more The concluding remarks of a day seminar on the subject of sound and podcasts in Italian museums held by the University of Macerata in May 2023.

The Activist Museum , 2023

A series of conversations curated during the COVID-19 crisis curated by Anne Sofie Norn, Diane Dr... more A series of conversations curated during the COVID-19 crisis curated by Anne Sofie Norn, Diane Drubay and Sandro Debono for the We Are Museums online platform.

From Alaska to Aarhus, Belgrade to Bogotá, participants sought to discover the meaning of resilience for museums through stories told and expe- riences lived within the global museum ecosystem. One guiding question keeps all conversations in focus: how can we build new habits of resilience as the museum ecosystem equips and prepares itself for a post-CO- VID-19 world?

Nadia Barrella, Gianluca Garelli (2023), Il dono di mnemosine. Dialoghi interdisciplinari su museo e memoria, Luciano Editore., 2023

Marie Avellino & George Cassar (Eds.), The Creative Economy and Sustainable Museum Development, Kite Publishing , 2022

This chapter explores the potential inter-linkage between creative economy requirements and the M... more This chapter explores the potential inter-linkage between creative economy requirements and the Maltese museum idea in the context of the debate around the new museum definition and the values that it enshrines, particularly with regard to the Kyoto version presented at the 2019 ICOM general conference. It shall explore how the Kyoto 2019 museum definition shares common ground and values with the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and, with this ambition clearly set, discuss and explore how experience economy principles can also contribute to opening up the Maltese museum institution to a broader range of stakeholders. In the process of doing so, this chapter shall also explore points of contact with museological thinking and theory which the Maltese museum ecology seems to lack in general terms. Last but not least, possible regulatory frameworks for Malta’s museum ecosystem shall also be explored.

Museum International , 2022

This paper explores the possible spectrum of museum experiences within the remit of the ‘phygital... more This paper explores the possible spectrum of museum experiences within the remit of the ‘phygital’, and how the physical and the digital can potentially interact to define a museum experience through the lens of museum theory. The possible ‘phygital’ scenarios, ranging from what we will term ‘sustained physical’ to ‘autonomous digital’ shall be identified through the lens of a futures literacy methodology. Such a methodology allows us to rigorously anticipate possible future scenarios and is accompanied by a series of case studies that are also representative of such scenarios. Finally, the paper anticipates possible scenarios for the phygital in terms of museums’ goals, objectives and available resources

Beni culturali - dai depositi alla valorizzazione: Modi, forme, esperienze, norme'. Proceedings of the conference held in Catania (Sicily, February 2020), 2021

This paper seeks to present the ways and means how museum repositories can become alternative and... more This paper seeks to present the ways and means how museum repositories can become alternative and complementary objects-based resources in their own right. My discussion presents a broad overview of the ways and means how the repository idea has evolved in recent times. I also discuss the potential bespoke experiences that may, on one hand, continue to be grounded in the traditional function and purpose of the repository albeit, on the other hand, more empowered by technology, the ambition to democratise and empower accessibility.

Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals 1 -7, 2021

Rapid Response Collecting has been a most apt methodology with which to document the COVID-19 pan... more Rapid Response Collecting has been a most apt methodology with which to document the COVID-19 pandemic for an increasing number of museums. As the phenomenon unfolded across the globe, museums searched for and head-hunted the truth-revealing objects that could tell the stories and histories of the present to current and future generations. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic took Rapid Response Collecting to a higher level. A methodology originally conceived for a sporadic phenomenon happening within a specific context during the early years of the 21st century gained much more traction almost overnight. This paper shall make a case for a better understanding of the potential use and application of Rapid Response Collecting by art museums. It shall look into the defining values of this collections development methodology and how these can be applied and adopted when acquiring works of art. In doing so, it shall seek to understand to what extent the mainstream version of Rapid Response Collecting can be adapted for the needs, purposes and requirements of the art museum.

NUMERO SPECIALE Atti XV edizione Ravello Lab L'ITALIA E L'EUROPA ALLA PROVA DELL'EMERGENZA: Un nuovo paradigma per la cultura, 2020

MUSEUMS OUT OF THE BOX - conference proceedings, 2019

In this contribution, originally presented at NEMO's 26th Annual Conference in Valletta, I discu... more In this contribution, originally presented at NEMO's 26th Annual Conference in Valletta, I discuss the main participatory project as a tool for social cohesion.

Artpaper, 2018

This contribution features reflections on Malta's culture ecology and possible future development... more This contribution features reflections on Malta's culture ecology and possible future developments that might reshape and rethink its current identity.

Museumskunde, 2018

The vision behind the MUZA project is discussed with particular attention to the community remit ... more The vision behind the MUZA project is discussed with particular attention to the community remit it seeks to develop as its robust backbone. It also seeks to propose a wireframe manifesto for European public art museums.

This paper was presented at the Valletta 2018 conference held in 2014. It seeks to present the co... more This paper was presented at the Valletta 2018 conference held in 2014. It seeks to present the context for the flagship community project, Naqsam l-MUZA (En. Sharing MUZA) purposely developed for and taken on board by Valletta 2018.

This paper presents an overview of the MUZA project and its potential legacy to Malta's European ... more This paper presents an overview of the MUZA project and its potential legacy to Malta's European Capital of Culture legacy.

This chapter discusses the MUŻA project as a case study in the context of participatory art museu... more This chapter discusses the MUŻA project as a case study in the context of participatory art museum interpretation strategies and the tools required to empower critical pedagogy. I focus primarily on defining museum publics, the museum experience itself and how visual literacy can be used to empower critical pedagogy, irrespective of art knowledge levels, and the ever-changing character of contemporary society. I also underpin the potential of the museum experience to inform grounded art history narratives, revisit aesthetic yardsticks and promote social equality at individual and community level.

This opinion piece makes a case for entrenching access to cultural heritage and creativity in Mal... more This opinion piece makes a case for entrenching access to cultural heritage and creativity in Malta's constitution.

This commentary concerns the guiding principles of the MUŻA Project, the new national art museum ... more This commentary concerns the guiding principles of the MUŻA Project, the new national art museum project for Malta. It presents a broad overview of the project’s guiding vision and the process, known as community curation, by which this is being implemented and consolidated. The commentary also refers to the in-built education-friendly characteristics of the project and its non-formal education potential. The project is still evolving and this commentary is intended to be read as a stock-take of a process that will become more and more articulated over time as it continues to evolve and develop.

Books by Sandro Debono

With a foreword by Eminent Professor David Abulafia, 2020

Published by Midsea Books, this second edition of the exhibition catalogue features most of the c... more Published by Midsea Books, this second edition of the exhibition catalogue features most of the content of the first edition but rethought akin to a documentation project. Additions include photographic documentation of the exhibition itself, curatorial notes and commentaries on the design concept and an essay by architect Tom Van Malderen on the exhibition design itself. The preface and foreword have been written by HE the President of Malta George Vella and eminent Professor David Abulafia, author of key reference publication about the Mediterranean and its histories who acknowledged the exhibition as ‘highly original and thought-provoking’. The cover features a detail from a watercolour by British nineteenth-century artist Edward Lear at Palazzo Falzon Historic House Museum in Mdina.

CHAIN 2022 Crisis and Cultural Heritage/ Crisi e Patrimonio Culturale (Conference Proceedings), 2022

Custos Divitiarum : festschrift in honour of Joseph Schirò, Malta, 2024

Lete e i musei - Modi, forme e ragioni del dimenticare nei luoghi di memoria, 2024

The publication is edited by Prof Nadia Barrella (Universita della Campania) and features the proceedings of a day seminar on the same topic.

L'Arte che Parla. Radio e podcast per la valorizzazione dei beni culturali, 2024

The Activist Museum , 2023

Nadia Barrella, Gianluca Garelli (2023), Il dono di mnemosine. Dialoghi interdisciplinari su museo e memoria, Luciano Editore., 2023

Marie Avellino & George Cassar (Eds.), The Creative Economy and Sustainable Museum Development, Kite Publishing , 2022

Museum International , 2022

Beni culturali - dai depositi alla valorizzazione: Modi, forme, esperienze, norme'. Proceedings of the conference held in Catania (Sicily, February 2020), 2021

Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals 1 -7, 2021

NUMERO SPECIALE Atti XV edizione Ravello Lab L'ITALIA E L'EUROPA ALLA PROVA DELL'EMERGENZA: Un nuovo paradigma per la cultura, 2020

MUSEUMS OUT OF THE BOX - conference proceedings, 2019

Artpaper, 2018

Museumskunde, 2018

With a foreword by Eminent Professor David Abulafia, 2020

NISGA - Storja Kontemporanja, 2018

Exhibition catalogue curated by Sandro Debono and Irene Biolchini in collaboration with Nigel Bal... more Exhibition catalogue curated by Sandro Debono and Irene Biolchini in collaboration with Nigel Baldacchino. The exhibition was a Valletta 2018 capital of culture project held at Spazju Kreattiv.

The exhibition presented a series of dialogues between artists of different generations featuring works put together in meaningful dialogues, each standing for a given narrative or facet. The dialectic between past and present, paradoxically juxtaposed across media, strove to achieve a constellation inspired by Warburg’s Mnemosyne Atlas where polarities are exposed and inferences underpinned across time. When read together as one experience, the constellation of displays and objects proposed new readings of art histories connecting the present and past.

The catalog has been reviewed in the Maltese art journal Treasures of Malta (Spring 2020) by Giovanni Bonello.

Malta. Land of Sea, 2017

First edition of the exhibition catalogue 'Malta - Land of Sea' published on the occasion of the ... more First edition of the exhibition catalogue 'Malta - Land of Sea' published on the occasion of the exhibition held at BOZAR Centre of Fine Arts on the occasion of the Maltese Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the European Union.

Mattia Preti - Faith and Humanity, 2013

This is the catalogue of the international exhibition entitled 'Mattia Preti - Faith and Humanity... more This is the catalogue of the international exhibition entitled 'Mattia Preti - Faith and Humanity' held in Taverna (24th February to 21st April) and subsequently in Malta (3rd May to 4th July) to commemorate the 4th centenary from the birth of Mattia Preti (1613-1699).

A collection of essays by Preti scholars including Giorgio Leone and Giuseppe Valentino probing t... more A collection of essays by Preti scholars including Giorgio Leone and Giuseppe Valentino probing the artistic persona of Mattia Preti through his works, particularly portraits and commissions for the Order of St John.

Montescaglioso. Restituzioni e nuovi studi, 2022

This paper presents four works attributed to a follower of Mattia Preti in the context of the mas... more This paper presents four works attributed to a follower of Mattia Preti in the context of the master's workshop practices, the relationship between Preti originals, workshop copies and and copies thereof with these four paintings as case studies.

Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi (Napoli, Museo Civico Gaetano Filangieri-Sorrento, Muse... more Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi (Napoli, Museo Civico Gaetano Filangieri-Sorrento, Museo Correale di Terranova-Napoli, Pio Monte della Misericordia di Napoli- 26, 27, 28 maggio 2016).

This paper seeks to understand the notion of identity in Preti’s paintings with particular refere... more This paper seeks to understand the notion of identity in Preti’s paintings with particular reference to his contained repertoire of portraits and self-portraits. It explores the dialectic between resemblance and presence, the artist’s use of attributes to define identities and spatial relationships defining the artist’s presence. Attributes define the artist’s identity much like they define the identity of saints and heroes. Resemblance too, based on relative comparisons concerning imagery and text, can identify presence. Both, and the way presence is grounded within the landscape of the picture plane can provide insight into purpose, roles and personalities. The core arguments discussed in this essay have been presented in the seminar Mattia Preti e Gregorio Caraffa: Due Cavaglieri Gerosolomitani tra Italia e Malta (June 2013) in a presentation entitled Mattia Preti: On Biographies and Brushwork and which have since then been developed and re-proposed as a context for reading Preti’s only known portrait of Gregorio Carafa.

http://www.beniculturali.it/mibac/export/MiBAC/sito-MiBAC/Contenuti/MibacUnif/Eventi/visualizza\_asset.html\_1166466828.html

Catalogue entries published in the exhibition catalogue - Oltre Caravaggio: Pittura del Seicento ... more Catalogue entries published in the exhibition catalogue - Oltre Caravaggio: Pittura del Seicento in Abruzzo tra Roma e Napoli - Paparo Editori.

Nuova Corvina - Rivista di Italianistica , no 25, Decembre 2013

This paper presents a case for the study of Mattia Preti’s repertoire of drawings, including rece... more This paper presents a case for the study of Mattia Preti’s repertoire of drawings, including recent discoveries, as calligraphy. It examines the varied evidence which his works on paper yields to explain how the artist’s creative thoughts are transferred onto paper and the possible reasons behind his choice of methods.

Mattia Preti - Faith and Humanity , 2013

This catalogue entry presents the results of an extensive research project. X-ray photography rev... more This catalogue entry presents the results of an extensive research project. X-ray photography revealed a complete painting underneath the Martyrdom of St Catherine representing the Martyrdom of St Paul, also completed by Preti.

This painting is proposed as an emblematic self-portrait of the artist.

Mattia Preti - Faith and Humanity

Mattia Preti - Faith and Humanity , 2013

It was certainly unusual for a Maltese eighteenth-century sculptor not to proceed to Rome for his... more It was certainly unusual for a Maltese eighteenth-century sculptor not to proceed to Rome for his studies where he could also acquaint himself with the latest trends and works of leading artists. This is the case of Mariano Girada (1771-1823), the leading sculptor of his times and the only known Maltese artist so far to have secure and documented links with the Spanish city of Valencia. This paper seeks to review Girada’s artistic activity within the broader remit of eighteenth-century hispano-maltese connections. It suggests links with Spain, particularly Valencia, through economic activity. This could be the reason why Girada studied in Spain which, by consequence, empowered Girada to introduce a new style and aesthetics to Malta.

Treasures of Malta, Vol. XI, no. 3 (Summer 2005), 2005

Abela Ruben (2014), The Turkish Raid of 1614, Malta: Wirt Iz-Zejtun, Sep 2014

In 1614 the then small rural community of Zejtun (Malta) suffered a heavy Ottoman incursion which... more In 1614 the then small rural community of Zejtun (Malta) suffered a heavy Ottoman incursion which was nonetheless successfully repelled thanks to military intervention by the Order of St John. Measures of redress included works of art commissioned or presented by key personalities who experienced or were directly involved in repelling the incursion.

These paintings have been studied individually within the repertoire of stylistic attributions and the town’s history. They have as yet to be studied as a group commissioned by powerful patrons in response to a historic event and their significance as altar paintings.

This paper shall review the significance of this group of altar paintings and rethink their purpose, interpret details and propose new readings. It shall also articulate and underpin the significance of this cluster of commissions which can rightly be recognised as atypical paintings in Maltese art history.

Michaelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s stay in Malta is an eventful episode in his colourful life. ... more Michaelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s stay in Malta is an eventful episode in his colourful life. His stay on the frontier for close to ten months led him to paint exclusively for a close circle of friends and acquaintances, protectors and admirers. The six works from his Maltese phase were painted when living in a community of military men, most of them with an illustrious career in crusading activity. Distinctive symbols of faith and allegiance in battle were necessary, cults and devotions sustaining an anti Ottoman political quest promoted.

Caravaggio’s Maltese period lacks a theoretical background. The Mediterranean frontier, a political and culture rift between two civilisations, defined the role and significance of the island of Malta then the last catholic outpost surrounded by hostile territory. The geographic context of his works, painted on the frontier between Islam and Catholicism, must have construed a crusading environment which Caravaggio could have well absorbed and reacted to albeit subconsciously. His paintings show distinctive characteristics, unique to his Maltese period in content and significance.

This paper suggests a theoretical model for the study of Caravaggio’s Maltese phase. It shall underline the significance of his chosen symbols and conventions which feature in his paintings, the interpretation of his chosen subject, and the influence which the Malta context may have had on his art in comparison to the works he painted in Rome, Naples and Sicily.

Heritage and Memory of War: Responses from small islands

This paper seeks to explore the George Cross, its significance and relevance as a symbol of the M... more This paper seeks to explore the George Cross, its significance and relevance as a symbol of the Mediterranean island of Malta in 1942 and today. It seeks to define this through the historic interpretations of Malta’s cultural heritage and the historic narratives of World War II. The paper also reviews changing attitudes and perceptions towards the George Cross originally promoted as an identity icon proper. I shall argue that the George Cross may no be remotely representative of Malta’s war memory but still stands for the universal values which bond together the individual memories of the Maltese.

Peasant Costumes - Insights into Rural Life and Society, 2012

Revista de História da Arte (Special Edition) N.º 14: The Exhibition: Histories, Practices, Policies., 2019

The Mostra della Pittura Italiana del Seicento e Settecento held in 1922 at the then Pitti Royal ... more The Mostra della Pittura Italiana del Seicento e Settecento held in 1922 at the then Pitti Royal Palace (Florence) was the first in a series of exhibitions defining an art historical chronology, schools and the hierarchies of Baroque art, most of which are still valid to date. This exhibition was also the first to showcase a re-discovered Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) then presented akin to a revelation. The exhibition undoubtedly dealt with new readings of art history at face value but was also motivated by explicitly political overtones informed by the politics and international ambitions of the Kingdom of Italy.

This paper explores the duality of the exhibitions’ complex narrative bridging politics and art history. It also reviews the genesis of 20th century Caravaggio studies and the ways and means how this was acknowledged within the Anglo-Saxon world of academia over time.

Malta - Land of Sea, 2017

This paper seeks to propose the context for a new reading of Maltese art history grounded in the ... more This paper seeks to propose the context for a new reading of Maltese art history grounded in the liminality of connections and interactions which places like Malta hold. This model disavows the political frontier where a dominant culture, or a deliberately chosen one for that matter, takes centre stage. Indeed, frontier art history should perhaps strive to pin down the right equilibrium between oftentimes conflicting cultures and artistic centres of production by acknowledging uniqueness in the diversity of influences which, like strands and threads in a weave, create unique cultural ecologies and, consequently, context-based art histories.

Maestri d'Olanda e di Fiandra nei mari del sud, 2018

This paper seeks to explore the presence of Seventeenth century Flemish works in the Malta nation... more This paper seeks to explore the presence of Seventeenth century Flemish works in the Malta national collection of paintings and sculptures, highlighting the broader historic context, trends and stylistic connections.

Henry Frendo (2016, Ed.), From Prehistory to Modernity - Proceedings of the Central Bank of Malta Symposium, Central Bank of Malta., 2016

This paper suggests a stylistic chronology for antonio Sciortino's sculptures based on the Antoni... more This paper suggests a stylistic chronology for antonio Sciortino's sculptures based on the Antonio Sciortino Bequest at MUZA - Muzew Nazzjonali tal-Arti.

These catalogue entries focus on two key works from Malta's National Collection at MUZA - Muzew N... more These catalogue entries focus on two key works from Malta's National Collection at MUZA - Muzew Nazzjonali tal-Arti. The 'Eraclitus' is here attributed to the little-known painter David de Haen, including a possible date. 'The Good Samaritan' by Mathias Stomer is also discussed in detail and a new date proposed.

The two works featured in the exhibition 'MEDITERRANEO IN CHIAROSCURO - Ribera, Stomer e Mattia Preti da Malta a Roma' held at Palazzo Barberini in Rome on the occasion of the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union (2017).

This paper explores the gensis of Malta's national collection in the works of art then displayed ... more This paper explores the gensis of Malta's national collection in the works of art then displayed at the Governor's Palace, formerly Grandmaster's Palace. It seeks to review its nineteenth century context through inventories and other sources listing movements and relocations, attributions and display.

The paper was presented at the international conference 'Camillo d’Errico (1821-1897) e le rotte mediterranee del collezionismo ottocentesco' held in Matera in November 2016.

The Lost Album - Antonio Sciortino

This paper seeks to review seminal research and contributions to Antonio Sciortino studies, parti... more This paper seeks to review seminal research and contributions to Antonio Sciortino studies, particularly those concerning his works at the National Museum of Fine Arts (Malta). In doing so, I add my observations on published research and review hitherto unpublished references and documents.

Catalogo della mostra Roma, Palazzo Barberini, 12 gennaio-21 maggio 2017

Exhibition Catalogue - Ray Pitre Documentary - , Jan 21, 2014

This critical review of Maltese artist Ray Pitre's latest exhibition explores the relation betwee... more This critical review of Maltese artist Ray Pitre's latest exhibition explores the relation between Maltese artists and national institutions, particularly the National Museum of Fine Arts. ray Pitre's works promote continuity in the arts as discussed in Clement Greenberg's 1961 essay entitled - Modernist Painting'.

Riccardo Licata - Mediterranean Soul, 2011

The Maltese word of semitic origins,'Gheliem', has surwived centuries-old language rnutations. If... more The Maltese word of semitic origins,'Gheliem', has surwived centuries-old language rnutations. If translated into English the rnost fitting word would be 'signs' but an etyrnological understanding of its roots would irnply a wider and deeper meaning. Indeed, it is rnore appropriate to consider this word as fusing the rneaning of 'sign' and 'syrnbol'cornplimentary terrns that can jointty give form to any abstract concept and irnpart it with meaning that can transcend time. No better word frorn our native language, bornand bred in a Mediterranean island at the cross roads of civilization, can perhaps describe Licata's noteworLhy works sig-

A review of the exhibition 'Rembrandt - the late years' (National Gallery, London & Rijksmuseum A... more A review of the exhibition 'Rembrandt - the late years' (National Gallery, London & Rijksmuseum Amsterdam 2014-2015).

The Sunday Times of Malta

A review of ' The EY Exhibition: Late Turner - Painting set free' at Tate Britain, London (Septem... more A review of ' The EY Exhibition: Late Turner - Painting set free' at Tate Britain, London (September 2014 to January 2015).

The Sunday Times of Malta

Review of the exhibition - The Sacred Made Real - at the National Gallery, London (October 2009 t... more Review of the exhibition - The Sacred Made Real - at the National Gallery, London (October 2009 to January 2010) & National Gallery of Art, Washington ( February to May 2010).

A review of two exhibitions at the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Exhibition review of 'The World of Toulouse Lautrec' held at the National Museum of Fine Arts in ... more Exhibition review of 'The World of Toulouse Lautrec' held at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, Hungary.

Our capital city, Valletta, is the venue of some of Malta's top museums and heritage sites of cul... more Our capital city, Valletta, is the venue of some of Malta's top museums and heritage sites of cultural significance. These sites of memory are one the country's prime assets at the service of the tourism sector. Indeed, these key tourist attractions, are well-known and also publicised by the Malta Tourism Authority worldwide. I have come to realise that in spite of these efforts to publicise most of these are, as yet, paradoxically unknown to Valletta's residents. Recent local community initiatives, jointly undertaken with Valletta Local Council, brought Valletta residents to visit museums for the first time ever. The recent initiative, Naqsam l-MUŻA, jointly undertaken with Valletta 2018 foundation, also brought the MUŻA project, the new national-community art museum and one of Valletta 2018 flagship projects for Malta's European Capital of Culture Title, and the collection of the National Museum of Fine Arts in touch with the community. Ten Valletta residents, purposely chosen to represent the community's varied districts and identities, were invited to choose artworks which they also spoke about and described, also highlighting the reasons behind their choice which was later displayed in the streets in visual form accompanied by the thoughts of each participant. Other projects have sought to engage with Valletta's communities in varied ways but these are by and large sporadic and uneven.

$Research paper thumbnail of Meta\MAR 2025. Un cantiere museale partecipato$

Meta\MAR 2025. Un cantiere museale partecipato, 2024

Il Museo Archeologico Regionale di Aosta si sta trasformando in qualcosa di nuovo, diverso, part... more Il Museo Archeologico Regionale di Aosta si sta trasformando in qualcosa di nuovo, diverso, partecipato. Un vero e proprio percorso di metamorfosi quindi, che parte dal nome META\MAR
Metamorphose e prosegue in tutta la nuova comunicazione di cantiere museale partecipato realizzata appositamente per questa fase transitoria. Il numero 01 ne traccia il percorso e ci conduce verso la meta del 2025 quando il Museo verrà riaperto completamente rinnovato.

Revista de História da Arte, 2019

The Mostra della Pittura Italiana del Seicento e Settecento held in 1922 at the then Pitti Royal ... more The Mostra della Pittura Italiana del Seicento e Settecento held in 1922 at the then Pitti Royal Palace (Florence) was the first in a series of exhibitions defining an art historical chronology, schools and the hierarchies of Baroque art, most of which are still valid to date. This exhibition was also the first to showcase a rediscovered Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) then presented akin to a revelation. The exhibition undoubtedly dealt with new readings of art history at face value but was also motivated by explicitly political overtones informed by the politics and international ambitions of the Kingdom of Italy. This paper explores the duality of the exhibitions' complex narrative bridging politics and art history. It also reviews the genesis of 20th century Caravaggio studies and the ways and means how this was acknowledged within the Anglo-Saxon world of academia over time. •