The Valletta Cultural Agency has virtually launched the contemporary visual arts exhibition fuse, in the surroundings of the Valletta Design Cluster.
Fuse is a collaborative visual arts and research project which responds to the communities and contexts surrounding the Old Abattoir building in Valletta.
This exhibition, which comprises of eight public art installations outside the newly opened Valletta Design Cluster, celebrates traditions, identities and stories of the people who lived in the Old Abattoir – a building with over 400 years of history.
The process in preparation for the exhibition fuse, led by curator Elyse Tonna and her team over 18 months, started from text-based theoretical concepts moulded on community stories and through discussions which reflected the thematics associated with their work.
Open until the 16th July, the exhibition deals with the themes of Conviviality, Symbiosis, Ritual, Familiarity, Synergy, Resilience, Displacement, Transaction and Intersection.
Eight artists and collectives are exhibiting their works including Aaron Bezzina, Victor Agius, Tom van Malderen, Laura Besancon, Noah Fabri, Fatima AM and Chakib Zidi, Text Catalogue and Andrea Zerafa, Samuel Ciantar, Giola Cassar and Aprille Zammit.
Aside from the physical interventions in public space, an outreach programme will be carried out throughout the duration of the project. These will mostly be held within the Valletta Design Cluster and the School of Art.
Further details will be announced on vca.gov.mt and the Agency’s Facebook page.
By means of a €10.4 million investment, the Valletta Design Cluster – located in a historic building that had fallen into disuse for over 50 years – has opened its doors to designers, artists, creatives and the Valletta community, who may benefit from its membership scheme and the various programmes being developed.
The newly opened roof garden at the Valletta Design Cluster is a key component of the urban regeneration project that the Valletta Cultural Agency has been undertaking in the Baviera area of Valletta. This intervention introduces a new green lung in this part of the city, providing a new public space, freely accessible to all residents and visitors. The garden takes advantage of the low-lying nature of the Old Abattoir building on which it is situated and brings to fruition a long process of urban transformation centred around the needs of residents and future users of the Valletta Design Cluster.
The Valletta Design Cluster is accessible to the public daily between 8am and 6pm.
