Although the Malta International Arts Festival has no formal theme, a thread ‘From Earth to Art’ has emerged unintentionally, and six of the 12 productions in the programme include sand.
“I was always intrigued by sand sculpture, large-scale works crafted by artists, and it has never been done in Malta before,” artistic director Ruben Zahra says.
Three artists are using Maltese quarry sand to create works exploring Greek mythology, he explains.
In Dock 1, the promenade area by the American University in Cospicua, Dutch artist Jeroen van de Vlag’s work echoes the harbour’s limestone architecture. There will also be a giant winged horse in Birżebbuġa by Italian artist Michela Ciappini, created in collaboration with Dance Beyond Borders for Refugee Week, and a three-metre tall work by Spanish artist Oscar Rodríguez Vila inspired by the mythical maze designed by Daedalus to imprison the Minotaur at the Valletta Campus Theatre.
“We were keen to go beyond sand sculpture as a public art piece,” Zahra continues, “and so we are using the sculpture at VCT as a backdrop for a dance piece by ŻfinMalta.”
The dancers interact with the sculpture “creating a transitory landscape of myth and movement”.
The event also features the extraordinary and unusual Greek artist Myrgon who, accompanied by the live recital of George Crumb’s string quartet Black Angels, uses raw clay as an extension of his body.
“We see the transformation of a character through ritual body-sculpture,” Zahra says.
Myrgon can also be seen drawing on ancestral practices in an immersive event in a 16th-century cistern under the streets of Valletta on June 17 and 18.
“When I first saw this space, I was blown away by it,” Zahra says. It’s like an other-worldly cathedral. It’s also part of our historical tapestry and, by using our country’s narrative as the stage, we’re not simply presenting a concert: we’re offering a very different experience.”
Here too, festival visitors can enjoy an intimate 20-minute recital by flutist Laura Cioffi who, among other short works, presents Vermont Counterpoint by Steve Reich. This is written for 11 flutes and Laura plays all 11 parts, having pre-recorded 10 from the piccolo to alto. The addition of the 11th is a dialogue between her real-time playing and her own versions in playback.
“It’s an almost trance-like minimalist work, fast, rhythmic and driven, based on obsessive repetitive patterns with a texture that changes slowly over time,” Zahra says.
The programme also includes Grains of … Sound, Piano & Sand Art in which Italian artist Erica Abelardo animates sand in real time at the Malta Society of Arts. Her visual storytelling is projected to complement the virtuoso performance of pianist Jacopo Petrucci. Together they bring to life the narratives of Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky, in which each of the suite’s 10 movements depicts a specific painting by Russian artist Viktor Hartmann, and Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit, inspired by the poetry of Aloysius Bertrand.
“I was always intrigued by sand sculpture… and it has never been done in Malta before”
“I love to showcase techniques that in theory anyone could use, yet see them demonstrated with artistic excellence,” Zahra smiles.
Over at the Manoel Theatre, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra will perform 20th-century classics, including Alfred Schnittke’s Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra, not previously performed in Malta. The work contrasts driving virtuosity with evocative episodes of lyricism and dissonance. Unfolding as a single movement, the concerto is a journey through a kaleidoscope of musical styles and emotional states.
Moveo Dance Company are also included in the festival line-up with a new work, Ashes2Ashes, a contemporary dance inspired by the ancient ritual of the ‘8-hour hunt,’ an ancient collective hunting technique in which a human chases prey in a hot environment until the animal collapses from sheer exhaustion.
Ashes2Ashes is a double-bill programme which includes two 20th-century works for violin, piano and percussion, Set of 5 by Henry Cowell and Varied Trio by Lou Harrison. The show is choreographed by Diane Portelli together with dancers Charlotte Carpentier, Irene Nocella and Jonay Malvar Sierra.
The involvement of both local and international artists, and the development of collaborations that stretch beyond the festival, is important, Zahra points out. The fourth edition of ‘Young Creatives in Motion’ brings together young dancers from eight dance schools across Malta to perform with live music by 20th-century masters.
Also, for the festival’s M.A.D. (Music and Dance) programme each year, Zahra invites one local and one international choreographer to work with auditioned local dancers. This year, Alessio Damiani from Italy and Jade Farrugia from Malta are producing three new choreographic works set to the string quartet composition John’s Book of Alleged Dances by John Adams.
Zahra is also delighted to be introducing another new platform to the programme this year, Pianists and Composers, dedicated to the promotion of music by Maltese composers.
These lunchtime concerts by local pianists will include, for 2026, four works by Joseph Vella performed by Francis Camilleri, and a recital by Gisèle Grima of Knejjes I by Alex Vella Gregory ‒ a cycle of six pieces, each inspired by a different church in Valletta. Both concerts will be accompanied by excerpts from new interviews on film focusing on the work and legacy of the composers.
To see these online and for more information on the festival programme, visit www.festivals.mt/miaf.
