Programme

A hardworking Maltese fisherman, Jesmark is faced with an agonising choice. He can repair his leaky luzzu – a traditional, multicoloured wooden fishing boat – in the hopes of eking out a meagre living at sea for his wife and newborn son, just as his father and grandfather did before him. Or he can decommission it in exchange for a European Union payout and cast his lot with an illicit operation that is decimating the Mediterranean fish population and the livelihoods of the local families who depend on it.

An essential aspect of the festival involves the development of workshops centered around the audiovisual experience on board the catamaran. These workshops are designed to address three key themes: cultural diversity, environmental sustainability and gender equality. Suitable for children aged 5 to 11, the activities are inspired by an audiovisual experience highlighting artifacts from the Louvre, encouraging active engagement, conversation and participatory learning.

The first week-end of the Art Explora Festival Malta stopover, on March 23rd and 24th, will launch a new programme named “Ocean Weekends”. In Malta, these 2 days of programming will be co-curated with the Malta Biennale and the curators Sofia Baldi Pighi, Emma Mattei and Andrew Borg Wirth. The Ocean Week-end in La Valletta will invite the audience to a series of round tables, film screenings, and inspiring talks, gathering key speakers from the art and sciences worlds around the issue of ocean climate emergency.  

CAN YOU SEA? Water as a political body - The Land/Sea dialectic omnipresent in maritime anthropology - Colonialism, independence, developmental and conservation policies have all disrupted communities inhabiting maritime space.  - The concept of the sea as a human space, marked by cultural diversity, has been stubbornly resisted.  - Access, ownership and protection of the ocean by shifting the dominant western model of ideas about the sea and opening up a middle way – a space for reflection that is scientific, political, social, creative.

- All Inclusive by Corina Schwingruber Ilić, 2018 - 'If the Sun Drowned Into an Ocean of Clouds' by Wissam Chara, 2023 - Unknown Ocean by Dolphin Club, 2019

EVOCAZIONI E INVOCAZIONI – RITUAL SONGS FROM ASTROMONTE Davide Ambrogio skillfully captures the vast tapestry of Mediterranean culture, spanning from Albania to Greece, from Italy to the Arab world. Raised in a small town in Aspromonte, a mountainous territory in the extreme southwest of Italy, in Calabria, Davide was surrounded by ancient religious rituals and devotional chants that are still very much alive. Tethered to his Calabrian roots, he drew inspiration from the oral traditions of the region to create his distinctive musical language.

Often credited with the revival of Maltese sung pop music, Brikkuni have been around since their seminal 2008 debut Kuntrabanda – a genre-hopping pop/rock/punk hybrid that transformed the band into a local cult phenomenon and ushered in a new wave of Maltese alternative music.

The vibrant multiculturalism of Malta, coupled with a shared passion for Latin rhythms, served as the catalyst for the collaboration between Marco Strafalaci from Italy and Patricia Torres from Uruguay. This unique fusion led to the creation of the musical project known as the Vento y Fogo duo. Their repertoire, spanning from South American tunes to Spanish, Italian, and beyond, invites the audience on a captivating journey through the joyful flavours of Mediterranean and Latin musicality.

Theme: Art, Science & Philanthropy

- Intertide' by Renzo Spiteri - It Isn't Easy, But It Is' by Mariana Hahn

Theme: Art about the Sea—On Wider Conversations

Marie Helene Pereira is a Curator and cultural practitioner from Dakar, Senegal She is profoundly interested in the politics of identity and histories of migration.

Emilija Škarnulytė is an artist and filmmaker, born in Vilnius, Lithuania. Working between the documentary and the imaginary, Škarnulytė makes films and immersive installations exploring deep time and invisible structures, from the cosmic and geologic to the ecological and political. Winner of the 2019 Future Generation Art Prize and the Ars Fennica Award 2023, Škarnulytė represented Lithuania at the XXII Triennale di Milano and was included in the Baltic Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Biennale of Architecture.

Immersjoni is a venture embarked on by Giaçinté and Tina, focusing on interpreting their shared adventures, continuous exploration, and thriving curiosity. Their electronic, hybrid sessions reflect sensitivity to unique sounds, global instruments, and complex vocals, which are layered and combined through digital, vinyl, and analogue hardware. A fondness for these elements rapidly unfolds through abstract grooves, deep basslines, and mind-bending hypnotic experiences.

For 17-year-old Zahia Ziouani and her twin sister, Fettouma, classical symphonic music holds an unparalleled significance. Despite residing in the underprivileged suburbs of Paris in 1995, with an Algerian background, their pursuit of dreams – Zahia aspiring to be an orchestra conductor and Fettouma a cellist – is marked by relentless challenges. Undeterred by adversity, fueled by determination, passion, and courage, they boldly establish their own orchestra, Divertimento. This initiative proves to be a transformative force, poised to redefine their journey and impact the world of classical music.