ABOUT FESTIVALS MALTA
INTRODUCTION
For the Maltese public, festivals are a wonderful way to increase participation, reach out to the youth and to all segments of society, and ensure a Maltese cultural product that is engaging, accessible and varied. Research has identified festivals as the primary point for local participation and an area of strong community engagement, both in creating the product as well as consuming it.
People attend festivals for a range of reasons. For some it is a welcome form of community cohesion with grass roots culture and creativity at its heart. For others, it is a simpler proposition, looking for fun times shared with family and friends. Overall, festivals provide accessible and fun entertainment, often taking place outdoors in spectacular sites, providing people with an opportunity for audiences to take part in something bigger than themselves. Festivals are an integral part of Maltese culture, which also provide a fantastic opportunity for us to be able to share our traditions, authenticity and cultural fabric with our visitors.
With the energy and drive spurred on by Valletta 2018, the opportunity exists to leverage the significant investment in the European City of Culture activities and continue the legacy to sustain this investment for the future of arts and culture in Malta.
Moreover, there is a significant opportunity to further promote the Maltese cultural and artistic scene internationally and attract foreign visitors who come to Malta specifically for its events and festival attractions, thus dialling up Malta’s tourism product.
The rebranding of the Festivals Directorate as Festivals Malta is one of the key actions (Action 11) in the Arts Council Strategy Create 2020. Launched in December 2015, Create 2020 proposed the establishment of Festivals Malta including the Carnival Experience, as part of the Valletta 2018 legacy programme.
FESTIVALS MALTA
The hiving off of Festivals Malta from its ‘mother entity’, Arts Council Malta, is a strategic attempt to facilitate the growth of more than 160 separate activities across 8 festivals and 5 national events, leveraging a team of 20 talented, passionate and dedicated professionals along with 8 artistic directors, who shape the current festivals directorate responsible for the events programme of Arts Council Malta.
Festivals Malta will drive for greater focus on excellence in the execution of festivals and will create a unique brand identity around this sector. It will also be the organisation responsible for the implementation and running of the EU-funded project, a tremendous opportunity to create a ‘year-round’ carnival experience as well as the implementation of the Rock Hub which will be an incubator for emerging musicians and bands. Furthermore, Festivals Malta will enable cooperation between events and festivals, regardless of their source, to promote artistic expression, cultural excellence and democratic expression, and this same cooperation will be tapped into to create economies of scale between festivals.
Festivals Malta will also be a focal point for outreach to other international festivals, providing opportunities for local talent while also bringing new and innovative ideas to Malta.
Festivals Malta will promote Malta’s global brand as that of a ‘festival island’, building on our authenticity and hospitality – a place where people travel to enjoy their favourite performing art.
VISION
The vision is to promote Malta as a Cultural Festival Destination aiming at increasing audiences and gain optimal benefits for the country through events.
MISSION
Festivals Malta’s mission is to nurture creativity, professionalism, participation and cultural education in arts festivals. It strives to continue to make festivals an integral part of Maltese social and cultural life.