I don’t think I have ever met anyone so passionate about art or who will immerse herself in anything more artistic than her own world. I call her little Frida Kahlo – a strong willed young woman of deep charisma and a passion for life in which art leads the way. I asked ROMINA DELIA – a recent MA History of Art graduate, artist and lover of the arts – a few questions to learn more about her and her hopes for the future, and her current job as a self-employed Art History Researcher at Heritage Malta’s Museum of Fine Arts and what new project they are currently working on.

What is your drive in life?

ART!

What do you do at the Museum of Fine Arts?

I am a freelance researcher. I am currently conducting research, digitising and cataloguing the National Collection for the project SMARTMUSEUM, partly funded by the European Commission’s FP7 programme. I carry out research on artworks and artists and upload information and very high quality images on a newly developed customised database entitled MUSES, using the internationally recognised cultural heritage standards known as the GETTY CDWA (Categories for the Descriptions of Works of Art). This database will soon be available to the public via Heritage Malta’s website and it will be great for researchers and students in any part of the world, or visitors wishing to visit Malta and the museum. The other European partners of the project work mainly on the technological aspect and they are experimenting with smart phones such as PDAs in order to enhance the experience of visitors and make information available. Visitors will also be able to create personal accounts on the system and indicate their personal interests for their visit, and the system makes relevant content recommendations to improve the experience. For more information on the project check out http://www.smartmuseum.eu/

Apart from this, I also help out the curators with any event happening at the museum, such as exhibitions, lectures and book launches. I also help them organise the popular Art and Wine evenings and other events such as Notte Bianca. I occasionally give guided tours and I help many of the researchers coming to the museum’s library and asking for help on their projects, assignments or dissertations.

I mainly work with Heritage Malta’s senior curator of the Arts and Palaces Alexander Debono and the Curator Bernadine Scicluna and with Heritage Malta’s photographer Dorita Portelli and ICT manager Noel Zammit.

Do you feel enough is being done for The National Museum of Fine Arts?

It is currently undergoing a refurbishment programme. The courtyard of the museum is almost ready and it’s looking great! The roof has also been fixed. The refurbishment of the museum is ongoing and there is still much more to be done. However, there has been a lot of improvement over the last few years. Many artworks are being taken out of the Reserve Collection and sent to Heritage Malta’s Restoration and Conservation centre in Bighi. The digitisation and research on the artworks is a lot of work and it is ongoing, it never stops, because new research is always being conducted and new books are being published every year. There are always events going on at the museum. For example, schools bring students on educational programmes and every month there are new exhibitions. 

I think that museums in general need to be more interactive and involve the public more. Visitors should be able to come to a museum to learn in a fun and interactive, inspiring way. Technology and new media are always improving and the museums in Malta should keep up with them.

What do you remember about the late curator of Modern and Contemporary art Dennis Vella?

Dennis Vella was one of my lecturers in Contemporary Art in Malta at University. He was highly passionate about contemporary art and his lectures were always fun. As students, he took us to many artists’ studios as part of his course at University. He believed it was very important for us to meet the artists, talk to them and see their work. He always invited us to exhibitions too. I had the good fortune to work with him during the last few months of his life at the National Museum of Fine Arts when I first started working here. We all miss him at the museum, especially whenever there is an artist exhibiting. We, as well as my history of art classmates and friends who knew him, will miss his jokes, sense of humour and passion for art in Malta. His dream of setting up a Modern and Contemporary Art Museum in Malta still needs to be fulfilled!

Where have you travelled to in the world and what has struck you as the most special location?

Thanks to European Union funds, projects and programmes such as Erasmus and EVS (European Voluntary Service), I have been given the opportunity to live in Portugal, Italy and Denmark. I’ve also travelled several times around Europe on projects funded by the Youth in Action Programme. Recently I was given the opportunity to attend conferences in Rome and Florence as part of European Union-funded FP7 projects, such as the one I am now working on. I also lived in Belgium for a few months, working at the Biennial of Contemporary Art in Brussels. 

The location that struck me the most during my travels, however, was Kenya in Africa. When I was 18 I went there for the summer to do voluntary work with orphans and the homeless. A few summers ago I also travelled to the jungle in Mexico, visiting Mayan pyramid sites. The experience of first getting into a little boat on the river in the jungle, close to the border of Guatemala, and then going into the jungle looking for the temple site, was an experience I will never forget. Especially the butterflies flying around, the strange sounds of the Howler monkeys, other animals of the jungle and the frescoes that are still preserved inside the pyramids.

Which artist do you feel you can relate to the most as a person or/and artistically?

Usually I would mention the Mexican female artist Frida Kahlo, because she was a very strong woman and she fought hard to achieve what she wanted in her life. I visited her famous little blue house in Coyoacan when I went to Mexico. I was very excited about it!

Do you still paint? Teach? Exhibit?

Yes, I do experiment and play with paint, and with anything I can be creative with. Recently I exhibited in a collective exhibition entitled Deception at Lascaris Wharf in Valletta, where I projected photographs. I also used to teach art to kids at the Malta Society of Arts in Valletta. 

What are your plans for the near and far future?

I am applying for my PhD very soon. I would like to focus on museums, their displays, events and outreach programmes.  

What wish do you have for the future of the world?

I wish that there will be more artworks by Maltese artists hanging next to internationally known artists in important museums worldwide and that some day soon Malta will have a suitable, large space to host a Modern and Contemporary Art Museum. Once the National Museum of Fine Arts Collection is completely digitised and available for the general public, the work and lives of Maltese artists such as Melchiorre Cafa and Antonio Sciortino will definitely be reaching a wider audience worldwide and they will be known for the great artists that they were.

I wish that more people in the world would realise the importance of creativity, art and culture in contemporary society. I wish that the educational system in Malta and all over the world will have more classes focusing on creativity and art.