The New National Agency for the Performing Arts (NAPA) is bringing together KorMalta, TeatruMalta, and ŻfinMalta.  Why?   It’s because we want to collaborate and work together more effectively by sharing resources and expertise, while maintaining their individual identities and contributions to the performing arts scene in Malta.

The purpose of NAPA is to foster the development and advancement of the performing arts in Malta. It aims to create a framework that facilitates cooperation, coordination, and innovation among these entities. By providing a joint legal, administrative, and organizational structure, NAPA can streamline processes, enhance communication, and eliminate redundancies, allowing the organizations to focus more on artistic endeavours and pushing the boundaries of their respective fields.

Overall, the establishment of NAPA demonstrates a commitment to the growth and progress of the performing arts in Malta. By pooling resources and expertise, these organizations can collectively contribute to the development of the arts sector, leading to new artistic expressions, cultural enrichment, and a thriving performing arts community in Malta.

And, why not, new artistic genres might join in this new family in the near future.

As a Government, we are responsible for ensuring further development in the cultural and creative sector. The creation of NAPA will serve as a strong platform for collaboration and a more centralised approach with regard to the joining of forces with the aim of improving further these crucial sectors.

We believe that through such an entity we can further increase accessibility to the arts, strengthen our creative economy, and provide our artists with a more established platform for professionalisation in the sector.

KorMalta will be legally recognized as the National Choir. This means that KorMalta will be officially designated as the primary and representative choir of the country. As the National Choir, KorMalta will likely have the responsibility of showcasing and promoting the choral arts in Malta, participating in national events, and representing the country's musical culture.

Similarly, TeatruMalta will be legally established as the National Theatre Company. This designation confers official recognition to TeatruMalta as the leading theatre company in the country. As the National Theatre Company, TeatruMalta will likely be entrusted with the responsibility of producing and presenting high-quality theatrical performances, fostering the growth of the performing arts, and contributing to the national cultural landscape.

On the same vein, ŻfinMalta will receive further empowerment as the National Contemporary Dance Company. This indicates that ŻfinMalta, which likely focuses on contemporary dance forms, will be officially recognized and supported as the primary contemporary dance company in Malta. With this empowerment, ŻfinMalta will likely receive increased resources, visibility, and opportunities to create and showcase contemporary dance works, pushing the boundaries of the art form and representing Malta nationally and internationally.

By legally establishing these designations, the National Agency for the Performing Arts aims to provide a clear and official framework for these organizations. This recognition not only enhances their status and credibility within the performing arts sector but also reinforces their role as representatives of their respective art forms at a national level. It also demonstrates a commitment to supporting and promoting the development of choir, theatre, and contemporary dance in Malta..

I am very proud to have brought to life these three entities in the past decade and after a “gestation period” under Arts Council Malta, NAPA will bring about change for the better. We will continue working on synergies and collaborations with other organisations, even on an intersectoral level, and will keep on representing Maltese performing arts also at an international level, whilst guaranteeing a strong curated and consolidated national calendar for the local performing arts sector, including collaborations with other PCOs, and the private sector.

The new Agency will be responsible for the total budget of the three distinct line votes of the three entities, totalling a €1.3 million budget whilst securing shared and amortised administration resources such as accounting, procurement, legal and banking procedures, stores, assets, and amenities, archiving and documentation.

The Agency will be governed by one Board of Directors and a Chairperson, while being managed by an Executive Head, a Director of Administration and three Artistic Directors. This will ensure that the artistic vision, development, brand, and identity of KorMalta, TeatruMalta and ŻfinMalta remain distinct, clear-cut and in progress. Each entity’s day-to-day operations and amenities will be set up according to the needs and requirements of its artistic output and cultural mission.

In order to ensure continuity, the persons who used to occupy the position of Chairperson (Ms Alison White) and Members of the Board of Directors of ŻfinMalta will now all be occupying the position of Chairperson and the Board of Directors of NAPA. In addition to this, the Legal Notice establishing the new Agency will come into force with effect from this month, while the Legal Notice establishing ŻfinMalta will be revoked with effect from July. This will be done in order to have a short transitional period in order to make the necessary administrative arrangements.

Mro Dominic Galea -  first Chief Executive Officer of the Agency

The first CEO of the new Agency will be the widely respected Mro Dominic Galea.

Dominic Galea studied jazz piano with his father Sammy and later in London with British Jazz Stan Tracey. Dominic furthered his studies in composition with Maestro Pawlu Grech and obtained a Masters Degree from the University of Malta in 2010. He also holds Diplomas in Pianoforte Performance, Theory, Composition, a Fellowship Diploma in Professional Achievement, all from the London College of Music, and an “Outstanding Musicianship Certificate” from Berklee in Umbria. Since 1983 Galea participated and won various awards in festivals both locally and abroad namely: Slovakia, Egypt, Australia, Bulgaria and Italy amongst others. He also won the Best Composer Award at the “Malta Music Awards” in 2001. 

Mro Galea’s versatile works include: sixteen Musicals, set music to a large number of Maltese literary works, incidental music for TV shows, Short Film, Ballet, Jazz Suites and other contemporary works. Recently, Dominic Galea was promoted as one of Europe's leading jazz pianists at the famous jazz club in London. 

He took part at the “Bratislava Jazz Days” (1985), where his composition “Horizon” was recorded on a double album featuring international jazz musicians such as Stanley Clarke, Terje Rypdal and John McLaughlin. He also performed in various Jazz and Cultural Festivals in Malta, England, Cyprus, Portugal, Italy, France, Belgium and Germany. Galea produced over thirty albums most of which featuring his own compositions.

He was a board member of Arts Council Malta (2013-2017) and has been a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta since 2008.

I would like to extend my heartfelt wishes to all the staff at the newly formed National Agency for the Performing Arts. I am 100% confident that it will keep pushing boundaries and will keep going from strength to strength.