Two local artists, the young Gozitan Mark Seguna and Joe P. Smith of Rabat, have just returned from Rome where they were representing Malta in the first international festival Il Lazio tra Europa e Mediterraneo. This festival, being held around the entire Lazio region until 14 October, is organised by the Regione Lazio under the auspices of the President of the Italian Republic and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The event aims to instil a dialogue between European and Mediterranean countries, with the Lazio Region as a place of cultural crossroads. The festival includes art exhibitions, seminars and an international prize.
The art exhibitions entitled Artisti in Terra di Lazio were divided into painting, sculpture and contemporary photography. Countries from around the entire Mediterranean basin were invited to participate and these included Malta, Albania, Bosnia, Cyprus, Croatia, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, Montenegro, Portugal, Monaco, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey. The general curator of the art exhibitions is Prof. Claudio Strinati, Superintendent of the Polo Museale Romano.
Mark Seguna exhibited ten recent semi-abstract paintings (acrylic on canvas), produced for the occasion and inspired by Malta’s cultural heritage and identity, while Joe Smith presented nine abstract works, the majority of which are executed in an image transfer technique, based on Maltese themes.
The Maltese artworks were exhibited in Castello Caetani, a 13th century castle that dominates the picturesque mountainside town of Trevi nel Lazio. The castle has been restored and the interior re-designed to accommodate cultural activities.
The Maltese exhibition was opened by Dr Alessandro Nicosia, the director of the Complesso Monumentale del Vittoriano on Piazza Venezia in Rome (the Altare della Patria), who is also the curator of recent high-profile exhibitions held at the Vittoriano. Dr Nicosia was greatly impressed by the Maltese exhibits and explained that a selection of the works from the whole event will be exhibited at the Vittoriano itself in an independent exhibition in the near future. Dr Nicosia, together with Vincenzo Mollica, are artistic directors of the festival.