‘This nation acknowledges and appreciates the enormous contribution that our artistic community has given to the Maltese identity over the years,’ said Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi during a special preview of an artistic exhibition that seeks to reinterpret Caravaggio’s art in a contemporary context.

The exhibition, previewed at Auberge de Castille, translates 400 years of history into contemporary reality through the works of five artists – Gabriel Caruana, Anton Calleja, Vince Briffa, Guzeppi Schembri Bonaci and Ceaser Attard. The exhibition is part of two projects: the Caravaggio 400, which celebrates the 400th anniversary of Caravaggio’s stay in Malta, and the Malta Arts Festival, which starts tomorrow.

‘“This an exhilarating experience,” said the Prime Minister, “because you can actually feel Caravaggio dressed up in a contemporary way through the eyes of our artists. What we have here is a representation of an essential part of our history, which we should expose to the rest of the world.”

While expressing the government’s willingness to invest further in cultural initiatives, the Prime Minister recalled the varied artistic and cultural activities that had been successfully organised this year. He also alluded to the pre-budget document, presented by the government last Saturday, that proposes specific initiatives for 2008 with respect to culture and the investment it requires.

Dr Gonzi ended by thanking the five participating artists for sharing this unique experience with the Maltese.

Malta Council for Culture and the Arts chairman Adrian Mamo said the artistic preview held at Auberge de Castille, was a tribute to local artists. “This exhibition does not merely lead us into the world of Caravaggio but also into the minds of the five artists who are participating,” he said.

“‘Malta has been selected as the Cultural Capital of Europe for the year 2018”, Mr Mamo announced, “and all these projects serve to enhance the prestige that our capital city deserves.”

Caravaggio scholar and University lecturer Dr Keith Sciberras described the fusion of these five exhibitions as a showcase of the exciting facets of Maltese contemporary art by way of a connection between the present and the past.

“The concept seeks to portray five artists working in five different spaces in Valletta,” said Dr Sciberras. “There is no sequence to the exhibitions and each one leads you into the other. The spectator is invited to explore the various venues and the contextual notion of Valletta, the city which hosted one of the greatest artists in the world between 1607 and 1608.”

The artists’ engagement with Caravaggio has stimulated a response that absorbs, exploits, connects with, cites or significantly salutes the Lombard Master. There is a mixture of artistic expression that offers an exciting window onto contemporary art in Malta.

The participating artists come from different backgrounds and consequently express different interests and concerns. Together, they link the whole exercise and experience that projects Caravaggio forcefully into the contemporary world; a world that does not create new versions of Caravaggio but only seeks to rework his art.