Having supported the transportation of artworks for an exhibition by 12 French artists from the Association des Peintres et Sculpteurs de Saint-Tropez at the Malta Maritime Museum in Vittoriosa earlier this year, Express Trailers will now be delivering artworks by three Maltese artists for participation in a collective exhibition in St Tropez.
The French artists' association has in fact reciprocated Malta's hospitality and has invited photographer Kurt Arrigo and painters Caroline Navarro and James Vella Clark to participate as guests of honour at the forthcoming 14th edition of the Salon des Peintres et Sculpteurs de Saint-Tropez.
The three artists have been chosen because they share the same affinity with the Mediterranean character and their work, which represents very much the spirit of the Maltese islands reflects the strong nautical element and the harbour environments shared by both Vittoriosa and Saint-Tropez.
In 2012, the Embassy of Malta in France and the Malta Tourism Authority were instrumental in the signing of a twinning agreement between the ports of Saint-Tropez and Vittoriosa. This twinning agreement was brought about as a result of the good relations between the organisers of the Trophée Bailli de Suffren classic boat regatta, the Mairie de Saint-Tropez and the willingness of the Vittoriosa local council. In 2013, the Mairie de Saint-Tropez and the Embassy of Malta in France organised the Année de Malte in Saint-Tropez, a year-long programme of cultural activities.
"This year, to achieve greater visibility in the weekend of the start of the Trophée Bailli de Suffren race in Saint-Tropez, Malta will feature as the country of honour at Saint-Tropez and one of the activities to enhace the weekend programme will be a collective exhibition of works by three Maltese artists who will exhibit alongside the French artists," said a spokesperson for MTA in France.
"Besides supporting Maltese art and making sure our artists' works reach France safely and in time for the exhibition, our association with this event stems from two other important factors namely our company's affinity with the French market and our capabilities to handle any form of cargo including fragile objects such as art," said David Fleri Soler Marketing and Business Development manager at Express Trailers.
In Saint-Tropez, the three Maltese artists will be guests of honour of the Saint-Tropez Collective arts exhibition which will be held at the Salle Jean Despas in Place des Lices where they will have a section entirely dedicated to them as the selected Maltese artists with five works each. The inauguration of the exhibition will be held on Saturday, 27 June and will be open for public viewing for two weeks.