Labour administrations seem to have subverted the order of things in a number of fields and in certain cases, it is hard to understand the logic behind it all. From day one, successive Labour governments have embarked on a mission to create powerful entities and structures that hoarded power in a complete reversal from all norms of decentralisation.

We all know how local councils, for example, have been stripped of resources and legal infrastructure, which has been passed onto the hands of a myriad of authorities, which are conveniently managed by the trusted few. Such a strategy continues to chisel away at our fragile democracy.

The same can be said in the artistic sector, which has in the past years seen the sprouting of numerous publicly funded entities, which in many cases are being pitted straight against private practitioners, who are increasingly finding hard to do create their art.

The life of an independent artist has never been easy and the issue of patronage in the arts is a subject that has been debated and studied no end across the centuries. I will not go into the issue of whether a publicly funded piece of art has its merits compromised or less. That is perhaps a very interesting argument for another time and a different platform.

However, in terms of accessibility to resources, funding and the limited local market, things are much clearer.

Private theatre companies, dance companies, and artists in general, find themselves in direct competition with the bottomless pockets of the government. Naturally there is no way any business, let alone the struggling artistic operator, can ever compete in this game.

We have already seen how the fledgling Valletta Film Festival, which was organised with great sacrifice, against all odds for a number of years, and which was gathering traction, was stripped of the little support it received, to make way for the grand lavish Mediterranee extravaganza we have heard so much about.

This is the open market in reverse. This is a controlled, closed market which seeks to nationalise all efforts and control all initiative.

Same is happening in all other spheres of the arts, with operators asking why does the government feel that it is necessary to organise huge events on a national scale, which consume all the local resources and the attention of the audiences, without leaving any space for the private sector.

It is reasonable to argue that government undertakes projects which the private sector would deem too challenging or unprofitable to explore. This is perhaps an honourable train of thought, however, why doesn't the government create the right environment for such projects to indeed become more feasible for the private sector to experiment with? Why doesn't the government create the right infrastructure to help private artists move further out of their comfort zones, and create new and more daring art, without fearing that they will be competing with unmatched powers?

The Arts Council does a respectable job at providing funding to artists, however, more needs to be done to get to a point where artists can dream of becoming full time creators who can obtain a living from their craft.

When Valletta placed its application to become Malta's first European Capital of Culture, there was a great deal of discussion on this subject. Some even dared to dream that by 2018, artists should be able to obtain the status of full-time professionals. Since then, a lot has been done, and a lot has changed. Yes, we do have more people who have chosen a path in the arts, but I am not sure this has happened thanks to the efforts of government. Actually, I am pretty convinced that it all boils down to the grit and tenacity of our amazing artists, more than anything.

The artistic and cultural sectors need a good rethink. We must create an environment that truly energises and invigorates our artistic and cultural practitioners. But most importantly, we must stop competing with them!

Then, perhaps, we would see some art that doesn't need to worry about its feeding hand, art that can challenge and denounce, art that can make us grow as a country.

 Julie Zahra is the Opposition's Shadow Minister for Cultural Heritage, Arts, and Culture