Art

Malta’s Art Scene is Quite Disappointing

Finding gallery representation here is just as hard as in Belgium

Still life with champagne — artwork and photo by Author.

We’ve been looking for a new place to live somewhere in southern Europe since late 2024. We visited France and Spain because that’s what we knew — we have family in France, and we lived in Spain in the early 2000’s. We saw quite a few places that were alright but it never really clicked.

Tenerife had been on my radar for quite some time before we actually left for our slow-travel journey. I have Belgian friends who moved there, and the island has everything I expect, though the only thing that kept us from going was the two-day ferry ride, and going by plane would severely limit us in what we could take along. Tenerife was our plan C, after southern Spain — plan B — and Malta, which only came into play after my wife had talked to a friend/colleague who lives there.

We checked it out, and it ticked all the boxes, including a very lively art scene, or so Maltese propaganda promised. Before leaving, I sent out some cold emails to galleries; I chose five that looked as if my work was a good fit.

Only one replied with a rejection.

We decided to go there anyway. The promise of a growing contemporary art scene and an overall artist-friendly environment certainly was attractive. I figured I’d visit galleries in person and show them what I had to offer.

Family dinner — artwork and photo by Author.

I have always done things by myself and built a sustainable career without galleries. I am not only proud of that, but working independently is something I actively promote. The importance of galleries is highly overrated and by no means necessary to make a living. And so, I am aware of the contradiction here, but I have come to an age that I want to take it easier. Running everything on my own certainly is more profitable and less restricting, but after doing this for over 30 years, I am simply tired. Tired of running around like a maniac, looking for suitable venues, dealing with caterers, doing administration, taking the financial risks … I would, just for once, like to paint and nothing more. Let someone else deal with the tedious stuff for a change.

Posing model n°7 — artwork and photo by author.

Once on Malta, I started looking around again, checking out the galleries thoroughly. The result was disappointing. As it turned out, Belgium has more to offer gallery-wise than Malta. Some galleries no longer exist or never existed at all. Some are not really galleries, but small museums exhibiting historic artifacts and classic Maltese art. Some are small artist-run galleries with only the artist’s work, often combined with the sale of art supplies or souvenirs. And only a handful are real galleries as I expected them to be, and they are mostly elitist venues, either to boost the owner’s ego, cater to the upper class, or both.

All things considered, artists like me are not really welcomed on Malta, at least not more than in Belgium. My art is too accessible for the middle class, both in concept and price, and that means those “high-end” galleries are not interested, and there are few alternatives, other than starting my own gallery, which comes with its own challenges here.

Still life with two lemons — artwork and photo by author.

I came here, not expecting to waltz into a gallery and be celebrated, but at least hoping to find a place that could represent me. Additionally, I hoped to find a thriving artist community to connect and network with. I found neither. Granted, we’ve only been here for a month, but through our workaway host, I connected with a lot of people already, and when the conversation went in the artistic direction, I heard the same name — let’s call him X — over and over again, as if it’s the only decent gallery around.

You should really go and see X!

I only nodded and smiled, sometimes followed by a “Really? I’ll look into that, thank you for the recommendation!” But I didn’t and I won’t, because X is the owner of the gallery I contacted twice already and never got a reply from. I went there in person, only to find some girl behind a desk who clearly was only hired to look pretty and keep an eye on things. The exhibited artwork was expensive, as expected. The reason this place was recommended is because it’s the only real gallery in the area.

And then here we are, on Malta, and so far I’m disappointed in what the island has to offer art-wise.

A possible alternative was the smaller island of Gozo, but as it turned out, things are equally sad there. It’s a very nice place and living there certainly is an option, but I would have to set up a gallery or art collective of my own.

Égine — artwork and photo by author.

There is still one possibility, but it’s too soon to say where it is going. It may determine not only my career in the near future, but also where we will live. For now, we just keep our eyes open, both for gallery representation and for a place to live.

To be continued… for sure…

About my artwork, in order of appearance:

• “Still life with champagne”, acrylic and ink on paper, 28 by 40 cm.
• “Family dinner”, acrylic on hardboard, 60 by 80 cm.
• “Posing model n°7”, acrylic on textured paper, 30 by 40 cm.
• “Still life with two lemons”, acrylic and ink on paper, 28 by 40 cm.
• “Égine” (interpretation of a watercolor by Jacques Despierre), acrylic on hardboard, 80 by 120 cm.

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