Posted by Gertrud van Dam
Three days of meetings and visits to concert locations, exchanging business cards and good ideas, nice conversations in good atmosphere – here’s in short the report of the visit of a Utrecht-delegation to Malta (Feb. 20 – 22). One of the highlights was the dinner at the residence of Jan Heidsma, Dutch Ambassador in Malta, and his wife Marjolijn Heidsma. Assisted by Dania Burlage from the Embassy, they organised a inspiring evening with the tops of cultural Malta, on the occasion of the cultural visit from Utrecht. Very welcoming and very good for networking!
For Guus van den Hout and Nicolette Bartelink (Museum Catharijneconvent, national museum of Christian art in the Netherlands) it was the second visit. They made appointments about the loan of two paintings of Matthias Stomer from the Museum of Fine Arts with Pierre Bonello and Sandro Debono (Heritage Malta/Museum Fine Arts). End of April the exhibition ‘Painted with passion’ will be launched with a VIP-evening with, off course, special attention for this cooperation. The two museums made appointments about future loans - shortly an exhibition from Utrecht will be exhibited in Malta. Nicolette Bartelink is satisfied: ‘It was an inspiring visit to Malta: initial ideas turning into concrete projects, professional contacts turning into friendship made it a fruitful trip.’ Guus van den Hout is enthusiastic about the fact that Malta and Utrecht share a rich possession of religious art. ‘It’s really top quality what I see in churches. I would like to help Malta to reveal their art treasures and show it to people from Utrecht’. To be continued!
For Mariëlle Pals (Organization Cultural Sundays) it was the first visit but, according to her, not the last. In various meetings she got the chance to introduce the background of the monthly one-day festivals in Utrecht, about which every listener was surprised and curious. Off course Mariëlle invited Adrian Mamo and Davinia Galea (Arts Council) to come to Utrecht and experience a cultural Sunday. For her part she learned about festivals in Malta, like the Summer Arts Festival, and locations for performances. During her visit to St James Cavalier Cultural Centre she talked over possibilities for exchanging performances with Chris Gatt, Sarah Spiteri and Toni Attard. ‘I met inspiring and passionate people - working in the same field, speaking the same language. We really had a click. Now I’m anxious to visit a performance and watch the interaction between artists and audience.’
A delegation from the Rosa Music Ensemble, Floor Ruyters, Daniël Cross and Alex Geurink, showed special interest in stage locations for their performances and in cooperation with local artists. Visits to St James Cavalier, the black box of MITP, the Manoel Theatre and even the cellar beneath the Ministry of Tourism and Culture gave a good view on possibilities. Surely the Rosa Ensemble will return in Autumn for the recording of their new CD at Temple Studios. They also work on cooperation with Renzo Spiteri, percussionist, to perform together. He’s planning to come to Utrecht in June to talk things over. For the Rosa Ensemble this first visit was successful, Floor Ruyters said, ’The following weeks we will check what we can organise in Malta. For certain we returned with several good ideas and contacts.’
Apart from these cultural exchanges we also talked with Marika Grech, Caldon Marcieca and Oliver Farrugia, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, about preparations as a future Cultural Capital of Europe. Off course, that’s why it all started in the first place. It’s a good idea to make a connection with the organization Peace Treaty of Utrecht, who is, commissioned by the City and Province of Utrecht, working on a lobby plan. One of their activities is to visit former and future cultural capitals to learn form their objectives, activities and experiences. The following months Gertrud van Dam will put up a plan for exchanging experiences and contacts in this matter, together with Malta.
We consider this visit as a good step in concrete cooperation between Malta and Utrecht. The best way to end this review is …… to be continued!
