Bank of Valletta, in collaboration with curator Elyse Tonna, has announced the finissage of \u201cMoving with the Wind, Like Waves\u201d- a large-scale contemporary art project currently on display at the Inquisitor\u2019s Palace in Birgu.<\/p>\n
The closing event will be held on 4th January, from 11am to 3pm, offering the public a final opportunity to experience the exhibition and its accompanying programme within the historic setting.<\/p>\n
Commissioned by the BOV Foundation and developed and curated by Elyse Tonna, \u201cMoving with the Wind, Like Waves\u201d unfolds as a site-specific exhibition accompanied by a public programme and a forthcoming publication. Over the course of the project, the Inquisitor\u2019s Palace has been transformed into an active site of artistic inquiry, with contemporary artists working in close dialogue with the building\u2019s architecture, museum collection, and its layered- often undocumented histories.<\/p>\n
The exhibition features works by nine artists selected through a highly competitive open call: Victor Agius, Laura Besan\u00e7on, Ryan Falzon, Wioletta Kulewska Akyel, Julian Micallef, Jacob Saliba, Sheldon Saliba, Matthew Schembri and Tom Van Malderen. Working closely with curator Elyse Tonna and supported by the Heritage Malta site curatorial team, the artists developed process-based and site-specific works shaped by months of research, collaboration and on-site exploration.<\/p>\n
Spanning installation, sculpture, film, sound, drawing and performance, the exhibition foregrounds quieter forces that exist beyond official historical narratives. Gestures, material traces, ecological systems, residues and forms of care emerge as persistent elements that continue to influence how the Palace is experienced today. Rather than offering a single interpretation of the site, the project presents multiple points of entry, inviting visitors to engage with its complexity.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoving with the Wind, Like Waves was conceived as a slow and collaborative process, allowing contemporary artistic practice to enter into dialogue with one of Malta\u2019s most complex historic sites. The finissage is not simply a closing, but a final moment of exchange, where the ideas, questions and gestures that shaped the project can be encountered together, in conversation with the artists and the site itself,\u201d said Tonna as she reflected on the project.<\/p>\n
The project\u2019s opening weekend in late November offered an initial insight into the wider public programme, featuring performances and readings by artists and invited practitioners responding live to the Palace. This marked the beginning of a programme that continued throughout December, encompassing workshops, conversations and guided explorations.<\/p>\n
The finissage on 4th January brings this process to a close with a full day of shared encounters. With curator Elyse Tonna and all exhibiting artists present, the programme includes two curatorial tours at 11.30am and 1.30pm, performative and participatory interventions by Tom Van Malderen, Laura Besan\u00e7on, Ryan Falzon and Matthew Schembri, and the continuous screening of an original 8mm film developed during Julian Micallef\u2019s workshop. A collective movement intervention led by Julienne Schembri (Dance Beyond Borders) will take place at 2.30pm, followed by Maltese coffee and informal conversations within the Palace.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe BOV Foundation is deeply committed to supporting projects that broaden cultural participation and encourage artistic experimentation. Moving with the Wind, Like Waves affirms our belief in art\u2019s ability to transform how we engage with heritage spaces and contemporary narratives. We are proud to support a project that brings together exceptional Maltese and international talent and opens up new ways of experiencing one of Malta\u2019s most historically significant sites,\u201d said the Deputy Chair of the BOV Foundation and BOV Chief Operations Officer.<\/p>\n