Expression through artistic endeavour is a right as sacrosanct as the right to vote, the right to an education and to healthcare, and as important and urgent as the need for protection and sustenance.
Malta and the Maltese have very limited means to exercise their artistic expression through the modern and prevalent medium of film and television. The costs are prohibitively expensive, and the technical expertise needed are unavailable. These conditions will never change. Notwithstanding this, the Maltese spirit is explosively articulate in artistic expression both in the visual and performing arts.
The theatre in all its permutations has a great tradition in Malta and is of a very high standard with a huge tradition and long history. Live performances, therefore, remain the only venue where the artistic spirit can ultimately reach the Maltese audience.
It is important that such activities have a communal, modern, well equipped venue, that can take full control of it’s surroundings to create a spectacle aided by the latest technological amenities, free of distractions and situations that could impede in any way any production.
This is not a task to be taken lightly. This endeavour is above politics and therefore politics should not figure in any way, shape or form in the assessment of such a venue. This belongs to the people and to those who will be sacrificing a lot of their time and energy to serve their community by fulfilling the sacred need of self-expression.
It is still impossible for the Maltese to make a living through the pursuit of artistic expression. Most of our artists have full-time day jobs, and then chose to spend huge amount of their free time and energy in theatrical endeavours that usually pay rates worse than minimum wage.
And yet their perseverance, talent and gumption drives them forward, obstinate in their mission, heroic in their results. Who, therefore, can best determine what is needed to make a venue worthy of such a gift they bestow on us, but the artists themselves who will return the taxpayer’s investment many times over?
The idea of an open-air theatre is a wrong one, for all the reasons that have already been expounded. Going against the obvious is tantamount to blatant arrogance that will ultimately prove disastrous and at best form part of the eternal cancerous weight of mediocrity.
Having lived my life in the arts I know that the open-air theatre concept being presently considered is simply wrong. Wrong artistically, wrong technically, wrong environmentally, etc. We will regret this, and future generations will then be tasked to spend more money to demolish it and build what was originally needed.
The right step is still available and possible. To all those who are entrusted with the final decision, please do not proceed with this terrible choice. Please listen to your artists who will make use of this great opportunity. They are one of your greatest assets. Use them.
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