In today’s world, the obsession with instant information has eclipsed our capacity for discerning truth and authenticity. Worse still, the wealth of our knowledge accrued over centuries of human experience is increasingly consigned to the realms of irrelevancy.

This shift has impacted our museums, reducing them to little more than static institutions. For museums to not only survive, but thrive once more as active participants in society, their roles and responsibilities need to be reimagined. That’s why our heritage sites must throw their doors open to the present. By juxtaposing our past with contemporary contexts, innovative ideas, and fresh perspectives, we can demonstrate that our collective heritage remains profoundly relevant to the pressing questions and concerns of our time.

But why art specifically? At Heritage Malta, we believe art retains a power to inspire and shift consciousness. At its most basic, art is a welcome break from the everyday, a brush against the extraordinary. At its best, art compels us to think further, deeper, and more broadly. It challenges assumptions we never realised we held and inspires us to envision futures we never imagined possible. By welcoming contemporary art into our heritage sites, we can provoke, question, stimulate debate, and encourage dialogue across cultures and generations. By embracing contemporary art, we can revitalise our heritage sites as truly living institutions that continue to play a vital role within our society.