The exciting and exhilarating festival, the Mdina Cathedral Contemporary Art Biennale, has evolved from the earlier Christian and Sacred Art Biennale known as the Contemporary Christian Art in Malta, which was organised during the late 1990s.

Under the artistic directorship of Dr Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci, himself an artist and art theorist, this cultural event has now been re-launched with new criteria, and with a fresh, above all international, approach. Its main aim will be to show the prestige of recent and contemporary art, both locally and Europe-wide, through the choice of the very best works of art. The Biennale will be held between 13 November 2015 and 7 January 2016 and its theme is 'Christianity, Spirituality and the Other'.The exhibits will deal with the interrelationship between spirituality and religious belief, examining the role of the Other.The Other includes every aspect within the spectrum of spirituality, a spiritual identity that embraces the tension between doubt, belief, non-belief and the struggle to define the spiritual parameters of humankind.

The Biennale will be divided into four main sections:

a) Four resident Maltese artists will be specially invited to participate

b) Further artists from anywhere in Europe, including Malta, chosen by the artistic director, will be asked to exhibit one or two works each, specifically created for the Biennale

c) Other artists may apply for the right to propose their works, and if chosen these too will be exhibited at the Biennale.

d) A major twentieth-century artist will be selected, and a group of his or her works exhibited under the umbrella of the Biennale. The artistic director has underlined the importance of energetically launching the international aspects of this artistic event.

Discussions are already taking place with artists from the UK, Italy, Germany, Spain, Bulgaria, Russia and other European countries. Conditions and regulations for participation may be found here.


Mdina Biennale Venues