The year of ‘potential’

Arguably, no word in the English language can so succinctly convey both hope and disappointment as 'potential'. The Irish standup comedian and actor Dylan Moran advised that we treat it as a "locked door" within ourselves - "it's like your bank balance, you always have a lot less than you think - so leave it! Then at least in your mind, the interior will always be palatial..."

Nevertheless, 2011 could be seen as Malta's 'year of potential' on the cultural front, at least from an official perspective. This was the year Malta finally got its Cultural Policy - a document that outlines what needs to be done to help Malta's cultural life achieve its - wait for it - full potential, tackling key aspects of the Maltese cultural infrastructure while proposing necessary changes.

The Policy, launched in mid-July, arrived as a welcome stepping stone for local creatives and culture buffs... as a prevailing amateurism has unfortunately become the modus operandi for a small island where both audiences and serious critical voices are limited.

The launch of the policy was also pitched in clearly economic language, giving the impression that government and other key players were prepared to start looking at culture as a creative industry, rather than a hobby, or an indulgence engaged in by the few, for the few.

"For the first time ever the Maltese government has looked beyond creativity as a hobby or as a social service but as a profession in its own right. Across the board there has been a realisation of the fact that Malta is a hive of talent waiting to be nurtured and exploited," Chris Gatt, general manager at St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity, said, adding however that his "main concern now is whether the creative community is ready and prepared to take up the challenge. Are we comfortable with the status quo? And if not, do we have what it takes to make it happen?"

Speaking at an information meeting on the Cultural Policy back in July, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, the Environment and Culture Mario de Marco made sure to emphasise the importance of fostering "cultural and creative industries," bearing in mind that cultural products make up 4% of the gross domestic product.

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech echoed a similar sentiment during the official launch of the Malta Film Fund - in June - when he said that these initiatives would work towards fostering an environment where artists could have full time careers and not feel like their work is little more than a part-time activity, or a hobby.

There might, however, be a more concrete reason behind this newfound cultural ambition on government's part: efforts towards Valletta's bid for European Capital of Culture in 2018 have also been underway this year. Our capital city - and by extension the whole of Malta and Gozo - will compete with The Netherlands for the title which, if won, will serve as a cultural and economic boost for the country throughout the year of Valletta's candidacy.

One of the authors of the Cultural Policy, Caldon Mercieca, also recognised 2011 as a year during which several significant "preparatory measures" were taken, "however the actual measures that shall concretely effect the sector still need to be implemented".

"There have been over €15 million allocated for new initiatives and programmes from 2010 onwards in the national budget. Most of these have a double purpose: they stimulate activity related to the priorities highlighted in the Cultural Policy, and they address lacunas that emanate from the work carried out on the creative economy.

"This shows the emphasis made on education, exposure to creativity for children and young people, enhanced access to culture, and support directed at operators in the sector," Mercieca said. 

Over and above the need to help already active local artists, Mercieca claims that in fact, we need to "empower communities and individuals that are socially and economically excluded or on the margins of society."

"There are various areas where this can be applied: in health through alternative or complimentary therapeutic applications of art; in the justice system in terms of instilling civic sense while providing skills and confidence in marginalised individuals to reintegrate in society; in education through measures that valorise both academic and practice-based excellence in the arts and creativity, whatever their forms; in the integration of migrants and in a wider effort for intercultural dialogue within Maltese society," Mercieca said.

All talk of potential will of course end up being a bit frustrating since, no matter how noble of well-thought-out the plans for the future may be, people want to see results. In the field of creativity results are often achieved through experimentation and play, in an environment that allows of individuals to try out different ways of approaching any subject or theme that may tickle their fancy. Obvious stumbling blocks such as the perennial issue of censorship will therefore always appear as highly effective killjoys, no matter how dynamic the proposed advancements in cultural policy or practise are.

"To the danger of sounding repetitive, I have to stress that unless the problem of censorship is tackled maturely, all this 'potential' will be fruitless," Adrian Buckle, theatre producer at the centre of the Stitching controversy - his production of the UK play was banned by the local Film and Stage Classification Board back in 2009 - said.

"The Cultural Policy is positive in many ways but useless unless censorship is removed. I try to collaborate with foreigners on different projects, for example, and

every time, the reaction I get is: 'Will your censors allow this?'

"So my reaction: Nice words. But now let's see if you can make them come true," Buckle said.

Chris Gruppetta, director of publishing at Merlin, echoed Buckle's sentiments on the issue. "The censorship issue remains one of not insignificant concern, and with two major freedom of expression cases still awaiting judgement there are still huge question marks hanging in the air," Gruppetta said, in reference to both the Stitching and 'Ir-Realta' cases, the latter of which concerns the criminal charges laid upon former student editor Mark Camilleri for running an 'obscene' short story by Alex Vella Gera in student publication Ir-Realta - both cases have been deferred to the new year.

This year also saw musicians battle draconian laws in an attempt to secure more performance venues - particularly a law that requires musicians to fork out €50,000 for a police guarantee at any venue. In reaction, a Facebook group - DOQQ - was set up, and will continue to act as lobby group against these constraints.

While the plight of local musicians only emphasises the fact that local artists need a stronger safety net, curiously, a need for proper criticism has also been voiced. The publication of an essay by Prof Ivan Callus - Head of Department of English at the University of Malta - in an international online literary magazine Transcript brought to the fore the shortcomings of a society that lacks a clear, coherent critical voice - that is, of critics - both journalistic and academic - who are capable of stating where exactly local artists stand.

Writers and publishers chimed in to agree - for the most part - with Callus soon after the publication of the article, but more recently, Mario Vella, vocalist and lyricist of folk-pop act Brikkuni and one of the co-founders of DOQQ, also expressed concern about the lack of serious critical voices on the island.

"Honest and (above all) informed criticism and reviews are a must if we really entertain any notions of ever emancipating ourselves. Having  incompetent critics turn up only to redeem a complimentary ticket and sticking around for the free wine is counter productive and annoying. Socialites disguised as critics single-handedly eradicated proper media coverage for the arts. Half hearted reporting should not be allowed," Vella said.