There’s a change in the national arts body in Malta. It’s clear in the name, which has gone from the Malta Council of Culture and the Arts (MCCA) to Arts Council Malta (ACM). It’s evident in the premises, which are now located at Casa Scaglia, in lower South Street and are much more fitting to the national arts body, giving it the importance it deserves.

But perhaps the biggest change is not visible yet. It lies in the structure, which has gone from one entity which previously managed everything from funding and festivals to a larger body with three specific directorates.

The change has long been coming. In recent years, it gradually became clear that the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts was being weighed down by its festivals arm – the Council organises national festivals such as the Malta Arts Festival and Notte Bianca - which absorbed most of its resources, leaving its broader strategic role with a leaner flow.

Now this is finally set to change. The creation of a larger entity will enable the separation of the organisation of festivals from the strategic development of the cultural and creative sectors, enabling a distinct focus on both. The implementation of this structure will subsequently impact the improved performance of the Council and will consolidate a stronger agenda for the creative economy.

The creation and development of strategies for the sector will fall under the Strategy Directorate. The Directorate will be built on five strategic focal points which include internationalisation and business development but also research, education and training and diversity and communities, making this an official remit for the first time.

The directorate will also focus on the management and development of the funding portfolio, which currently includes six national funding programmes amounting to around one million euro. A brokerage team will be engaged to assist operators in the cultural and creative sectors to maximize their potential.

In short, the directorate will work on the creation of a one-stop shop for culture, a service hub for those working in the sector, mainly characterized by micro-enterprises and individual operators. This will also include the services offered by the Creative Europe desk in Malta, the new funding programme for the cultural and creative sectors.

Festivals will now fall under their own distinct directorate, whose role will be to focus on the management and development of the diverse festivals portfolio of the Council. With a brief which ranges from ensuring that festivals’ development is built on solid ground to issues such as audience development and cultural participation, it will also create a partnership with existing festivals, with the view of eventually increasing the number of festivals in the calendar.

The restructuring has its eyes set firmly on Valletta 2018 and Malta’s legacy of the European Capital of Culture (ECOC). In the end, in 2019, it will be up to the various cultural entities to ensure that the projects legacy created by Valletta 2018 is absorbed into a permanent structure with lasting benefits.

The third directorate – Corporate Affairs – will provide all the support services for the effective and efficient functioning of the other two distinctive directorates.

Such an extensive reorganization will involve a process of realignment of the current staff; all the current staff will be absorbed into the three directorates while the necessary public calls will be issued for the filling of new posts.

http://www.maltaculture.com/content.aspx?id=376507