The curatorial project named Diplomazija Astuta will be representing the Maltese Islands at the Biennale di Venezia international art exhibition in 2022. The Malta pavilion at the exhibition will be curated by a tailor-made team, which was selected following an international call.

Proposals were assessed by an evaluation board and it was unanimously decided that Diplomazija Astuta was the absolute best project to represent Malta.

The creative team included Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci, Arcangelo Sassolini, curators Jeffrey Uslip and Keith Sciberras, as well as the composition of renowned Maltese musician and conductor Brian Schembri. The team will be re-articulating Caravaggio’s seminal alter piece The Beheading of St John the Baptist (1608). Where the Malta pavilion is concerned, a ‘conceptual, immersive, site-specific installation that bridges biblical narratives with contemporary culture’ will be created. The zeitgeist of the Oratory of the Decollato in Valletta will be transposed onto the Malta Pavilion, re-situating Caravaggio’s themes, within modern life as we know it. The work will shine a light on the centuries-long art historical exchange between Italy and Malta, while addressing global challenges.