Australian-Maltese multidisciplinary artist Louisa Chircop is set to make history at MUŻA – Malta’s National Community Art Museum, with her groundbreaking project Grotto Girl; the first-ever art installation to conceptually and physically activate the museum’s 450-year-old central courtyard well.

At the core of Grotto Girl is MUŻA’s ancient well, reimagined by Chircop as a “well of memory and subconsciousness.” This transformation positions the well as both a literal and symbolic site of collective reflection, healing, and connection.

Through a series of free, artist-led community workshops, participants across Malta were invited to engage with five traditional Maltese water motifs, using clay to sculpt personal responses that are now part of the exhibition’s immersive grotto installation.

“From the well of memory, a community rises,” said Chircop. “Grotto Girl is a love letter to Malta and its people — a celebration of stories, identities, and cultural bonds through art-making that is expressive, healing, and unifying.”

Chircop, the granddaughter of WWII-era Maltese immigrants, was raised in Sydney, Australia. Her return to Malta with this emotionally resonant project marks both a personal and professional homecoming. Her artistic approach blends psychoanalytic and feminist theory with Maltese visual traditions, resulting in layered, dreamlike compositions across ceramics, painting, and mixed media.

The project unfolds over a four-month creative residency at MUŻA, where Chircop worked in real time, opening her practice to public participation and discourse.

In keeping with the spirit of a traditional Maltese festa, the exhibition’s launch will be a celebratory evening of  cultural reconnection, and artistic innovation. The opening night on 11 June will welcome distinguished guests, including H.E. Mr Matt Skelly, Australian High Commissioner to Malta as well as Ms Anneliese Sammut, Consul General of Malta in Sydney.