Last Updated on Wednesday, 6 March, 2024 at 10:26 am by Andre Camilleri
An initiative has been launched that will offer creative artists semi-industrial spaces and mentoring to help them develop business-related projects. Through this initiative, interested artists may use spaces within the Kordin Business Incubation Centre (KBIC).
This initiative has been launched with two scopes in mind. Firstly, this initiative has been put in place to foster the growth of the creative visual arts community within the KBIC. Secondly, the offering of semi-industrial spaces and mentoring should support interested artists in their ventures to promote art as an enterprise. The mentoring aspect should aid said artists to further develop their ideas on a commercial level.
This has been announced through a multilateral collaboration between the Ministry for the Economy, Enterprise and Strategic Projects, the Ministry for the National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government, Malta Enterprise, and ARTZ ID.
Culture Minister Owen Bonnici noted that this initiative should continue to promote the creative community of visual arts, which he said has continued to grow and strengthen itself within the entrepreneurial field over recent years.
“This collaboration will offer opportunities to artists and art professionals, including access and rental space at KBIC, professional guidance from ARTZ ID, and exhibitions,” Minister Bonnici said, “This will facilitate the honing of skills, artistic development, knowledge sharing, networking, collaboration, and creative inspiration between local artists.”
Silvio Schembri, the Minister for the Economy, Enterprise and Strategic Projects, in his part, focused on the initiative’s significance in offering this opportunity for art to grow as an enterprise. He referenced that over recent years, this sector has witnessed significant growth in terms of employment, stating that these figures have risen from a total of 3065 jobs in 2013 to 7187 jobs in 2023. He also added that the collaborators involved wish to support local artists to establish themselves on a commercial level, as some individuals like Marco Parascandalo have.
“We know that starting a business is challenging, and therefore, we want to support individuals to fulfil their dreams,” Schembri said.
Minister Schembri also described his Ministry’s belief in promoting innovation to create new economic sectors. He mentioned several schemes on offer by Malta Enterprise that are available for start-ups, such as the B. Start Scheme, Start-up Finance, and the Micro Invest Scheme, before discussing the €10 million Venture Capital Fund. The Venture Capital Fund is a fund worth €10 million in equity and is available for local entrepreneurs to use for their innovative ideas or to develop a commercial product of theirs.
Malta Enterprise CEO Kurt Farrugia was present and advocated for interested artists to take up this initiative.
Maria Galea, the Director of ARTZ ID, said that this collaboration will facilitate the integration of the visual contemporary art sector through the space being offered at KBIC.
“We have created a programme of initiatives, both through spaces for creatives, as well as a programme that will encourage mentorships and exhibitions to integrate not just artists, but also other people who work in the sector,” Galea said.
