Malta Biennale 2026

CLEAN | CLEAR | CUT

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International Biennale, 2025 – 2026
11 March – 29 May 2026

Artistic Director: Rosa Martínez
Assistant Curators: Alexia Medici, Antoine Borg Micallef

Organiser: Heritage Malta

Artists: Albert Moya, Amanda Holiday, Amandine Arcelli, Amélie Giacomini, Ana Álvarez-Errecalde, Anastasia Ax, Austin Camilleri, Bettina Hutschek, Catalina Tuca, Clare Ghigo, Concetta Modica, Daniel Cilia, Daniel de la Barra, Despina Charitonidi, Diyar Shivayi, Emily Jacir, Georgina Sleap, Griet Dobbels, Guerrilla Girls, Halil Altındere, Ioulia Chante, João Marques, Joseph Calleja, Katia Sepúlveda, Lara Nickel, Loredana Longo, Mahmoud Massad, Mathias Gramoso, Maurizio Cattelan, Melita Couta, Mohamed Ibrahim ElMasry, Nina Gerada, Noor Abed, Núria Güell, Pamela Diamante, Priscilla Monge, Raphael Vella, Rocio Berenguer, Roman Gebhardt, Rosa Casado, Sachiko Abe, Salvatore Arancio, Sandra Zaffarese, Santiago Sierra, Saskia Calderón, Shinji Turner-Yamamoto, Simohammed Fettaka, Tania Berta Judith, Tau Luna, Therese Debono, Vasco Araújo, Victor Agius, Victor Sonna, Wilfredo Prieto, Women on Waves.

Venues: BIRGU: Fort St Angelo, Inquisitor’s Palace and the National Museum of Ethnography, Malta Maritime Museum | GOZO: Ċittadella, Ġgantija Archaeological Park, Ta’ Kola Windmill | VALLETTA: Fort St Elmo and the National War Museum, Grand Master’s Palace, MUŻA – The National Community Art Museum, National Museum of Archaeology.

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Malta Biennale 2026: CLEAN | CLEAR | CUT brought together contemporary artistic practices within the layered historical and cultural landscape of the Maltese archipelago. Conceived by Artistic Director Rosa Martínez, the second edition of the Biennale took its title from three verbs understood as a call to action: CLEAN, to confront environmental, ethical and aesthetic pollution; CLEAR, to discern, decipher and understand; and CUT, to break with established directions and open new paths. At its centre was a question about the capacity of contemporary art to sharpen critical awareness of the past and present while preserving the experience and enjoyment of beauty.

The Biennale responded to a contemporary landscape shaped by inequality, environmental exploitation, migration, misinformation and rapidly changing systems of cultural production and consumption. Rather than adding to what Martínez describes as the noise and repetition of contemporary culture, CLEAN | CLEAR | CUT positioned the exhibition as a space for discernment, critical reflection and transformation. In her interviews around the project, Martínez further described the three verbs not simply as a motto but as a means of identifying what should be discarded, understanding what matters, and disrupting established ways of thinking.

Malta itself formed an integral part of this curatorial framework. Contemporary works were presented across museums, palaces, fortifications, archaeological sites and other historic spaces in Malta and Gozo, creating direct encounters between present-day artistic practices and the histories embedded within their locations. Martínez’s approach sought to move beyond conventional notions of site-specificity, using the islands’ cultural heritage not simply as a backdrop but as a context through which contemporary questions could be reconsidered. In discussing the project, she described Malta as a place where prehistoric heritage, Catholic traditions and successive histories of settlement and domination coexist with contemporary pressures including urban development and global capitalism.

Situated within the Mediterranean, the Biennale connected these local histories to wider cultural, social and geopolitical concerns. Its international exhibition brought different generations, geographies and artistic practices into dialogue, resisting rigid distinctions between local and global or emerging and established voices. Through these encounters, Malta Biennale 2026 approached the biennale format as a platform for cross-cultural and transdisciplinary exchange: one capable of activating heritage, questioning inherited narratives and considering alternative ways of understanding the present and imagining the future.

PRESS

Post-opening features and reviews

‘Malta Biennale 2026 closes May 29: 27 pavilions and historic venues spread out’ — Finestre sull’Arte, 18 May 2026. Read more.

‘Drums of Time: Malta Biennale 2026’ — Canvas Magazine, 1 May 2026. Read more.

‘Space, belonging and the Malta Biennale’ — Times of Malta, 19 April 2026. Read more.

‘Malte sur la scène de l’art contemporain’ — L’Éventail, 14 April 2026. Read more.

‘Clean | Clear | Cut: Malta Biennale’s invitation to rethink new value systems’ — Times of Malta, 12 April 2026. Read more.

‘Com’è la Biennale di Malta 2026’ — Artribune, 27 March 2026. Read more.

‘Biennale Malta 2026. Clean. Clear. Cut. La caduta della dittatura del visitatore’ — art a part of cult(ure), 25 March 2026. Read more.

Pre-opening features and interviews

‘Malta Biennale 2026, tallando el futuro desde la piedra y la memoria’ — Bonart, 5 March 2026. Read more.

‘Artefacts, contemporary artworks meet at upcoming Malta Biennale’ — Times of Malta, 2 February 2026. Read more.

‘CLEAN | CLEAR | CUT’ — The Malta ArtPaper, 10 December 2025. Read more.

‘Malta Biennale 2026: la visione di Rosa Martínez’ — Revenews, 3 November 2025. Read more.

‘The Malta Biennale: An Interview with Legendary Curator Rosa Martínez’ — SNAPshot of the Art World, 9 October 2025. Read more.

‘Rosa Martínez leitet Malta Biennale 2026’ — KUNSTFORUM International, 30 April 2025. Read more.

‘Malta Biennale 2026 riparte da tre azioni e una call per artisti e progetti’ — Exibart, 2 April 2025. Read more.

‘Malta Biennale 2026’ — ARTPIL, 17 January 2025. Read more.

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CREDITS

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Acknowledgements

Organised by

Heritage Malta
MUŻA – The National Community Art Museum

Under the Patronage of

H.E the President of Malta
UNESCO

In Partnership with

Arts Council Malta
Public Broadcasting Services
Valletta Cultural Agency
Visit Malta

In Collaboration with

Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade
Ministry for Gozo and Planning
Ministry for the National Heritage, The Arts and Local Government