SILENCE WITHIN ABUNDANT BIRDSONG
Manikata Parish Church and the Voices of its Site
Curated by Andrew Borg Wirth
Assistant Curator Sera Galea
Exhibiting Artists: Austin Camilleri, Julian Vassallo, Victor Agius & Laetitia Troisi De Menville
The Archbishop’s Delegate for Culture office is pleased to introduce its first exhibition scheduled at the Malta Society of Arts, Valletta which will run from the 13 March to the 17 April 2025 titled ‘SILENCE WITHIN ABUNDANT BIRDSONG’. The exhibition curated by Andrew Borg Wirth alongside Sera Galea, seeks to celebrate fifty years since Manikata entered Malta’s churchscape and will feature works by Austin Camilleri, Julian Vassallo, Victor Agius, and Laetitia Troisi de Menville. The body of works explore the relation of the artists to the site of Manikata and the parish’s surrounding landscape, its architecture and sacredness.
In 1975, the Manikata Parish Church became a site for art installations during the Edinburgh Arts Festival. Scottish artist Richard Demarco hosted artists on a journey from the Neolithic temples of Ħaġar Qim to the stone circle of Callanish. Paolo Patelli filmed his video work within England’s newly inaugurated church, while Woody van Amen’s sculpture stood beside it. Emvin Cremona, Gabriel Caruana, Alfred Chircop, Caesar Attard engaged in collaborative actions on-site, captured in photos that redefine the term fertile ground.
That same year, the church became a parish—the first of its kind in Malta. Reflecting Vatican Council II, its altar embraced the congregation, just as its architecture embraced the land.
Fifty years later, four contemporary artists return to its periphery, drawing from its land and embedded memory. Their work, like Patelli’s performance, sits adjacent to the church rather than about it. This project is prospective, not retrospective—just as in 1975, artists are making Manikata their site once again.
Richard England’s legacy is an encounter with the divine, in both poetry and architecture. Manikata, at this anniversary, offers Austin Camilleri, Julian Vassallo, Victor Agius, and Laetitia Troisi de Menville a chance to explore their own encounter with its presence.
In collaboration with Prof. Richard England and the Parish Church of St Joseph, Manikata.
With special thanks to APS Bank, The Alfred Mizzi Foundation, RLAUTIER and Spades Wines & Spirits.
Event Poster Photo: Demarco Digital Archive, University of Dundee & The Richard Demarco Archive. Manikata Church, 1976
