Global talent takes centre stage at second edition of Malta Biennale 2026

The Malta Biennale is returning for its second edition, promising to cement its place as a cornerstone of the international contemporary art scene. Building on the success of its debut, the 2026 edition aims to push boundaries, spark conversation, and connect the threads of history, culture, and creativity that define Malta’s identity. 

Malta Biennale 2026 President and Heritage Malta Chairman, Mario Cutajar, said he believes this year’s event marks a turning point. The Biennale, he explains, embraces a concept so distinctive that it has earned recognition from UNESCO. Its mission is to revisit the past in ways that challenge and inspire, inviting artists to reflect on the present through their work. 

“By fostering dialogue and deepening our collective understanding,” Cutajar notes, “the Biennale doesn’t just showcase art, it becomes a space where society itself is reimagined.” 

The Malta Biennale 2026 received over 3,200 applications from 122 countries in response to three open calls, and has accepted 47 applications for the main exhibition of the Biennale’s second edition. This marked a 30% increase when compared to the 2024 edition.

Nine artists have been selected from Malta: Amy Vella, Bettina Hutschek, Joseph Calleja and Clare Ghigo, Nina Gerda, Raphael Vella and Sandra Zaffarese, Therese Debono and Victor Agius.

The Biennale will also feature 31 pavilions, 15 satellite events, and 66 activities forming part of a robust public and educational programme. From March till May 2026, these projects and events will transform Malta into a vibrant hub of artistic creativity in the Mediterranean during a period in which Maltese culture and tradition reach peak activity.  

Artistic director and international curator, Rosa Martinez noted how, “The Malta Biennale has a wonderful energy. Fuelled by the illusion of beginnings, it is moved by the desire of investing a world, and of creating a meaningful event both locally and intentionally.” 

Martinez said it also has the goal of providing a significant platform of Maltese artists. Furthermore, she expressed how, despite being a small country, Malta has huge ambition. Given the number of artists within the archipelago is limited in size, it was inevitable that some names be repeated in the second edition.   

“Artists have the opportunity of interacting further with intentional peers whilst also developing their aesthetic visions, in close dialogue with every new curator.” Martinez spoke on the interconnectedness between the selection of artists’ projects and the relevance of site, space and history.

“The selected projects will be related to the narratives embodied in each of the Heritage Malta venues. For instance, for the Inquisitors’ Palace, I will select artists that try to bring to light the different forms of wisdom that the inquisition tried to repress through centuries. The issues of crime and punishment, the power to decide on life and death, will be analysed to reflect on how ideologies control our lives. In the prehistoric sites we will deal with cosmological issues, with fertility and care as essential traits of being human.” 

Furthermore, she said the Maritime Museum there will be projects pointing to the happenings in international waters, where the law of the different countries is suspended in favour of international regulations. “We are immersed in an adventurous project of dialogue and invention, of fantasy and discipline, in the ethical reconstruction of the way we live together.”   

Culture Minister Owen Bonnici also said that the second edition of the Malta Biennale will build upon the solid foundations for the first edition. “The inaugural edition was a success; the second will be an event greater success.” 

The Malta Biennale 2026 will take place from 11 March to 29 May 2026.