PM backs artists: 'Culture minister comments insensitive to sector'

Prime Minister Robert Abela described Culture Minister Malcolm Paul Agius Galea’s controversial remarks about artists as "insensitive," acknowledging that they had hurt a sector that "certainly doesn’t deserve it."

Speaking to MaltaToday outside of parliament on Monday, Abela said he had seen the minister's remarks, as well as the backlash from artists and creatives, who he said were “rightfully disappointed."

"There's no other way to say it. Those words were insensitive to the sector," the prime minister said.

"I am convinced he didn't have any bad intentions. I know he holds the sector in his heart. But the words he said hurt."

Abela's comments follow remarks by Agius Galea in which he described his first four months as culture minister as "traumatic," while questioning artists' reliance on public funding and arguing that creativity should operate within certain "norms."

While speaking at the Festival of Ideas, the minister drew comparisons between his former profession as a  doctor and his new role overseeing the cultural sector, explaining that his medical training had taught him to regard creativity as “dangerous."

He also claimed that artists believed they are “God's gift to the world," prompting widespread criticism from creatives in Malta and Gozo.

Abela expects Agius Galea to address the fallout

Abela went on to stress that he expects Agius Galea to engage directly with the sector in the coming days to address the fallout from his comments.

However, he defended the minister's intentions, describing him as a genuine person who had struggled to adjust to a portfolio considerably different from his previous role as parliamentary secretary for active ageing.

“I understand that the words he was saying were in that sense. He came in from the role of parliamentary secretary of active ageing, a very different sector, and he needs to adjust to this sector.”

Regardless, the prime minister acknowledged that the minister's comments demonstrated that more work was needed.

“His comments show that we haven't arrived yet,” Abela said, adding that he expects more intensive engagement to ensure the hurt caused by the remarks is healed through actions rather than words alone.

He stressed that, under the Labour Party, government has worked extensively to strengthen the creative sector over the years, pointing to the thousands of creatives who now earn their living through their art.

“I am so happy to meet so many artists that have such ambitious dreams and aspirations,” Abela told MaltaToday. 

“They have no limits, they know no barriers. That’s why I like that sector. You see someone with all that ambition, and they are capable of making it happen.”

Alex Borg: ‘The last thing they deserve is to be spoken about that way’

Opposition leader Alex Borg unflinchingly criticised the minister’s comments, insisting that the last thing artists and creatives deserve is to be spoken to in such a manner by the same minister who is supposed to be there to support them.

He pointed out that many Maltese artists have achieved national and international success despite limited resources and inadequate support.

Additionally, Borg argued that Malta needs a stronger creative economy, supported by greater investment, more spaces dedicated to artists, and an interconnected ecosystem capable of helping local talent develop.

“We have an enormous amount of talent in the country in every sphere, whether it's in film, singing, dancing, wherever,” he said.

“They are making a big contribution and we should support them, not put them in a position where they are basically alone.”

Borg pledged that the Nationalist Party will continue supporting artists and working towards giving them the resources necessary to succeed.

Miriam Dalli: ‘God forbid’ creativity is dangerous

Asked whether she believed creativity was dangerous, Energy Minister Miriam Dalli replied: “God forbid.”

“As a mother of a son who is learning in the sector, I am proud to give the arts and culture sector the space it needs,” she said, noting that government has consistently allocated funding to the creative sector and will continue doing so.

“I believe that people in the arts sector make the country's culture richer,” Dalli added.

While defending the importance of creativity, Dalli suggested that Agius Galea's controversial remarks had been made in the context of his former medical profession, while saying that she does not believe that he intended to characterise creativity itself as dangerous.

Malta would stagnate without creativity, Fearne warns 

Foreign Affairs Minister Chris Fearne also highlighted the importance of artistic expression, arguing that creativity is essential to Malta's development beyond culture alone.

“I am one of those people who really appreciates the arts,” Fearne told MaltaToday. “Without it, the country would stagnate, artistically and culturally, but also economically, socially, and politically.”

Bedingfield: Continuing to support the arts should be the priority 

Meanwhile, Security Minister Glenn Bedingfield said government's priority should remain to ensure that the creative sector receives adequate financial support, regardless of any individual opinions.

Asked whether Agius Galea was the right person to lead the arts and culture ministry, Bedingfield declined to express an opinion.

“That's not my prerogative. It's the prime minister's, so the prime minister can decide that.”

More PL ministers voice support for the arts outside parliament

Public Works Minister Alison Zerafa Civelli, a teacher by profession, pointed to the importance of children being given the freedom to express themselves creatively.

“As a teacher, I insist that children should be given free liberty to be creative,” she said, while stressing that the minister's comments must be understood in context.

Together with other PL MPs, Parliamentary Secretary Alicia Bugeja Said underlined the importance of creativity while referring to government's continued financial support for the sector.

Asked whether Agius Galea was suited to his position, she did not directly address the question, instead repeating that government works hard in favour of artists and intends to continue supporting them.

Justice Minister Jonathan Attard also defended the government's history with the cultural sector, explaining that the administration demonstrated its commitment to creative expression through what he described as “unprecedented levels of investment” in the sector.