Rosa Martinez Curates Multi-Site Exhibition Across Maltese Archipelago

Curator Rosa Martinez organized 'Costellazioni per un arcipelago' (Constellations for an Archipelago) across Malta, Gozo, and Comino for Valletta 2018. The exhibition utilized diverse sites including Fort St Elmo, the National Museum of Archeology, the National Museum of Natural History, Ta' Kola windmill, the Crypt of Żejtun, Magdalene's Church, and public housing in Senglea (Isla). Martinez chose multiple venues because Malta lacked a dedicated contemporary art museum. The project featured site-specific works by artists such as Chiharu Shiota ('Circulation' at Fort St Elmo), Kyung-Jin Cho (sound installation at Magdalene's Church), Eulalia Valldosera ('Resurrection' at the Crypt of Żejtun), and Austin Camilleri ('Disgħa' across all three islands). The exhibition also included 'Ready-mades in Malta,' a photographic project reexamining the readymade concept through a Dadaist lens. Martinez emphasized the curatorial methodology of studying each location's history and negotiating access with Heritage Malta and other institutions. The theoretical framework drew on the metaphor of constellations as navigational guides, aiming to create a temporary mapping of social, ethical, and aesthetic positions that require feminine energy to reduce violence and discover new forms of beauty and egalitarian living.