ICOM-MALTA

29/10/2026

🎙️ MEET OUR MODERATOR | From Collections to Publications: Museums, Books & Cultural Heritage

Shahed Bensaid (b. 2003) is a Libyan cultural practitioner, researcher and arts communications professional based in Malta, whose work focuses on modern and contemporary Arab art, cultural heritage, identity and public engagement.

She is the founder of the Libyan Modern Art Archive, an independent research and archival initiative dedicated to documenting and promoting Libya's modern artistic heritage. She currently works as a Social Media and Content Creator Officer at Spazju Kreattiv, where she contributes to cultural communications, digital storytelling and audience engagement.

With an academic background in Near Eastern Studies and History of Art at the University of Malta, Shahed has also been involved in curatorial projects, including Dynamic Shifts and the ART CONNECT exhibition series. Her experience extends to academic editing, cultural programming and student leadership, having previously served as President of the International Student Association and the History of Art and Fine Arts Student Association at the University of Malta. She is the co-founder of Tajreed, and involved with ICOM Malta and the Arts and Culture Subcommittee of Kunsill Nazzjonali taż-Żgħażagħ (KNŻ).

📅 Saturday, 7th November 2026.
🕒 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
📍 Is-Sala tal-Qarrejja, Il-Festival Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb, MFCC, Ta' Qali.
🎟️ Free admission | Registration required on https://www.icom-malta.com/events/malta-book-festival-2026

28/10/2026

🎙️ MEET OUR PANELLISTS | From Collections to Publications: Museums, Books & Cultural Heritage

Ryan Falzon (b. 1988) is a Maltese writer and visual artist. Falzon’s paintings and narratives use collage-like visual and literary strategies to explore political, social, and symbolic themes. In his recent works, Falzon mobilises botanical motifs as semiotic carriers, constructing dense pictorial fields where cultivated nature becomes a site for negotiating control, domesticity, and symbolic regeneration.

Falzon has participated in a substantial number of solo and group exhibitions in Malta and Europe since 2009. His body of work from 2016 to 2019 has become a point of reference in contemporary Maltese political and socially engaged art.

Since 2011, Falzon has published several short pieces in various publications. His debut novel SAJF (2022) was Several reviews have referred to SAJF as the voice of the Maltese millennial generation. SAJF was shortlisted for the National Book Council Awards and earned him the Best Emerging Author award, with an English translation supported by an English PEN Translates grant forthcoming in 2026. Falzon has been published in Malta, UK and Slovenia.

📅 Saturday, 7th November 2026.
🕒 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
📍 Is-Sala tal-Qarrejja, Il-Festival Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb, MFCC, Ta' Qali.
🎟️ Free admission | Registration required on https://www.icom-malta.com/events/malta-book-festival-2026

27/10/2026

🎙️ MEET OUR PANELLISTS | From Collections to Publications: Museums, Books & Cultural Heritage

Toni Sant is Associate Professor of Digital Curation at the University of Salford in Greater Manchester, UK. Between 2014 and 2020 he was the artistic director of Spazju Kreattiv, Malta's national centre for creativity. He is currently the artistic director of Festgħana, the national annual għana festival produced by Festivals Malta.

His writings on performance, contemporary art, and media archeology have been published internationally in several academic journals and books, including Franklin Furnace & the Spirit of the Avant Garde: A History of the Future (Intellect - University of Chicago Press, 2011), Documenting Performance: The Context and Processes of Digital Curation and Archiving (Bloomsbury, 2017), The Spazju Kreattiv Art Collection (Fondazzjoni Kreattività, 2020), and Enrique Tabone: Catalogue Raisonné (Kite, 2023).

In 2021 Sant was awarded the National Book Prize for Jien-Noti-Jien: Ħsejjes u Stejjer (KKM, 2020) which he co-authored with Immanuel Mifsud. Other activities include membership of the British Art Network and serving as chair of the steering committee for the Wikimedia Central and Eastern Europe Hub.

📅 Saturday, 7th November 2026.
🕒 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
📍 Is-Sala tal-Qarrejja, Il-Festival Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb, MFCC, Ta' Qali.
🎟️ Free admission | Registration required on https://www.icom-malta.com/events/malta-book-festival-2026

📸 Jean Marc Zerafa

26/10/2026

🙌 EVENT ALERT | ICOM Malta at Malta Book Festival 2026!

Museum collections hold stories that deserve to be shared, explored and experienced beyond the spaces in which they are preserved. Through research and publishing, these stories reach new audiences, inspire curiosity and contribute to our understanding of the past.

Join us for an engaging panel discussion exploring the connections between museums, research, publishing and the dissemination of cultural heritage.

Through insights from museum publications and heritage projects, our panellists will reflect on the role of publishing in making Malta’s cultural heritage more accessible and preserving our collective memory for future generations.

The discussion will conclude with an audience Q&A and curated networking opportunity.

📅 Saturday, 7th November 2026.
🕒 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
📍 Is-Sala tal-Qarrejja, Il-Festival Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb, MFCC, Ta' Qali.
✍ https://www.icom-malta.com/events/malta-book-festival-2026

24/10/2026

🙌 SAVE THE DATE | ICOM Malta at the Malta Book Festival 2026

What happens to a museum's stories beyond its walls?

Museums are not only spaces for preserving collections, but also places where knowledge is created, exchanged and shared.

Through books, research and publications, these stories travel beyond museum walls, connecting communities, inspiring dialogue and contributing to our collective understanding of cultural heritage.

Join ICOM Malta for a panel discussion exploring the role of publishing in museums, from transforming collections into compelling narratives to making research and cultural heritage accessible to wider audiences.

🎙️ Featuring museum professionals, researchers and cultural practitioners.

📅 Saturday, 7th November 2026.
🕒 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
📍 Is-Sala tal-Qarrejja, Il-Festival Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb, MFCC, Ta' Qali.
✍ https://www.icom-malta.com/events/malta-book-festival-2026

11/10/2026

04/10/2026

🤩

26/09/2026

👇 Webinar opportunity coming up!

The two latest issues of Museum International, ’s academic journal, focused on provenance research. To continue the discussion and share best practices, ICOM is organising a webinar bringing together the editors and several authors from both issues.

💬 Speakers will explore provenance research across different types of collections and discuss its main challenges and implications, particularly for collections acquired in colonial contexts. The webinar will also look at how museums and governing bodies can support and promote provenance research.

🗓️ 7 October 2026
🕐 1.00pm CET

👉 Register to the webinar: https://icom.museum/en/news/museum-international-webinar-provenance-research/

26/09/2026

👇 Opportunity to contribute to International Council of Museums - ICOM’s new publication.

💡 Call for Papers 💡

is preparing a new issue of Museum International on "Artificial Intelligence in Museums."

💻 Share your research and insights — selected proposals will go through a double-blind peer review process, with the issue set to be published in collaboration with Taylor & Francis/Routledge in December 2027.

🗓️ Submit your proposal by 9 November 2026!

🔗 Learn more at icom.museum or via https://icom.museum/en/news/call-for-papers-museum-international-artificial-intelligence-in-museums/

09/08/2026