Adrian Abela, Charlie Cauchi and Raphael Vella shall be representing Malta at the prestigious Biennale di Venezia International Art Exhibition in 2026.
The pavilion proposes a space which goes contrary to loud, political convictions, and instead places its trust in a radical uncertainty. No Need to Sparkle exists as a triangulation of belief-systems which disintegrate before our eyes. Three works present layered fictions and shifting realities, leading us down unanticipated paths. Convictions and faiths circle each work but lose their significance as universal themes and assumptions of right and wrong, identity, and selfhood are systematically and elegantly dismantled.
Adrian Abela studied architecture and civil engineering in Malta and Milan and received an MFA in sculpture from UCLA. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles.
Charlie Cauchi is a Maltese interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker whose work blends visual storytelling, advocacy, and cultural exploration.
Raphael Vella has been active as an artist and curator for many years and is currently a Professor of Art Education and Socially Engaged Art at the University of Malta.
With over 20 years experience in the arts sector, Curator Margerita Pulè has developed a distinct and professional curatorial practice that is politically engaged, research-based and context-specific.
After a 17-year absence, Malta returned to the Biennale di Venezia in 2017 with its own National Pavilion. Malta returned again in 2019, 2022 and in 2024. Prior to that, it had participated with a special exhibition of Maltese Artists in 1958 and a National Pavilion in 1999. Both the 2017 Malta Pavilion (Homo Melitensis: An Incomplete Inventory in 19 Chapters), the 2019 Malta Pavilion (Maleth / Haven /Port – Heterotopias of Evocation) and the 2022 Malta Pavilion (Diplomazija Astuta) and the 2024 Malta Pavilion, (I Will Follow the Ship) received international press acclaim, garnering a host of high-profile media accolades and acknowledgements.