MICAS — Malta International Contemporary Arts Space

By Leaning into Its Past, Malta Is Shining a Light on Its Future | Condé Nast Traveler

"A 10-minute walk from the City Gate, Malta International Contemporary Arts Space (MICAS) opened last year with a mission, as its exhibitions manager Guillaume Dreyfuss puts it, to bolster Malta's cultural infrastructure and raise its role in the contemporary art world. Housed in an 18th-century hospice, the Florence-based firm Ipostudio gutted the space to create a Chutes-and-Ladders–style gallery full of modern sky bridges, restored tunnels and secret staircases; inside a giant knit tree by Joana Vasconcelos climbs into a skylighted rotunda, a bluestone figurative sculpture by Ugo Rondinone sits in the landscaped garden, and the darkened chambers below feature mesmerizing kinetic light sculptures by Conrad Shawcross, with the program also highlighting local work such as a metal-and-rod piece by Raymond Pitrè." - Adam H. Graham