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Charles Zammit

Our Lady of Pilar Chapel

Charles Zammit, a graduate of Fine Arts from the University of Malta in 2018, pursued further studies with a Master’s in Educational Art. With over two decades of experience as a distinguished photographer, Charles garnered numerous accolades locally and internationally. He transitioned into diverse artistic mediums of painting and sculpture, where – despite his relatively brief tenure – he has already garnered significant recognition, securing local and international awards. Proficient in a spectrum of materials, including clay, marble, limestone, iron, and wood, Charles’s sculptural oeuvre exhibits a penchant for abstraction, contrasting with his figurative painting approach.

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U.S. Embassy in Malta

Our Lady of Pilar Chapel

The U.S. Embassy in Malta promotes American excellence in the arts and strengthens ties between the United States and Malta through cultural engagement. In partnership with Malta’s vibrant cultural community, artists and institutions, the Embassy brings leading American artists, performers, filmmakers and creative leaders to Maltese audiences, while fostering opportunities for exchange. Spanning visual arts, theatre, music, film and fashion, these programmes showcase the vitality, creativity, talent and prowess of American artists. Through exhibitions, performances, workshops and educational initiatives, the Embassy celebrates the richness of American culture and a strong collaboration across the Atlantic.

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MCAST × Temasek Polytechnic

Valletta Design Cluster

The Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) is Malta’s leading vocational education and training institution, with its Institute for the Creative Arts offering programmes across art, design and the wider creative industries. Temasek Polytechnic is a leading institution of higher learning in Singapore, with its School of Design providing practice-led education across a range of design disciplines. Both institutions place strong emphasis on hands-on learning, industry engagement and developing creative practice, providing students with the skills and experience to respond to contemporary challenges and pursue careers within the evolving creative and design sectors.

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Youssef Ben Hadj Ahmed / Pokh Design

Valletta Design Cluster

Youssef Ben Hadj Ahmed is a Tunisian artisan based in Sousse and founder of Pokh Design, a craft studio creating decorative objects, furniture and lifestyle pieces. His practice combines traditional leatherworking techniques with contemporary design, using locally sourced materials and predominantly manual processes. Rather than relying on ready-made stamps, Youssef works directly with the material, allowing patterns, colours and finishes to develop through the making process. Drawing on techniques passed down through generations, Pokh Design reinterprets Tunisian and Mediterranean craft traditions through distinctive contemporary objects that balance heritage, experimentation and functionality.

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Jane Birchall x Aida binte Khalid

Auberge d'Aragon

Jane Birchall is a multidisciplinary artist working in sculptural ceramics and acrylic on canvas. Inspired by Gozo, her work reflects the island’s coastline and rural landscapes while exploring environmental fragility and the impact of development. Her award-winning work has been exhibited across the UK and Europe.
Aida binte Khalid is a design educator, architect and ceramic artist whose practice draws on Asian artistic identity, architecture and everyday life. Combining architectural influences with sculptural forms, her work explores form, materiality and texture, drawing inspiration from travel, memory, cultural heritage and the genius loci of place.

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Lina Zhou Yu x Joshua Yu

Valletta Design Cluster

Lina Zhou Yu and Joshua Yu are designers who recently relocated from China to Malta. Before moving, they founded and ran their own studio, focusing on cultural heritage preservation and adaptive reuse across planning and architectural scales. Their practice explores connections between history and the present, extending this approach into furniture design where structure and use become ways of reinterpreting cultural values within a contemporary context. Their participation in designMT represents an early creative engagement with their new environment in Malta.

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Inese Refalo, Zeltīte Upeniece & Francesca Puglisi

Valletta Design Cluster

An international collective of artists, each contributing through a distinct medium and perspective, they form a cohesive dialogue around nature, sustainability and craftsmanship.
Inese Refalo is a Latvia-born, Malta-based artist and interior designer working across acrylic, linocut and mixed media, combining abstraction and realism with storytelling and upcycled materials.
Zeltīte Upeniece is a Latvia-based multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans art, tailoring and astrology, exploring nature, symbolism and human experience.
Francesca Puglisi is a Palermo-based designer and textile artist exploring nature, sustainability and textile design through eco-printing, using natural dyes and low-impact processes.

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Katrin Formosa

Valletta Design Cluster

Katrin Formosa began exploring ceramics and mosaic while living in New York in 1983. After returning to Gozo, she established Gozo Pottery Barn at the Ta’ Dbieġi Artisan Village in 1989, where she continues to work today. Her practice combines locally inspired and folkloric designs with artistic, abstract and one-off pieces, reflecting an innovative approach to traditional ceramic craftsmanship. Alongside her studio practice, Katrin teaches pottery and mosaic through Lifelong Learning in Gozo and organises ceramics and mosaic sessions at her studio, sharing her skills with both local and visiting participants.

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Luke Bugeja Gauci

Valletta Design Cluster

Luke Bugeja Gauci is an artist whose work examines the human dynamics of living and the social structures that shape how individuals relate to and position themselves within the world. His practice creates environments intended to provoke reflection and emotional response, exploring responsibility, consequence and the effects individual decisions can have across wider systems. Rather than providing answers, Luke allows tension, beauty and discomfort to coexist, encouraging awareness of the often-invisible mechanisms of everyday life and the ways individuals both shape and are shaped by the systems they inhabit.

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Thomas Woodruff

Our Lady of Pilar Chapel

Thomas Woodruff is an American artist known for imaginative, intricately detailed paintings developed through complex narrative series. His practice draws on personal experience and has explored wellness, loss, identity and the figure of the outsider through cross-cultural, illusionistic and highly ornate imagery. Over a four-decade career, Thomas has presented more than 30 solo exhibitions. He has also worked as an illustrator, set and costume designer, cartoonist and tattooist, and is Chair Emeritus at the School of Visual Arts. His work is held in numerous public collections across the United States and internationally.