30th June 2025 to 30th September 2025
Mdina Ditch, Malta
Open Square Collective is an art and design collective consisting of four members: Luke Azzopardi, Trevor Borg, Alessia Deguara and Creative Lead, Matthew Joseph Casha. These four professional artists are known and respected names on the local and international artistic circuit, having already collaborated on high-profile projects. The team also includes two support members – Ramona Depares on communications and Gilbert Micallef as external advisor on financial matters.
Urban Fabric re-contextualises the Maltese village core by merging two elements – traditional city planning and the Phoenician-Maltese tradition of fabric production and dyeing. Open Square Collective is honoured that Urban Fabric has received the Best International Achievement Award at the Premju għall-Arti 2023. The installation uses wood, recycled stone and organic fabric that is sustainable and certified eco-friendly as its main components. This is in accordance with the artists’ ethos of recyclability and eco-consciousness. These components create a ‘street-like’ layout that enables the viewer to interact directly with the installation. The wider context in which the original concept and ideas are located is based on research that was carried out at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta. Here, the team retraced the footsteps of the Phoenicians, experiencing the fine fabrics and artefacts of the time and using this experience as foundation. The installation uses as its source material documentation about how the Phoenicians used to dye wool and linen garments and draws on eco-friendly methods as an alternative to ancient practices. Thus, Urban Fabric strives to encourage discourse about the environment by presenting a well-researched, thought-provoking installation that combines aesthetic with sustainable spatial design awareness.
Our experience at the London Design Biennale was incredibly rewarding. Urban Fabric, which occupied the main courtyard at Somerset House was met with widespread positive feedback and media coverage. The Open Square Collective would like to extend heartfelt thanks to Arts Council Malta for supporting this important showcase and for the opportunity to represent Malta on such`a prestigious international platform.
