Charlie Cauchi, Raphael Vella and Adrian Abela: No Need to Sparkle

“No Need to Sparkle” is the title of the project representing Malta at the Venice Biennale in 2026.

Adrian Abela, Charlie Cauchi and Raphael Vella shall be representing Malta at the prestigious Venice Biennale in 2026. Established in 1895, the Venice Biennale, a platform for the exhibition of works by international artists, is today acknowledged as one of the most prestigious cultural institutions. The 61st edition of the Venice Art Biennale will be held from May 9 to November 22, 2026.

No Need to Sparkle: an invitation to surrender to uncertainty and to embrace “doubting well” as a philosophy of our unstable times. 

The pavilion proposes a space that 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 that 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.

A note on the artists
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.

A note on the Curatorial Team
With over 20 years of 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. Project Manager Tamara Burr is an accomplished studio manager, skilled in project coordination and operations. The Producer is Unfinished Art Space, and R Gallery is the Associate Producer. Kathrine Maj is the Outreach Programme & Fundraiser and Mark Sullivan and Julian Vassallo, on behalf of SON Architecture Studio, are the architects. Weexhibit is the Production Team. Alexandra Pace is the Graphic Designer

The Evaluation Board
The board members were: Dr Katya Micallef, Principal Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at MUŻA; Perit Adrian Mamo, Artistic Director at Teatru Manoel, President at Malta Society of Arts; Daniel Azzopardi, Artistic Director at Spazju Kreattiv, Malta's National Centre for Creativity.

The evaluation session was moderated by Dr Romina Delia, Head of International Cultural Relations at Arts Council Malta.

“In Minor Keys”
The 61st Venice Biennale, set to take place in 2026, will be titled "In Minor Keys", curated by the late Koyo Kouoh. This theme, chosen by Kouoh, explores the spaces within "minor keys" in music, focusing on the poetic, sensory, and ethereal aspects often associated with them. The exhibition will aim to connect with "soul frequencies" and find solace, hope, and transcendence within these spaces, using the minor key as an allegory for quiet resistance through contemporary art.

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

Arts Council Malta, under the auspices of the Ministry for the Arts, Lands and Local Government is the Commissioner of the Malta Pavilion at the Biennale di Venezia. The project is being led by the International Cultural Relations Directorate headed by Annabelle Stivala and Romina Delia on behalf of Arts Council Malta.