MUŻA – The National Community Art Museum

Nestled in the heart of Valletta, Malta’s capital city, MUŻA – The National Community Art Museum – stands as a vibrant symbol of the island’s evolving cultural identity.

Opened to the public in late 2018, MUŻA (from the Maltese word for “muse”) succeeded the former National Museum of Fine Arts at Admiralty House.
It now occupies the historic Auberge d’Italie, a late-16th-century building originally built for the Italian knights of the Order of St John.
This setting bridges Malta’s storied past with its modern creative spirit, offering a space for reflection, inspiration, and connection.

The museum’s layout follows a sequence of artistic styles that trace Malta’s artistic and historical journey.
Thematic displays embedded in this chronological framework emphasize the island’s central position in the Mediterranean and its role as a crossroads of European, North African, and Middle Eastern influences that have shaped its art over time.

MUŻA’s collection spans centuries and media.
Paintings on canvas and panel dominate, complemented by sculptures in wood, bronze, marble, plaster, ivory, and composite materials.
Visitors also encounter elaborately crafted furniture, ecclesiastical and domestic silverware, ceramics, maiolica jars, jewellery, and objets d’art. Works on paper – including drawings, engravings, etchings, lithographs and photographs – contribute to the island’s visual narratives.
Video art too has, in recent decades, made its way into the national collection.

Acquisitions, donations, bequests, and transfers from government and private holdings have overall enhanced the art collection ever since its inception over a century ago.

Malta’s strategic location has always moulded its cultural identity.
Over centuries, the archipelago absorbed and adapted influences from successive rulers.
From the Early Modern period onward, Maltese-born artists began to emerge, their presence and impact slowly becoming especially significant from the 17th century onwards.

A visit to MUŻA starts on the first floor, with artefacts from the Neolithic, Punic, Roman, Arab, and Early Medieval periods, progressing to Renaissance works, many filtered through Sicily, with which Malta shared political and artistic ties.

The arrival of the Order of St John in 1530 marks the beginning of a rich Baroque chapter, which dominates MUŻA’s galleries.
Here, religious and secular works by masters such as Filippo Paladini, Mattia Preti, Guido Reni, Valentin de Boulogne, Jusepe de Ribera, Melchiorre Cafà, Antoine Favray, and Giuseppe Grech reflect the island’s cosmopolitan artistic milieu. The immense influx of artists from Continental Europe introduced new styles that eventually consolidated Malta’s European identity.
The museum also explores Malta’s British colonial era through to Independence in 1964, featuring academic drawings, portraits, urban and rural landscapes, and genre scenes by both local and visiting artists, including Abraham Louis Ducros, Pietro Paolo Caruana, Giuseppe Hyzler, Michele Bellanti, Edward Lear, Charles Allingham, Girolamo Gianni, Giuseppe Calì and Lazzaro Pisani.

A delicate watercolour by the famous artist Joseph Mallord William Turner, on loan from HSBC, represents the British Romantic spirit.

On the ground floor, 20th-century Malta is portrayed through the Modern Art movements, featuring works by Edward Caruana Dingli, Anton Inglott, Giorgio Borg, and the exceptional sculptor Antonio Sciortino.
The post-World War II and Independence periods brought renewed experimentation and expression, reflected in the works of Emvin Cremona, Victor Diacono, Giorgio Preca, Willie and Vincent Apap, Giuseppe Briffa, Frank Portelli, Gabriel Caruana, Joseph Borg Xuereb and Alfred Chircop.
British abstract pioneer Victor Pasmore also holds an influential presence within this narrative.
Visitors here will witness how Pasmore’s art was a turning point for Malta’s art scene.
They can enjoy seeing how Maltese artists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries became more daring and challenged norms with a quest to uncover their very own personal language. MUŻA’s commitment to sustainability extends beyond environmental practices to social engagement.

The museum collaborates with schools, artists, and community organizations to foster creativity and lifelong learning.

Ultimately, MUŻA is more than a museum: it is a living cultural hub that unites heritage and innovation.

By transforming the traditional museum experience into an inclusive, participatory space, it turns art into a shared journey – one that continues to evolve with every visitor who walks through its doors.

FACILITIES AVAILABLE ON SITE

Gift Shop	Indoor / Outdoor Seating Area	Lockers	Nappy Changing Facility