‘People needed a space to speak honestly’: MEIA President on Malta’s first creative unconference

Malta’s cultural and creative industries gathered this month for Culture at Work, a three-day unconference organised by the Malta Entertainment and Arts Association (MEIA). Spread across multiple locations, the event set out to raise awareness and critically examine the role, impact, and responsibilities of culture and creativity in society.

Unlike a traditional conference, an “unconference” is participatory by design – its value is shaped by the people in the room. Culture at Work invited artists, educators, organisers, policymakers, cultural workers, and community builders to step into a space where cross-sector collaboration, open dialogue, and constructive disruption could unfold. International and local speakers contributed their expertise, but equal weight was given to the conversations between participants themselves.

As a poet performing at the event and attending as a journalist, I witnessed first-hand the energy Culture at Work generated: a unified yet diverse voice emerging from a sector that is often fragmented, overstretched, and under-recognised.

Following the event, MEIA’s President Maria Galea spoke with MaltaCEOs.mt to reflect on what the unconference revealed and what comes next.

‘It wasn’t perfect – and it wasn’t meant to be. But it was a beginning.‘

Asked for her first reaction after wrapping up MEIA’s inaugural unconference, MEIA’s President admits the experience is still sinking in.

“Culture at Work took an enormous amount of time, care, and quiet behind-the-scenes effort – most of it voluntary – because we believe the creative community deserves a space for honest, constructive conversations. Seeing it come to life felt genuinely meaningful,” she says.

Across the three days, participants didn’t just attend: they contributed, engaged, questioned, and pushed discussions forward. What started as an idea – a cross -sector dialogue platform – grew into something shaped collectively by the people who showed up.

“It wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t meant to be. But it was a beginning. And now that the community has shown us what’s possible, we’re more committed than ever to keep building, refining, and growing this platform.”

Surprises: Openness, honesty, and a long-overdue sense of connection

The MEIA team expected curiosity, but not the scale of it.

“We were genuinely surprised by the level of interest, especially from people newer to the scene. Their willingness to engage gave the unconference a fresh energy.”

What struck the whole team at MEIA most was how quickly people opened up. Malta’s cultural ecosystem is famously fragmented, with creatives often working in isolation or in silos. But once given a space to relate to one another, something shifted.

“The honesty surprised us. People spoke openly about the good, the difficult, the frustrating, and the hopeful. Despite different challenges, the same themes kept surfacing: stability, fair pay, infrastructure, professionalisation.”

Support also came from every direction: venues, companies, volunteers, and countless individuals who offered time, resources, and trust. “We genuinely couldn’t have done it without them.”

Key takeaways: A sector craving structure, stability, and recognition

Reflecting on the discussions, Ms Galea identified several strong, recurring themes:

The need for long-term structures
Whether discussing education, spaces, funding, or policy, participants called for continuity, fairness, and direction.

Burnout as a systemic issue
Many creatives are overstretched, juggling multiple roles without the stability to focus. The final day’s attendance patterns – people dipping in and out due to work pressures – highlighted the reality of precarious creative labour.

The power of cross-disciplinary dialogue
Some of the most meaningful insights came from conversations between people who rarely share the same table.

The weight of ‘proving our worth‘
A recurring emotional thread was the feeling of needing to justify creative work – its value, its funding, its time. The sector knows this pressure well, and for many, it remains an unspoken burden.

What’s next: MEIA’s priorities after Culture at Work

The MEIA team admits they need “a tiny break” after the unconference – an event organised almost entirely on a voluntary basis. But momentum is already shifting toward the next phase, with the association preparing to carry forward the energy and insights the community brought to the three-day gathering.

A key priority is internal restructuring. MEIA plans to strengthen its internal operations, from working groups to governance structures, ensuring the organisation can advocate more effectively and sustainably. This refinement is meant to support long-term policy work and increase MEIA’s capacity to represent the sector with clarity and consistency.

Advocacy efforts remain central. Studio spaces, fair pay frameworks, and the creation of a legal aid fund sit at the top of the agenda – three longstanding gaps that practitioners have repeatedly identified as urgent. MEIA is also pushing for the development of a national AI strategy tailored specifically to the cultural sector, ensuring that artists and creative professionals are prepared for the rapid shifts brought about by emerging technologies.

At the same time, the association is now transforming the outcomes of Culture at Work into concrete policy directions. All the insights, concerns, and proposals raised during the unconference are being consolidated into a structured advocacy roadmap for 2025. This roadmap aims to translate community concerns into actionable recommendations and long-term reforms.

MEIA identifies its current top three priorities as fair pay and professional conditions, cultural infrastructure and sustainable support systems, and strengthening its internal capacity. The fair pay position paper is open for consultation until 30 November, with the goal of establishing frameworks that formally recognise creative work as professional work, supported by transparent and consistent standards. Advocacy around studios, creative spaces, and long-term funding continues, particularly in relation to the systems that provide artists with lasting stability. Meanwhile, internal governance and working structures are being refined to ensure MEIA can sustain its mission and respond more effectively to sector-wide needs.

Culture at Work marks a turning point

The unconference was not a finale but a starting point. For the first time in a long while, Malta’s creative ecosystem came together in a shared space that encouraged honesty, disagreement, and collective vision-building.

As conversations shift toward policy, infrastructure, and fairer working conditions, Culture at Work signals a sector ready to move beyond survival and toward shaping its own future.

For the creative community – and for the leaders and institutions that work alongside it—the message was clear: “when culture comes together, it gains power, clarity, and direction. And this time, the conversation is only just beginning.”

Conference images : Elisa Von Brockdorf, Mara Galea portrait by Edward Degabriele