Last July, the Directorate of Culture within the Ministry for the National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government launched a competition for Maltese crib-artists in order to send ten cribs to be exhibited at the Museum of the Bible which is located in the city of Washington DC.
The high level of quality of the cribs submitted for this competition testifies the dedication and craftsmanship of the Maltese and Gozitan crib-artists. An expert jury chose the cribs to be sent to Washington D.C. These cribs offer very varied themes, with some incorporating the Maltese landscape as part of the crib structure. Some of the crib-artists have even decorated their crib with original statues.
In the coming days, these cribs will begin their journey to Washington whereby the exhibition will open in the days before Thanksgiving, which this year will be commemorated on the 26 November. The Maltese cribs will remain on display until March 2021. This Museum opened in November 2017 and offers 1,150 permanent exhibits and 2,000 borrowed exhibits related to the narrative of the Bible.
Minister José Herrera, while congratulating the participating crib-artists, thanked the Maltese Ambassador to the United States Keith Azzopardi who was instrumental in starting the necessary contacts in order for this exhibition to take place in one of the largest museums in Washington D.C. The museum’s chief curator Jeffrey Kloha, together with Prof. Mark V. Vlasic and Amy Botello, are providing great assistance to the Directorate of Culture with regards to the organisational and logistical aspects.
This will be another great opportunity created by the Ministry so that Maltese artists have the opportunity to exhibit their creative works abroad. Furthermore, this exhibition can be used to promote religious tourism in an important market such as that of the United States of America.
The Ministry also thanks the US Embassy in Malta for their assistance so that the crib-artists can go to Washington to assemble their cribs and attend the inauguration of the exhibition.
