Shop owners express mixed feelings on Freedom Square installation
David Darmanin
The portraits set up in Freedom Square by artist Norbert Attard upon the initiative of the European Parliament, the Valletta Local Council and St James Cavalier, have now stirred commotion as a couple of shop owners in the area are claiming that the works covered their façade, and that as a result, sales have taken a dip.
Some other shop owners approached by this newspaper said that the exhibition has not affected them. Others poured words of praise over the initiative, claiming that their sales have actually improved after the exhibition was launched. “I cannot say it has not shaded my façade but otherwise it has not affected me at all,” said Stephen McCain of City Gate Boutique.
A shop owner who preferred to remain anonymous was clearly irritated. “They don’t have a MEPA permit. We discovered that they applied on 15 September this year, MEPA answered them only to ask until when the exhibition was expected to last. A reply was sent to MEPA only this week, after they had already launched the exhibition,” he said. “I spoke to a number of other shop owners here and we’re protesting. They have covered the visual aspect of our facades and to top it all, they fixed lights on our shop signs without asking. What is even worse is that the lights they installed are now distorting my shop window lighting. My sign and my shop window are there for a purpose. If my sales wouldn’t have been affected I wouldn’t be complaining would I? We have already taken legal advice on this issue, and I have enough grounds to sue their pants off. We need to find a compromise by 15 November, and I don’t know what will happen if we don’t by then. But they know that they never consulted, and they should have.”
A cashier at Shoemark said: “This exhibition has really helped. It has further attracted people to the area and sales have really improved.”
But her neighbour Pierre Fava, who owns Chemimart said: “Of course Shoemark will not complain. The shop is owned by the artist’s brother.” Asked whether his sales had also taken a dip, Fava said: “If you are not seen, people will not walk into your shop. We spoke to the Valletta Mayor about this last week and he told us there’s nothing much we can do. Then again there is no permit. St James Cavalier manager Chris Gatt, who is involved in the organisation, said they don’t need a permit but I tend to disagree. He also told me that if this is the way business is treating culture then we shouldn’t bring culture to Valletta. But is this the way they intend to bring in culture? They have damaged the marble covering the arches. I realise that there were shops that were less affected than others, and that not all the views were affected, but some were. I personally have nothing against the artist and quite frankly, I don’t think he should have entered into this argument. But the exhibition should have included smaller pieces so as not to obstruct the shop facades. There’s the livelihood of our employees here, and this is not a matter of it being here temporarily. This extends till January – so it’s here a whole four months. They cannot remove the exhibition before the date they agreed on with their sponsors – and this changes the whole affair from a cultural initiative into a commercial one on their part.”
When the owner of the Artisan’s Centre was approached, he said: “This is a controversial issue and I prefer not to comment.”
The cashier at Linen & Co said: “Business is the same as usual, I did not notice any particular difference here.”
Next door, Effie Briffa of Travellers was clearly having a good day. He was busy with customers for a whole hour before we would dare ask him for a comment.
“This was a fresh, different idea and it should be supported,” he said. “It has stimulated people’s curiosity, and therefore our visibility – so business improved. They should start coming up with such initiatives more regularly.”
One of the owners of Café Royale, on the opposite side, said: “To us, the installation has made no particular difference but it was interesting to hear people’s comments. I don’t think the feedback overall was very positive. I don’t think people in general liked the idea. Some thought it was a waste of money, and others hoped they would remove them soon. Mind you, looking at the scenario from this angle, I don’t think the portraits we have to look at all day are particularly attractive. Mind you, personally, I think the idea of dealing with racism using art was great and it should be encouraged. It’s just that a lot of people did not get it. Maybe it was set up in the wrong place. But on the other hand, I fully agree with installations in this square, although this one happened to be a bit of an eyesore.”
Kevin Gauci, who owns the Capital Souvenir Shop next door said: “It made no noticeable difference to business as such but it was about time something was done to embellish the square. There’s nothing dislikeable in the installation. I would like to see the people involved come up with such ideas more regularly, perhaps we should do more on Malta next time, which we can link with tourists walking in.”
But Joe Reginiano of Heritage Jewellers tends to disagree on the likeability of the installation. “I don’t like it. But it made no difference to me, from a business point of view. I don’t agree that such installations are set up, because I wouldn’t want to run the risk of such initiatives affecting business. I guess we need to give this more time to see how it goes,” he told Business Today.
The cashier at L’Accademia Café also thought the exhibition stimulated people’s curiosity. “It gave people something to talk about – some liked it and some didn’t,” she said. “I personally liked it a lot. It’s fresh and it’s different. We’re always busy here anyway, so it’s not like we could notice a huge difference, but I could see that people were stopping for coffee to sit here and admire the work from this angle.”
The idea of setting up this exhibition originates from the European Parliament Office in Valletta, as part of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. Julian Vassallo, who heads the office, told Business Today that as much as he cannot contradict the complainants on a slump in sales, he also found it hard to fathom that the situation is attributable to the portraits. “I find it very strange that in a square that is so unloved, business takes a dip because of an installation which is so attractive to passers by. Both logically, as well as from what we heard from other stores, we find it very strange. But we are now in consultation with the complainants in order to come up with ideas to boost business for them during the Christmas season, using the installation,” he said.
With regards to the shop owners’ complaints on the fact that they were never consulted, it seems the blunder is due to former Mayor Paul Borg Olivier being too busy in the run up to his election as PN General Secretary, and an eventual handover to the incumbent Alexei Dingli, which seems to have been done hastily.
“We had approached former mayor Paul Borg Olivier and we agreed that the Valletta Local Council would consult with the business owners, but this idea got lost in the handover,” Vassallo said. “We’re talking to them now, along with the new mayor.”
The permit was also a local council issue, and it is now known why the permit application was only pursued after the exhibition was set up.
“Initially, Paul Borg Olivier said we didn’t need a permit, but the Local Council still applied. I’m informed by the new mayor that it is all in order now,” Vassallo pointed out.
The EP head of office was also asked to react to Fava’s comment on the issue of duration, when he commented that the initiative is of a commercial nature rather than a cultural one.
“With regards to this comment, nobody is making profit out of this. When you receive a sponsorship, you agree that an installation will be up for a certain amount of time, and we have to respect that,” he said.
“I cannot say it has not shaded my façade but otherwise it has not affected me at all,” said Stephen McCain of City Gate Boutique.
