For the first time in its history, MUŻA – Malta’s National Community Art Museum – is transforming its 450-year-old central courtyard well into the centrepiece of a groundbreaking art installation.

Titled ‘Grotto Girl’, the exhibition is the work of Louisa Chircop, an Australian-Maltese artist whose personal story and creative vision fuse heritage, memory, and community into an immersive artistic experience. Her solo show, which runs from 11th to 25th June 2025, will be the result of a residency at MUŻA that began earlier this week.

This marks a first for MUŻA in more ways than one: Louisa is not only activating the historic well – a space never used before for exhibitions – but is also leading an artist-driven community outreach project that brings people directly into the artistic process.

In ‘Grotto Girl’, the artist reimagines the museum’s central well as a ‘well of memory and subconsciousness’. Around it, a living grotto of clay sculptures created by community participants comes to life – the result of free, artist-led workshops being held at MUŻA in the weeks leading up to the opening.

Using five traditional Maltese motifs connected to water as their starting point, participants reflect on identity, memory, and personal heritage through clay. The results are deeply personal, tactile expressions that will sit alongside Louisa’s own work – a powerful act of collaborative storytelling through art.

‘From the well of memory, a community rises,’ Louisa says. ‘Grotto Girl is a celebratory love letter to Malta and its people, honouring their stories through hands-on art-making that is at once healing, expressive, and unifying.’

The artist, whose grandparents were WWII Maltese immigrants to Australia, brings a deeply personal layer to the project. Raised in Sydney, she returns to Malta with a body of work that blends psychoanalytic and feminist perspectives with Maltese cultural aesthetics.

Her multi-sensory installation at MUŻA includes ceramics, painting, and mixed media – a reflection of her personal journey and the emotional ties that connect diaspora communities to their roots.

The exhibition officially opens on Wednesday 11th June at 6:30pm, and in true Maltese style, will take on the spirit of a traditional ‘festa’ – a celebration of community, creativity, and cultural reconnection.

Admission is free, and all are welcome to attend.

Will you be there?