City of Art is an art platform bringing together a collective of visual and performance artists, curators and researchers. The interdisciplinary ensemble of curator-artists have assembled with the sole purpose of creating multimediatic events, initiatives and programmes that are research-based, curatorial and collaborative. Their intention is to invite contemporary artists to engage with art historical references, concepts and individuals, to revisit the past through contemporary gestures.
Lucia Micallef founded CITY OF ART in collaboration with Andrew Borg Wirth, Gillian Zammit and Luke Azzopardi in 2023.
LUCIA MICALLEF studied the piano with Giovanna Bascetta and later with Lois Phillips at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Lucia has performed as a soloist in various countries and played with several orchestras including the Britten Sinfonia, The Virtuosi of London and the European Union Chamber Orchestra. She is also a chamber music player and has collaborated with many fine musicians such as Stefan Popov, Daniel Hope and Vladimir Ovchinnikov.
In 2011, she made a recording of The Love Songs of Paolo Tosti with soprano Gillian Zammit and her recording of Bach Keyboard Concertos with the European Union Chamber Orchestra conducted by Brian Schembri was released by Divine Art to critical acclaim.
Apart from her work as a pianist, Lucia has been artistic director of several festivals and other cultural activities including Arts 2000, Celebrating Handel, Celebrating Britten and The Three Palaces.
Lucia is the founder of CITY OF ART.
ANDREW BORG WIRTH is an architect and curator with an interdisciplinary practice across the fields of narrative, research, design and theatre. His practice has developed through collaborative relationships with architecture, fashion and design studios, public cultural organisations and individual cultural practitioners across a variety of projects, alongside the development of bespoke interior, furniture and product design.
Andrew graduated with an M (Arch.) Architectural Design from the University of Malta in 2017, and in 2021 concluded an MA in Culture, Criticism and Curations from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts in London.
Andrew currently consults as Creative Director within the office of the Archbishop’s Delegate for Culture in Malta, is a Visiting Assistant Lecturer at the Faculty for the Built Environment at the University of Malta and is curator for URNA, the Malta pavilion at the London Design Biennale 2025, commissioned by Arts Council Malta.
GILLIAN ZAMMIT is a versatile performer with an operatic repertoire that ranges from Baroque to twentieth-century opera. Highly regarded as a recital singer with a varied repertoire of Lieder, Spanish and French songs and a respected exponent of Baroque music, she has collaborated with artists such as Joseph Calleja, Emma Kirkby, Ramon Tebar and Placido Domingo, amongst others. She has recorded a number of CDs for Claudio Records and Parma Recordings and has performed in the US, England, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Holland and Belgium.
Gillian is extensively involved in music education and is the director of the St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation’s Children’s Choir and The Joseph Calleja BOV Children’s Choir and also trains local based singers in Baroque technique within the Monteverdi Project for Festivals Malta.
In 2024, Gillian founded the Opera Nova Project which aims to provide a holistic, high level of musical education for classical voice students.
LUKE AZZOPARDI is a creative director, art historian and couturier. After studying at Central Saint Martins (UAL) and the University of Malta, Luke launched his eponymous brand. The Luke Azzopardi Studio focuses on the idea of timeless elegance stemming from Luke’s academic background in costume history. Luke was awarded the prestigious ‘Premio Cultura e Moda 2016’ by L’Istituto Italiano di Cultura, the ‘Fashion Designer of the Year 2018’ award by LovinMalta, and was shortlisted for the award of ‘Artist of the Year 2018/19’ by Arts Council Malta.
As a multidisciplinary designer, Azzopardi has designed large-scale national and international operatic as well as contemporary dance productions and, alongside Open Square Collective, has been chosen by Arts Council Malta to design the country’s debut pavilion at the London Design Biennale 2023. His research on Malta’s national costume, titled Għonnella: Deconstructing the Garment, was published by MidSea Books in 2022.