Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti (FPM; ) is a non-profit heritage foundation in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. It was set up in January, 1992, with the aim to spread awareness about heritage of the Maltese islands among locals and foreigners through museums, publications, exhibs and events. The foundation was begun by a group of individuals with different backgrounds but with a common goal of promoting Maltese patrimony. Among its displayed items are collections of

objets d’art In art history, the French term Objet d’art describes an ornamental work of art, and the term Objets d’art describes a range of works of art, usually small and three-dimensional, made of high-quality materials, and a finely-rendered finish th ...

, some loaned from Maltese private collections which are temporary viewed to the general public. FPM manages a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

located at

Palazzo Falson Palazzo Falson, formerly known as Palazzo Cumbo-Navarra, Casa dei Castelletti, and the Norman House, is a medieval townhouse in Mdina, Malta. It was purposely built as a family residence by the Maltese nobility, and it is named after the Falson ...

in Mdina and an

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

dedicated to British artist Victor Pasmore. The Foundation publishes its own cultural magazine, occasional catalogues of its exhibitions, and

academic literature Academic publishing is the subfield of publishing which distributes academic research and scholarship. Most academic work is published in academic journal articles, books or theses. The part of academic written output that is not formally pub ...

to subjects related.

History

FPM was founded in 1992, with Maurice de Giorgio serving as its first Chairman until his death in 2015. During this time, the Foundation established itself as a prominent entity within the Maltese cultural heritage sector, organising various exhibitions related to Maltese cultural heritage and opening the Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum.

Museums

FPM’s first museum project began in 1997 with the setting of the Theatre Museum. Initially the Foundation organised four exhibitions on Maltese heritage with the names of ''Antique Maltese Clocks, The Sedan Chair in Malta, Girolamo Gianni in Malta and The Silver in Malta.'' These exhibitions were the precursor to a larger and more permanent museum project, namely the restoration and transformation of the Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum. This project was carried out through an agreement with ''The Captain O F Gollcher OBE Art an Archaeological Foundation,'' whereby FPM was to manage the museum and transform it into a state of the art historic house museum.

Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum

Palazzo Falson is the second oldest structure still standing in Mdina, parts of which date back to the 13th century. In 1927 the Palazzo was bought by Olof Frederick Gollcher OBE (1889–1962), a collector of objets d’art including paintings, silver, furniture, jewellery, oriental rugs and arms and armour, among others. Gollcher wanted his house to be preserved with its contents as a museum open to the general public, and in his will left instructions for the setting up of a foundation bearing his name that was to carry out this wish. Following a five-year intensive restoration exercise, Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum opened its doors to the public in May 2007. Palazzo Falson currently hosts both a permanent collection and temporary exhibitions, exhibiting artefacts and objects of relevance to Maltese cultural heritage from public and private collections.

Victor Pasmore Gallery

In September 2015, FPM took over the management of the Victor Pasmore Gallery with the aim of bringing to light the importance of Victor Pasmore and the Maltese modern art movement.Galea; Balzan (2007) p. 1-4. Born in Chelsham,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, Victor Pasmore (1908–1998) settled and worked in Malta in the second half of the twentieth century. The collection at the VP Gallery covers a wide range of Pasmore’s creations and preferred media, including drawings, reliefs and spray paintings, constructions, prints and composite works. Though not all produced in Malta, the works on display are largely representative of Pasmore’s artistic practice following the move to his village farmhouse in Gudja in 1966, and also exhibit a greater sensitivity and interest in light, colour and myth. The gallery is situated on the site of a former gunpowder magazine, originally dating back to the period of the Order of St John, and was later rebuilt during the British period. The magazine was restored by the

Central Bank of Malta The Central Bank of Malta ( mt, Bank Ċentrali ta’ Malta) is the central bank of the Republic of Malta. It was established on 17 April 1968. In May 2004, when Malta joined the European Union, it became an integral part of the European Syste ...

and The Victor Pasmore Foundation, and was officially opened to the public on 3 November 2014.

References

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External links

Official website

Palazzo Falson

Victor Pasmore
Historic preservation in Malta History organisations based in Malta Historic preservation organizations