In 2011, a multimedia installation transformed Valletta’s Strada Stretta into an interactive time machine, transporting visitors to the heyday of the area’s iconic bars and clubs. The installation, titled “The Gut,” featured an installation that invited viewers to become protagonists in a surreal performance showcasing the Strada Stretta bar scene of yesteryear.
The Splendid lounge bar and guest house in Valletta was transformed into an art exhibition space in 2011 as part of the Strada Stretta revival exhibition. The event brought together 15 artists, designers and photographers in a collaborative effort to create a cultural incubator in Valletta, a UNESCO World Heritage City. The Strada Stretta exhibition formed part of a European project funded through the MED Territorial Cooperation Programme and organised by Fondazzjoni Temi Zammit (FTZ), a regional development agency at the University of Malta.
The exhibition was held at the Splendid, a venue whose evocative atmosphere provided an ideal setting for showcasing the remnants of its former glory. The space was filled with vintage furniture, torn upholstery, nostalgic trinkets, decaying toys, a deteriorating staircase and neglected clothing, all seemingly awaiting revival. As visitors moved through the rooms, they were transported to a bygone era, where the ghosts of the past appeared to whisper stories of another time.
The Gut, a multimedia performance presented at the Strada Stretta bar, featured an interactive video installation by Danjeli Schembri, Julian Mallia and Pawlu Mizzi. Visitors were invited to sit at an old Max Neumeyer piano, supplied by Pawlu Mizzi through a donation by the MSSP, and “play the notes of the Splendid”, following a handwritten invitation suspended from a light bulb in the centre of the room. Each unique combination of piano keys triggered a digital animated projection of a character from a bygone era, appearing within a surreal visual composition.
The piano became a kind of dream machine, bringing to life the characters and personalities that had once given Strada Stretta its distinctive identity. The installation offered visitors an immersive glimpse into the lifestyle of the Gut, while its striking combination of imagery, typography and presentation quickly made it a favourite among visitors. As the project developed, it acquired an increasingly surreal quality that reflected the chaotic, cheerful and lively character for which Strada Stretta had once been known. Danjeli’s musical collage, Mallia’s deliberately disproportionate illustrated characters and Mizzi’s typographic compositions extending across the walls all contributed to this atmosphere.
The Splendid project attracted considerable public attention, with hundreds of visitors exploring its nostalgic rooms on the opening night alone. The event was widely regarded as a success, and the Splendid quickly established itself as one of Valletta’s sought-after cultural venues.
Despite this success, however, the hoped-for revival of Strada Stretta and its return to its former splendour never materialised. In the years that followed, the street was taken over by a contemporary catering and entertainment enterprise, a transformation that left much to be desired when compared with the cultural ambitions of the original revival project.
