Meet Andrew Borg Wirth | Curator and Architect

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrew Borg Wirth and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrew, what do you want your legacy to be?
Architects were once obsessed with creating a sense of place. Curation, I think is invested in presenting a sense of time. If I manage my practice well, I hope that it will speak of both.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My work sits at the intersection of several fields and disciplines – and it has always been this way. I think the turning point in my path came when I realised that interdisciplinarity could be a method in and of itself. Since then, I’ve allowed the contexts of each project and the artists I get to collaborate with, lead the way that we assemble work together. I have learnt to look at curation as an art form, shaping the way I operate in most of the projects I am a part of and within disciplines that include theatre, contemporary dance, painting, contemporary art and art history.

I think the greatest challenge was understanding that I am not going to work strictly as an architect after finishing my Masters – and not knowing exactly what it is that I will be doing. As my practice continues to unfold, it becomes clearer that the parameters that define it will continue to expand, and now I look to this from a position of anticipation, rather than dread or uncertainty.

Malta is a fascinating place to work from. There is a vibrant cultural ecosystem which is exciting to be a part of. My time in London was spent researching the idea of home and generating new narratives to continue building on. Both have been fundamental in my training so far. My practice is inherently political; it is invested in trauma, but obsessed with beauty. It takes the contemporary as an opportunity. I like to think this condenses my experiences and inches me closer to defining the zeitgeist of our times.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My practice is collaborative – so it is not possible to speak of my work, without the acknowledgment of so many others. There are some people in Malta right now who are rewriting what our zeitgeist will be from what it could have been. They are artists, activists, performers, writers and researchers, who influence my work, and the politics of our time.

Website: www.andrewborgwirth.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/aborgwirth

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/aborgwirth

Facebook: www.facebook.com/andrewborgwirth

Image Credits
Marija Grech, Anthony Mizzi