Elyse Tonna Email & Phone Number

Naxxar, Mt

Birkirkara

In her capacity as curator and co-creative director, Elyse Tonna assumes a pivotal role in shaping the creative direction of the Gabriel Caruana Foundation and its artistic projects and programming. She also oversees the creative processes behind the SPRING Artistic Programme for Emerging Artists (shortlisted for the ArtzID Best Exhibition Programme 2022), where she serves as a curator, mentor and creative producer. Additionally, she plays a significant role in various aspects related to the Conservation and Management Plan of The Mill, a Grade 1 scheduled building, and the development of related projects such as SKOPRI (2020-2023).Elyse Tonna's journey with the foundation began as a volunteer in late 2018, and she transitioned into her role as the first in-house curator in 2020, thanks to funding from the Investment in Cultural Organisations Fund provided by Arts Council Malta. Since assuming this position, she has provided mentorship to more than 35 artists selected to form part of SPRING and curated over 15 exhibitions as part of its overall program since 2019. Her engagement has extended to co-leading the conservation of the in/tangible assets of the foundation, primarily related to the archives of the foundation and modernist/contemporary art in Malta and the sustainable conservation of the 17th century windmill overlapping narratives related to the environment, heritage, memory and community.In 2021, Elyse Tonna co-developed toolbox+, a series of workshops designed to equip emerging artists with essential skills to navigate the art world. Furthermore, she took the lead in facilitating two out of the four workshops offered as part of this initiative.

UPCOMING SELECTED EXHIBITIONSCo-Curator of 'I WILL FOLLOW THE SHIP' by Matthew Attard (artist) with Sara Dolfi Agostini (co-curator): 60th edition of the Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (July 2023-December 2024)Curator of 'Beyond What Drifts Us Apart' for the MagiC Carpets Platform, Unfinished Art Space and Mahalla Festival (2023-2024). Artists (2023) Fernando Ferreira (PT), Marija Rasa Kudabaite (LT/BE), Samuel Ciantar (MT)Curator 'Inearth, Unearth: Archives of Matter and Ritual' by Victor Agius: Spazju Kreattiv (April 2024)Co-Curator of 'DREAM [of] LAND' with Sarah Chircop: Spazju Kreattiv (January-March 2024)PAST SELECTED EXHIBITIONSCurator of 'Id-Dgħajsa tal- Fidili' by Matthew Attard: Grand Master's Palace (June 2022)Curator of ‘In Dialogue’ by Victor Agius: Il-Ħagar Museum (February 2022)Curator of ‘bjuda’ by Giola Cassar, Leanne Ellul and Kenneth Sacco: Agenzija Żgħażagħ (February 2022)Curator of ‘rajt ma rajtx … naf li rajt’ by Matthew Attard (supported by Caesar Attard, Pierre Portelli, Matyou Galea and Aaron Bezzina, Francesco Iodice, Nanni Balestrini): Valletta Contemporary (September 2021)Curator of ‘Playful Futures’ by Laura Besancon: Valletta Contemporary, Valletta (May 2021)Curator, Exhibition Designer and Project Manager of 'SURA' by Glen Calleja, Lori Sauer, Matyou Galea and Clare Azzopardi: Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta (March 2021). Awarded Best Exhibition of the Year, ArtzID Awards 2022.Curator of 'fuse', co-produced by the Valletta Cultural Agency and Valletta Design Cluster (October 2019-July 2021). Shortlisted for the Arts Council Malta Best Project in the Community in 2022. Co-Curator and Creative Director of 'ħożż il-ħsejjes': Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta (November 2019). Shortlisted for the Arts Council Malta Best Project for Young Audiences in 2022. Assistant Curator of ‘in between’; Galleria Biffi Arte, Piacenza, Italy (October 2018)Co-Curator of ‘Human Matter’; Palazzo de la Salle, Valletta (October 2017)

Malta

A Fellow within the Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Innovators represents a cultural leader and innovator chosen to partake in a programme that provides avenues for honing leadership skills, fostering cross-cultural connections, and promoting cooperation with the aim of utilising arts and culture as catalysts for advancing positive societal transformation and community progress.The Young Cultural Innovators initiative is meticulously crafted to unite emerging cultural leaders, visionaries, and agents of change from diverse corners of the globe. Fellows are meticulously chosen through a competitive selection process and typically comprise individuals who have showcased a steadfast commitment to harnessing arts and culture as instruments for effecting constructive social change and advancing community development.

Malta

Malta

ACT is a collective effort aimed at mobilising and uniting a group of like-minded individuals, predominantly youths, who share a common goal. Its mission has evolved over the past five years to encompass various endeavors related to the environments and the arts.In 2018, Tonna played a co-leading role facilitating the bringing together of a team of individuals who shared a passion for environmental conservation, the arts and community engagement. This collaborative effort led to the formative years of ACT, which has since undertaken several significant initiatives. One of its notable achievements has been the establishment of a local seed bank, where it focuses on preserving and propagating over 70 species of indigenous plants that were on the brink of extinction. Additionally, ACT has actively participated in national campaigns and environmental and cultural advocacy efforts, taking a proactive stance in safeguarding threatened landscapes and cultural practices within our region. Within ACT, Tonna also led a programme of discussions related to public art (onequestionseries) and wrote a strategy for public arts in Malta. Elements from the strategy were included in the National Cultural Policy 2021.ACT's belief is that Malta possesses the potential to emerge as a trailblazer in promoting ecological prosperity in the Mediterranean region while fostering constructive civic engagement in our cultural and community endeavors. ACT functions as a catalyst for change, enabling individuals to explore their passions and take meaningful action. At its core, ACT serves as a platform for empowering people to learn, grow, and contribute to the positive transformation of our community and environment.

Malta

ACT aims to achieve an inspired community that actively appreciates diversity and the authenticity of expression, seeking the importance of imagination, creativity and representation.

Malta

In her role as a Regional Cultural Coordinator, Tonna maintained close collaboration with the six Regional Councils, acting as a liaison between them and Arts Council Malta. She played a pivotal role in overseeing the completion and publication of the Regional Cultural Strategies for each region, integrating these strategies into the Regional Councils' overall plans. Tonna was responsible to coordinate and oversee a network of Regional Cultural Officers, working together with Regional and Local Councils, organisations, communities, enterprises and various stakeholders in the cultural and creative industries and strived to foster better awareness of the role and value of culture, promote fair distribution of cultural resources, support strategic management, celebrate distinctive identities and connect more the intra-regional communities. She facilitated the creation of comprehensive regional databases encompassing artists and cultural organisations within the creative sectors. These databases provided the foundation for the development of contemporary programs and initiatives that further enriched the cultural landscape of the regions. Tonna also spearheaded efforts to restructure the Region of Culture, implementing measures to ensure equal access and opportunities for all stakeholders.

Substitute Member of the Board of Governors of Ambjent Malta

Valletta, Malta

fuse is a community-driven and context-specific artistic project focusing on the Biċċerija area, nowadays known as the Valletta Design Cluster, and its surroundings. Its primary scope was to discover the communities which have a relationship to the area, to uncover their stories, to facilitate interactions and ultimately develop a project which has art, community and context at its core. These objectives set the groundwork for this two-year project and steered it in a direction which remained true to its primary values: breaking boundaries between art and non-art communities, inclusion, safeguarding of living heritage, creative placemaking and sustainability.Produced by the Valletta Cultural Agency

Malta

Malta

Glug is a series of events for the design and creative community. Based around a series of talks and informal networking, Glug has become one of the most exciting, credible and well attended creative events around.Established in 2007 in London, it’s an eclectic mix of people from all creative walks of life; from advertising, graphic design and the visual arts through to fashion, architecture and the crafts.Glug Malta will be launched towards the end of 2017 with the aim of bringing the Maltese creative community together and promoting local talent on an international scale.More Notworking than Networking™--www.glugevents.comlondon - new york - amsterdam - berlin - sydney - los angeles - taiwan - dubai - leeds - birmingham - brighton - manchester - oxford - edinburgh - reading - beijing - stockholm - dublin - glasgow - MALTA

Valletta

Valletta

Valletta

Valletta

Balzan

Architectural Design3D Modelling

Ma In Cultural Heritage Management, Arts, Entertainment, And Media Management

Bachelor Of Architecture And Engineering, Architecture

Bachelor Of Architecture (B.Arch.)