Cultural governance at national level is led by the Ministry for Arts, Culture and the National Heritage, which holds policy responsibility for cultural heritage, restoration, the arts, theatres, the Maltese language, the national archives, the national library, public broadcasting and the film industry. The Ministry’s Culture Directorate and Restoration Directorate provide policy direction and oversight, and budgetary allocations are made through the annual Financial Estimates. Other ministries contribute through specific measures: the Ministry for Education and Sport on arts education and cultural participation; the Ministry for Tourism on cultural tourism; the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs on cultural diplomacy; and the Office of the Prime Minister on the Broadcasting Authority. Local government, which sat within the culture portfolio until June 2026, is now under the Ministry for Local Government and Public Works..
Arts Council Malta (ACM) is the central arm’s-length agency, established under the Arts Council Malta Act (Cap. 542, 2015). ACM administers competitive funding (nineteen competitive schemes in 2026, delivered through approximately thirty individual calls) and operationalises national cultural policy through its current Strategy 2030, which succeeded the Strategy 2025 “Care, Create, Flourish” on its conclusion. ACM oversees a network of Public Cultural Organisations: Festivals Malta, Teatru Manoel, the Agency for the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (the formal entity name for the MPO, established by Legal Notice 254 of 2022 under the Public Administration Act), Spazju Kreattiv / Centre for Creativity Foundation, Pjazza Teatru Rjal, Valletta Cultural Agency, MICAS, the Mediterranean Conference Centre, and — under the umbrella of the National Agency for the Performing Arts (NAPA) established in 2023 — Teatru Malta, ŻfinMalta and KorMalta. NAPA provides a unified legal and administrative framework for the three performing-arts companies while retaining their distinct artistic identities through three Artistic Directors; the public launch took place in February 2025. Following the June 2026 general election, several additional entities were placed under the ministry: the National Book Council, transferred from the education portfolio; the Fondazzjoni għall-Malta Biennale, established as a separate legal entity distinct from Heritage Malta; Film Finance Malta Ltd, supporting the financing of audiovisual production; and the De Valette Chamber Orchestra.
Heritage governance is led by Heritage Malta, the agency responsible for national museums, archaeological sites and the conservation of state-owned cultural assets, and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, the regulatory authority on heritage protection (see 3.1). Malta Libraries and the National Archives, established under the Malta Libraries Act (Cap. 511, 2011) and the National Archives Act (Cap. 477, 2005) respectively, hold the national documentary and bibliographic heritage. In the audiovisual sector, the Malta Film Commission administers production incentives and supports the film-servicing industry under the Malta Film Commission Act (Cap. 478, 2005); since November 2024 it has fallen within the culture portfolio. PBS Ltd is the public-service broadcaster, regulated by the Broadcasting Authority constituted under the Broadcasting Act (Cap. 350, 1991). Following the June 2026 general election, the National Book Council was transferred from the Ministry for Education and Sport to MACH, consolidating books, publishing and literary policy within the culture portfolio for the first time.
The cultural rights framing of the National Cultural Policy (2021) has been translated into national-level practice through initiatives including ACM’s Right to Culture resource pack and dedicated funding strand, and the Charter for the Status of the Artist, drafted by ACM, launched for consultation in June 2024 and endorsed by all eleven Public Cultural Organisations at the State of the Arts 2024 Symposium in October 2024 (see 2.3). Public-engagement practices have also been institutionalised at agency level: the Valletta Cultural Agency operates the Valletta Design Cluster on a community-membership model; Teatru Manoel runs the TOI TOI Learning and Participation Programme; Festivals Malta integrates accessibility and public calls into its programming; Heritage Malta has expanded multi-sensory and outreach programming; and the National Book Council — transferred to the culture portfolio from the Ministry for Education and Sport following the June 2026 general election — maintains annual stakeholder consultations linked to funding and strategy.
The Ministry’s governance framework also includes a range of advisory bodies, boards and statutory committees: the National Council for Cultural Heritage, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Board, the Committee of Guarantee (all constituted under the Cultural Heritage Act), the Creativity Trust Board, the Band Clubs Management Board, the Carnival Board, the Board of Warrants for Conservators and Restorers, the European Film Awards Committee, the Festival Kanzunetta Maltija Consultative and Organising Committees, the National Festivities Committee, the National World Heritage Technical Committee, the Media Literacy Development Board and the Arts Council Malta Sectoral Representative Working Group (SRWG).
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