Maltese culture in New York

Daniel Vella is an architect living in New York and the promoter of a museum known as La Cour des Boucliers located in the town of Piermont, New York. The museum, designed by Vella, is dedicated to the Crusades, the Order of St John and the history and culture of Malta. In this letter to The Times he is calling for the collaboration of other Malta based artists. From the Times:

The building is a work of art in progress. The facade has been created in the Norman-style architecture with details adapted from the houses at Mdina. The building is now being covered with cremo marble and travertine. Inside there are various halls with mosaic floors commemorating periods in Maltese history. The coffered ceilings consist of oil paintings of the coats-of-arms of the Maltese nobility and there are in addition 29 oil paintings of the emblems of the renaissance popes.

I am an architect and I have designed and financed the entire works and created all of the mosaics. These have been unveiled by prominent persons. Both President Emeritus Guido de Marco and President Emeritus Ugo Mifsud Bonnici have visited the museum. I have commissioned full-size portraits of the Grand Masters of the Order of St John. At present I have an excellent artist who has produced four paintings in four years for my collection meant to comprise over 70 portraits.

I am now seeking additional Maltese artists to speed up the results so that I can start to hold historical exhibitions. I will be in Malta until July 16 and I would like artists to personally contact me at the Grand Hotel, Mgarr, Gozo, where I am staying. I shall meet them so that I may commission the balance of the works accordingly.

The Great siege of Malta and the Knights of St John - Exhibition in Valletta