One of Valletta’s most historic Baroque spaces is hosting a contemporary design showcase as part of designMT, with 13 exhibitors bringing together jewellery, sculpture, ceramics, perfumery, paper art and traditional Maltese craftsmanship.The exhibition forms part of designMT, Malta’s design expo celebrating work that brings together creativity, function and cultural identity across several venues in Valletta.This particular exhibition is being held inside the Chapel of Our Lady of the Pilar, a building originally constructed in the 1670s as a place of worship for the Aragonese Knights of the Order of St John.After suffering major damage during the 1693 earthquake, the chapel was rebuilt under Grand Master Ramon Perellos y Roccaful and today remains an important example of High Baroque architecture.Inside, contemporary work sits against this historic backdrop, with exhibitors exploring themes of Maltese identity, memory, heritage, sustainability and the reinterpretation of traditional crafts.James Dimech presents Echoes of Thought, a sculptural figure created from paper and repurposed book pages, while Zelda designs brings the Livya Collection, transforming crochet, metallic yarns and embellishments into contemporary wearable pieces.Nadège Renée Cassar and Alfie Gatt combine jewellery and fine art through Qawl Milbus, a collection inspired by Maltese proverbs, while the U.S. Embassy in Malta is exhibiting a large sterling silver cross adorned with semi-precious stones.Marcon Borg Caruana of Atelier Nineteen explores time and memory through jewellery made using vintage watch components in Celestial Mechanisms, while Jane Birchall draws inspiration from Gozo’s coastline and marine environment in her ceramic collection The Essence of Gozo.Visitors can also experience fragrance as part of the exhibition through Stephen Cordina’s Scents of Culture: Heritage & Evolution, which explores Maltese heritage through perfumes, reconstructed aromas and scented objects.Alison Agius presents Il-Maduma Nru 15 within the chapel’s sacristy, where the installation takes over the entire room. Built around restored antique Maltese tiles and portraiture, the work brings material heritage and human expression into dialogue while also addressing the gradual loss of Malta’s architectural identity. Through broken tiles, concrete blocks and the surrounding installation, the piece carries a veiled criticism of unsustainable construction practices and the way elements of the built environment can be lost through constant redevelopment.Maltese ganutell also gets a contemporary interpretation through Janine Cardona’s Coastal Maltese Flora – Rewoven, inspired by plants found along Malta’s coastline and incorporating materials linked to the sea.Meanwhile, Capt. Keith J. Caruana and Alda Bugeja revisit the traditional Maltese hunter’s bag through Il-Barżakka tal-Kaċċatur – The Revival, combining leatherwork and macramé to give the design a contemporary function.Marisa Zarb of Peprin® turns Maltese flowers and familiar local imagery into handcrafted jewellery through Ħlewwa, while American artist Thomas Woodruff presents The Sun, a rotating circular work playing with optical illusion, perception and changing faces.Across the exhibition, traditional materials and techniques are placed alongside contemporary approaches, showing how Maltese and international creatives continue to reinterpret craft, culture and design for a modern audience.The exhibition forms part of designMT’s wider programme of exhibitions and thematic events taking place around Valletta.For more information visit the expo’s website .Which piece would you most like to see in person?•