The European Foundation for Support of Culture (EUFSC) is a non-profit organisation established in Malta by entrepreneur and philanthropist Konstantin Ishkhanov, focused on initiating and promoting cultural and educational projects in Europe, the Eurasian continent, North and South America and Asia.
A key objective of the Foundation is to make our shared cultural heritage more accessible whilst encouraging and making available broad public access to the arts. In pursuance of this goal, the Foundation holds numerous festivals, competitions, exhibitions, conferences, presentations, masterclasses, workshops, round-tables, concerts and other events every year, seeking to foster and promote culture, to inspire interest in various types of modern art and to support young talented musicians and gifted children.
Another important role the Foundation plays is to highlight and promote Maltese composers, musicians, ensembles and orchestras. Through the Foundation’s continued affiliation with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) and its collaborations with contemporary composers, the EUFSC strives to reinforce Malta’s cultural presence on the world stage and to further secure its increasingly recognised status as a Mediterranean hub for creativity, diversity and cultural activity.
The Foundation regularly works with various foreign and domestic governmental and cultural institutions including the Embassy of Belgium, Embassy of Turkey, Embassy of Italy, Embassy of France, Embassy of Austria, German-Maltese Circle, Italian Cultural Institute, Russian Centre of Science and Culture, Chinese Cultural Centre, Ministry of Justice, Culture and Local Government of Malta, Malta Tourism Authority, Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, Mediterranean Conference Centre, Astra Theatre, the Catholic Institute, Barocco Foundation, Malta Philharmonic Orchestra Academy, Malta School of Music, Brigitte Gauci Borda School of Dance, Arts Council Malta, Programme for Promotion of Creative Development of Children and Young People, St. James Cavalier Concert Hall, Malta Film Commission and many others.
The Foundation’s impressive and growing portfolio of festivals, music competitions, concert series, world premieres, ballet productions, exhibitions and numerous other cultural events across the globe have earned it a trusted and respected reputation in Malta and abroad, demonstrated by the number of international organisations and prestigious artists with whom the Foundation works with on a regular basis. Amongst its most notable past events are the sponsorship of the 40th Jubilee Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2017 ceremony in London, the premiere of Alexey Shor’s Crystal Palace contemporary ballet organised by the EUFSC in collaboration with the Bolshoi Theatre, and the InClassica International Music Festival in 2018 featuring renowned international artists including Grigory Sokolov, Maxim Vengerov, Salvatore Accardo, Nikolai Lugansky and Ray Chen. The 2018 InClassica International Music Festival was officially endorsed by the V18 Foundation, the institution established to oversee Mata’s cultural ventures as part of the European Capital of Culture 2018 Award, and incorporated the final stage of the “11 Ways to Malta” International Piano Competition of the same year, bringing finalists from across the globe to Malta to compete in the final rounds.
More recently, in 2021, the Foundation celebrated the 10th anniversary of the InClassica International Music Festival by moving the festival to Dubai for the first time in its history, presenting the largest classical music festival ever organised in the Middle East in the process. Bringing together hundreds of musicians, pedagogues and artists, this landmark event also included the first classical music academy in the region’s history, as well as the Grand Finale of the two-year long ‘14 Ways to Dubai’ initiative, which saw dozens of young pianists from around the world competing in the 3rd edition of the Classic Piano International Competition.
The Foundation is a proud sponsor of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and in 2018 organised a European tour for the orchestra which was soon followed by the MPO’s first ever tour of the USA and Russia. Further collaborations have included amongst them a tour of Moscow in 2019, two tours of Dubai in 2021 and 2022, and a new European tour in the first half of 2022.
Highlights of the EUFSC’s recent projects include a historic performance in Dubai of Maxim Vengerov and Evgeny Kissin as part of the CC Forum in March 2021; the launch of the Symphonic Middle East International Music Festival in June 2021, whose success led to a second edition in February 2022; the 2022 InClassica International Music Festival, which was held alongside the 3rd edition of the “Classic Strings” Violin and Cello International Competition (May-June); the 2022 Malta International Music Festival (June-July); the 5th edition of the Chieti Classica International Music Festival (Italy, July-August 2022), and the inaugural edition of the Symphonic Yerevan International Music Festival (Armenia, August 2022).