MIPP Today
The Malta Institute of Professional Photography (MIPP) is an NGO offering education, networking, professional assistance and physical resources to photographers in Malta. MIPP’s educational opportunities come in the form of courses, talks & workshops, whilst MIPP also offers the rental of a fully equipped photography studio as well as its equipment.
History of MIPP
The Malta Institute of Professional Photography (MIPP) officially came into being during a meeting held on the 2nd of October 1996. This first meeting, open to all those with an interest in Professional Photography, was held at the Grosvenor Hotel. It was the outcome of a group of individuals who had for a time been discussing ways to improve the standard, respect and recognition of Maltese Photography and Photographers.
The idea to form the MIPP was first discussed and agreed upon by Kevin Casha and Colin Pilling on the 16th of July 1996 at the Coach and Horses in Valley Road, Birkirkara. A subsequent meeting, on the 1st of August, saw Konrad Agius joining the first two. Further meetings were held with several interested persons contributing. These were namely Walter Barbara, Joe P. Borg, Martin Abela, Anthony Portelli, and Charles Calleja.
After these initial, informal meetings, arrangements were made to keep meeting at the Grosvenor Hotel in Attard. An interim Committee was established and the first official MIPP Minutes started being recorded on the 10th of September 1996.
This Interim Committee consisted of Kevin Casha, Konrad Agius, Colin Pilling, Anthony Portelli, and Charles Calleja. These preparatory interim meetings paved the way towards the first official MIPP General Meeting on the 29th of April 1997, again at the Grosvenor Hotel. There, the first official Committee was voted in and was made up of Kevin Casha, Hon. Chairman, Colin Pilling, Hon. PRO; Konrad Agius, Hon. Secretary, Charles Calleja, Hon. Treasurer, Anthony Portelli as a member and Joe Farrugia as a representative for the Student section.
That first day has now become history and from then on, during a relatively short space, the MIPP has grown from strength to strength. It has become an authoritative voice for the local professional photographic community as well as the official Government-recognized body where legislation and regulation of the local Photographic Industry are concerned. The original goal of the MIPP was to help organize and educate local photographers who were earning their main income from photography yet, subsequent evolvement saw the Institute grooming hobbyists, amateurs as well as professional photographers.
The Institute has been run with a view of upgrading and regulating the Industry, getting photographers to network with each other as well as teaching and formulating guidelines on various important issues that working photographers face. The MIPP has its own Code of Ethics as well as a yearly revisable Statute, voted in by its members at an Annual General Meeting. Currently, a President and four Committee Members run the Institute on democratic lines.
Many are the milestones achieved by the MIPP. One of the highlights of the MIPP’s brief, but important history was the organization of ‘Photofest 2000′ held at the Malta International Trade Fair in Naxxar. This was the first purely Photographic Fair that has ever been organized locally on such a scale. Here, the MIPP’s main goals were to generate further public awareness as well as increase business in local Photography. The huge interest shown by the visitors made this a memorable event. One must recall other important events such as the first photography Seminar put up by the MIPP, in March 1997, with the help of Attard & Company. This helped to bring local photographers together and strengthen the MIPP’s ranks. Another event held in 1998, the Photo Training Overseas, also enhanced the Institute’s international standing. This was made possible through the close ties the MIPP has always nurtured with UK Photographic Associations. This collaboration with some of the foremost British photographic organizations has proved so fruitful that local MIPP members have, for the past decade, been regularly invited to lecture and exhibit abroad.
Following this, an International Convention held in Rabat in 2001, was organized with no less than five top MPA officials coming over to help sharpen the skills of the MIPP members as well as to judge the first MIPP Qualifications. In 2003, the Institute hosted the Federation of European Photographers’ convention at Capua Palace and the Victoria Hotel in Sliema.
In 2010, the MIPP officially became a registered NGO and during its 10th Anniversary, in 2006, the MIPP marked this celebration through the publication of a book that highlighted the work of its members. In April 2014, the MIPP was awarded the status of an Institute for Further Education by Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA) and today runs highly popular accredited part-time Level 3 and 4 Awards in Photography as well as varied educational programmes with courses and workshops for all levels.
During its existence, the MIPP has regularly been sought out by various Government and private entities to regulate and organize national competitions, exhibitions and projects related to the photographic medium. This has helped the local photographic community to widen its horizons and streamline its operations.
The setting up of the MIPP’s own ‘Qualification’ system has further empowered members to submit a panel of their works towards gaining such Distinctions. These Qualifications are considered valid benchmarks denoting high photographic capabilities. Previous to the introduction of these MIPP Qualifications, Maltese photographers had to submit their work to foreign organizations, with the process entailing not only considerable expense but also very little feedback. Today, MIPP members can locally opt to apply for three different categories: The LMIPP, the AMIPP and the FMIPP. Applicants can now personally benefit from judging and feedback sessions that are held on the island. Furthermore, these Qualifications are held in high esteem.
The MIPP’s yearly International Seminars are much awaited by local Photographers and to date have brought to our islands many top-level international exponents of the art to lecture, demonstrate and collaborate with Maltese photographers.
A further vital milestone was reached when the MIPP acquired its premises in Paola. On the 23rd of June 2017, the contract was legally signed and the premises were officially inaugurated on the 26th of November of that same year when an open day for members and the public was successfully organized. MIPP is well prepared and positioned to continue advocating for the improvement of Maltese photography, and the advent of a new President in Dr Charles Paul Azzopardi since 2020, well versed in professional photography, how to internationalize it and how to function effectively in today’s photographic reality, has created new energy and enthusiasm, coupled with a young, dynamic executive committee with the participation of youths, strong women and experienced veterans.
As of the latest update to this section (April 2023), the committee is led by Frank Farrugia, assisted by a young, new team of committee members. Frank has been a full-time photographer for over a decade, with equal experience in photographic education, most of which gained in Syndey, Australia, where Frank worked primarily as a wedding and portrait photographer.
MIPP has continued to offer opportunities to network with other photographers, whilst adapting its offerings to better suit the photographic, rapidly changing world of 2023. Whilst MIPP still offers long-form courses and photo talks, more focus is being placed on short-form workshops and resources to help photographers in Malta at all levels. The latest additions to MIPP’s offerings are the renovation of the premises to include a new exhibition wall as well as a fully-equipped photographic studio, with both the studio, as well as its lighting equipment, available for rent.
In this comparatively short period, the MIPP has come a long way, continuously evolving in the process, yet its main objective remains the “Furtherance of the local Professional Photographic Industry in all its aspects.”
