Grotto Girl is an artist-led community outreach initiative and artist residency by Louisa Chircop, hosted at MUŻA. The project explores identity and belonging, inviting both the Maltese community and international participants into a meaningful dialogue about heritage, connection, and shared experiences.

Drawing from her upbringing in a post-WWII Maltese immigrant household in Sydney, Australia, the artist weaves together personal and community narratives. Just as people draw water from a well, Grotto Girl draws stories from the people, using MUŻA’s central courtyard well as a conceptual starting point. Identifying herself as the Grotto Girl, the artist transforms this space into a symbolic grotto, an evolving expression of collective voices, histories, and identities. Her personal journey serves as a catalyst for reconnection, inviting the Maltese community at MUŻA to explore their own sense of identity while joining her on a shared path of discovery.

As part of her residency, the artist leads hands-on workshops and interactive art-making sessions, where participants contribute to the creation of the grotto by exploring Maltese motifs connected with water as a point of personal reflection. Clay serves as the primary medium, allowing individuals to shape their stories and reflect on the forces that have shaped them. The project culminates in a celebratory exhibition that is both a showcase of these community-created artworks and an immersive artwork in itself. Echoing the spirit of Maltese festival culture, this Festa of Grotto Girl honours the power of collective storytelling, cultural heritage, and artistic expression. Through this culminating exhibition, the project fosters unity, empathy, and cross-cultural exchange.

In the end, the grotto becomes a living vessel, cradling echoes of the past and whispers of the present, a sanctuary where stories take root, shaping and reshaping themselves like water carving stone, each participant leaving an imprint that lingers in the rhythm of something timeless.