Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1538943
7 gozotoday | FRIDAY • 29 AUGUST 2025 CULTURE Gozo Pride 2025 opens with Bejn l-Imhabba u l-Glieda – 'Between Love and Struggle' VICTORIA, Gozo – September 5, 2025 — As part of Gozo Pride 2025, LGBTI+ Gozo, in collabora- tion with the Embassy of Ireland in Malta, is proud to present Bejn l-Imħabba u l-Ġlieda – "Between Love and Struggle", an art exhibi- tion celebrating queer identities, resilience, and solidarity. The ex- hibition will be officially launched on September 5 at 7:00 PM, in the presence of H.E. Caroline Whelan, Ambassador of Ireland to Malta. The exhibition brings together the work of nine participants – queer artists and allies who are either from Gozo or closely con- nected to the island. Their art reflects both the struggles and the celebrations of the LGBTI+ community, offering an energetic visual dialogue on love, identity, and equality. The show also incorporates pieces created during 'Safe Spaces, Strong Voices: Art for Empower- ment', a series of workshops for survivors of trauma organised by LGBTI+ Gozo and funded by the Commission for Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence, and the Parliamentary Secretariat for Reforms and Equality through the 'Together We Empower' programme. Running alongside is Out in the World, a travelling exhibition cu- rated by EPIC: The Irish Emigra- tion Museum, in partnership with Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs, and presented in Gozo by the Embassy of Ireland in Malta. Across six themes – exclusion, community, love, defiance, soli- darity, and return – the exhibition highlights twelve moving stories from Ireland's LGBTI+ diaspora, and features work by award-win- ning Irish artist and designer Richard Malone. Ambassador Whelan remarked that, "In 2015, Ireland became the first country in the world to legalise marriage equality by pop- ular vote, and so the equal right to marriage for LGBTQ+ people is now enshrined in the Irish Con- stitution. This exhibition tells the stories of members of Ireland's LGBTQ+ diaspora and I am de- lighted to see it here in Gozo in tandem with the artworks exhi- bition with such pertinent central themes. I hope it inspires hope and courage to those who view it." "This year, Gozo Pride returns to the protest roots of Pride," said LGBTI+ Gozo. "The art reminds us that rights once won can still be taken away, and that solidarity across borders is essential. We are proud to highlight Gozitan voices alongside the global stories of Ire- land's queer diaspora." Art exhibition celebrates queer Gozitan voices and Ireland's LGBTI+ diaspora