Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546341
8 gozotoday | FRIDAY • 28 AUGUST 2026 CULTURE UNAPOLOGETIC: Photography queer lives and stories into THIS August, the faces and lived experiences of Gozo's di- verse LGBTI+ community and its allies take centre stage in UNAPOLOGETIC, a new out- door photography exhibition by photographer Ana Hastie, presented by LGBTI+ Gozo as part of the Gozo Pride 2026 – Pride Without Permission pro- gramme. Opening at Villa Rundle Gar- dens in Victoria on 28 August at 7:30pm, and remaining on display until 12 September, UNAPOLOGETIC brings a series of intimate black-and- white portraits into one of Gozo's most visible public spaces. The physical exhibition will be accompanied by an online edition of UNAPOLOGETIC, launching on the LGBTI+ Gozo website on 29 August. The dig- ital exhibition will allow the portraits and stories to reach audiences beyond Villa Rundle and Gozo, creating a lasting online space for the people and experiences represented in the project. At its heart, the exhibition asks a deceptively simple ques- tion: What does it mean to live unapologetically? The answer emerges through the people photographed and the stories accompanying them: to exist without apology, to love with- out fear, to be yourself without seeking approval, and to create space for others to do the same. Through Hastie's lens, the ex- hibition explores queer identi- ty not as an abstract concept, but through individual lives. The portraits reflect different experiences of belonging, vis- ibility, allyship, migration and community, while also recog- nising the particular realities of LGBTI+ life on a small island. For LGBTI+ Gozo, plac- ing these photographs in Vil- la Rundle is itself significant. Queer lives have often been pushed towards the margins or made visible only within des- ignated LGBTI+ spaces. UN- APOLOGETIC deliberately brings them into a shared pub- lic environment, allowing peo- ple to encounter the exhibition as part of the everyday life of Victoria. The exhibition also reflects some of the contradictions sur- rounding queer life on Gozo. While Malta has achieved sig- nificant advances in LGBTI+ equality, legal protection does not automatically translate into visibility, acceptance or a sense of belonging in every commu- nity. On a smaller island, where social networks are close and anonymity can be limited, be- ing openly oneself can still car- ry a different weight. At the same time, Gozo has become home to an increas- ingly diverse international community, including LGBTI+ people who have chosen the island precisely because they experience it as welcoming and safe. UNAPOLOGETIC brings some of these different per- spectives together alongside those of Maltese and Gozitan participants and allies. The presence of allies within the exhibition is equally impor- tant. LGBTI+ Gozo's work has long been supported by peo- ple who may not themselves identify as part of the LGBTI+ community but who choose to stand alongside it. Their in- clusion recognises that equali- Gozo's LGBTI+ community and allies take centre stage in Ana Hastie's UNAPOLOGETIC, a new outdoor photography exhibition exploring queer identity, visibility and belonging through intimate black-and-white portraits Unapologetic by Ana Hastie