This August, the faces and lived experiences of Gozo's diverse LGBTI+ community and its allies take centre stage in UNAPOLOGETIC, a new outdoor photography exhibition by photographer Ana Hastie, presented by LGBTI+ Gozo as part of the Gozo Pride 2026 - Pride Without Permission programme.
Opening at Villa Rundle Gardens in Victoria on 28 August at 19:30, 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 digital 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 question: 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 without fear, to be yourself without seeking approval, and to create space for others to do the same. Through Hastie's lens, the exhibition explores queer identity not as an abstract concept, but through individual lives. The portraits reflect different experiences of belonging, visibility, allyship, migration and community, while also recognising the particular realities of LGBTI+ life on a small island.
For LGBTI+ Gozo, placing these photographs in Villa Rundle is itself significant. Queer lives have often been pushed towards the margins or made visible only within designated LGBTI+ spaces. UNAPOLOGETIC deliberately brings them into a shared public environment, allowing people to encounter the exhibition as part of the everyday life of Victoria.
The exhibition also reflects some of the contradictions surrounding queer life on Gozo. While Malta has achieved significant advances in LGBTI+ equality, legal protection does not automatically translate into visibility, acceptance or a sense of belonging in every community. On a smaller island, where social networks are close and anonymity can be limited, being openly oneself can still carry a different weight.
At the same time, Gozo has become home to an increasingly 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 perspectives together alongside those of Maltese and Gozitan participants and allies.
The presence of allies within the exhibition is equally important. LGBTI+ Gozo's work has long been supported by people who may not themselves identify as part of the LGBTI+ community but who choose to stand alongside it. Their inclusion recognises that equality is not achieved by minority communities working alone, but through people willing to listen, participate and create space for others.
UNAPOLOGETIC forms part of this year's wider Gozo Pride theme, Pride Without Permission, a reminder that nobody should require permission to exist, to love or to be themselves.
The exhibition therefore moves beyond celebration alone. Pride remains an act of visibility, remembrance and protest, while also providing an opportunity to imagine a community in which difference does not need to be explained or justified.
Prints from the exhibition may also be made available for sale, with a percentage of proceeds supporting LGBTI+ Gozo's free counselling programme, helping the organisation continue to provide accessible support to members of the community.
The online edition of UNAPOLOGETIC will be launched today on the LGBTI+ Gozo website, coinciding with the opening of the physical exhibition at Villa Rundle. Photographs from the project will also feature in Ana Hastie's online portfolio, ensuring that the project and its stories continue beyond the exhibition dates.
Further information about Gozo Pride 2026 and the Pride Without Permission programme is available at:
lgbtigozo.com/gozo-pride
Gozo Pride 2026 is sponsored by the Human Rights Directorate, the Ministry for Gozo, and the Ministry for Equality and Civil Rights.
About LGBTI+ Gozo
LGBTI+ Gozo works to support, represent and create greater visibility for the LGBTI+ community in Gozo. Through advocacy, community activities, Pride, awareness initiatives and support services, including its free counselling programme, the organisation works towards a Gozo in which everyone can live openly, safely and authentically.
Ana Hastie is a Malta-based photographer drawn to people, identity and the stories found in everyday life. Her work moves between documentary storytelling and artistic expression, with a focus on authentic moments, human connection and the realities that often exist beneath the surface. Through her images, Ana seeks to create work that is emotionally engaging and gives space to people and stories that deserve to be seen. Her photography is driven by curiosity, empathy and a desire to explore the many faces of life around her.