UNAPOLOGETIC
.....is a photographic exhibition by Ana Hastie, presented by LGBTI+ Gozo as part of Gozo Pride 2026 – Pride Without Permission. Through a series of intimate black-and-white portraits, the exhibition explores queer lives in Gozo and themes of visibility, belonging, identity and allyship.
At its heart is a simple question: what does it mean to live unapologetically? To exist without apology, to love without fear, to be yourself without seeking approval – and to create space for others to do the same.
The exhibition runs at Villa Rundle Gardens, Victoria, Gozo, from 28 August to 12 September 2026.
The Photographer
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
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Order Prints
Selected photographs from UNAPOLOGETIC are available to purchase as limited edition high-quality Fine Art Prints or Canvas Prints, offering an opportunity to take home a piece from the exhibition while supporting the community. Only 25 copies of each photograph will be printed.
A percentage of proceeds from every sale will be donated to LGBTI+ Gozo’s free counselling programme, helping to ensure that accessible mental health and wellbeing support remains available to those who need it.
Fine Art Prints on Hahnemühle Paper:
Hahnemühle Fine Art Print A4 — €42
Hahnemühle Fine Art Print A3 — €60
Canvas Prints:
Canvas Print 40 × 60 cm — €75
Canvas Print 60 × 90 cm — €110
Packaging and postage are charged separately and can be arranged according to the delivery location.
To order a print, contact photographer Ana Hastie directly at hastiephotography@gmail.com.
Some background
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.
Gozo Pride 2026 is sponsored by the Human Rights Directorate, the Ministry for Gozo, the
Ministry for Equality and Civil Rights, the British High Commission and Lord Chambray Beer.