MCAST Senior Lecturer and photographer Therese Debono presented her project BLANK at the 14th edition of Ragusa Foto Festival, an international festival of contemporary photography held in the UNESCO-listed setting of Ragusa Ibla, Sicily.

Founded and directed by Stefania Paxhia, with Alessandra Mauro as artistic director, the 2026 festival explored the theme Archetipi Mediterranei (Mediterranean Archetypes).

BLANK was exhibited at Palazzo Cosentini as part of Dall’altra parte del Mediterraneo (On the Other Side of the Mediterranean), a curated section bringing together Debono’s work with projects by internationally recognised artists Mous Lamrabat, Zied Ben Romdhane and Evangelia Kranioti.

The project responds to Malta’s rapidly changing built environment by examining the exposed white party walls left behind when older buildings are demolished and replaced. Debono approaches these surfaces as witnesses to both memory and erasure, carrying traces of what has disappeared while anticipating what has yet to be built.

For the festival, BLANK was presented through four works and three visual registers: aerial, frontal and forensic. The aerial and forensic registers were exhibited publicly for the first time, expanding the project from the monumental encounter with the white wall to its wider presence across Malta and the intimate traces embedded within its surface.

During the opening programme, Debono was interviewed about the development of BLANK and its relationship to Malta’s urban transformation. She also participated in the public conversation Dall’altra parte del Mediterraneo, led by Alessandra Mauro with Sam Stourdzé, Director of the French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici, and artist Mous Lamrabat.

Debono’s participation highlights the international presence of Maltese photographic practice and the contribution of MCAST educators to contemporary artistic research and cultural dialogue.

The exhibitions at Ragusa Foto Festival remain open until 27 September 2026.