The «most important photojournalism exhibition in the world» is back in the riverside area of Portimão, after a 12-year hiatus. The World Press Photo, which can be seen in the restored building of the old Auction Market, next to the old bridge, is on display until the 16th of August.
At the opening, João Neves dos Santos, from the Música XXI cultural association and curator of the exhibition in Portimão, recalled that, when the exhibition was on display in the city, between 1999 and 2011, «we became the second most visited World Press Photo exhibition in the Europe".
Now that, he added, «is not a coincidence, it is a work of the municipality, of its commitment, of the way in which this exhibition takes place here».
«We started in 1999, with the Portimão City Council financially supporting the exhibition», he recalled.
The first edition took place even «in the building where the Museum of Portimão now stands, before the works. I spoke with Professor Gameiro at the time, who I keep in my memory as one of the people who made the WPP happen in Portimão, always with great success».
But the return of the exhibition after twelve years of interregnum, is now due to Isabel Soares, head of the Museums Division of the Portimão Council, «who decided to contact us to find out if we were able to bring the exhibition back again».
The curator has not yet forgotten the role of Isilda Gomes, who, in 1999, was councilor for Culture and is now president of the Chamber.
The mayor, for her part, stressed the importance of disseminating, through images, «real stories, even the toughest and most difficult ones». These photographs, unlike the ones we quickly see on our mobile phones, «allow us to look beyond what the initial image is, to analyze».
The highlight of Isilda Gomes was the photograph chosen for the WPP publicity postcard in Portimão, which shows an Iranian girl, sitting on a chair in a busy square in Tehran, defying the mandatory law of hijab, a few days after the death of Masha, the 22-year-old girl who died after being attacked by the police precisely for not wearing hijab.
It is a photo by Iranian Ahmad Halabisaz, a freelancer, who won an honorable mention.
«If I had a choice, this was exactly the photo I would choose. Because it represents a cry for freedom, a cry for democracy, a cry for equal rights for women», underlined the mayor of Portimão.
This edition of the show is promoted by Associação Cultural Música XXI, which was also represented at the event by its president, Ana Cristina Oliveira.
The exhibition is on display at the old auction, every day, between 18 pm and midnight, until the 00th of August.
Pointing out that the old auction market is now a «must see place in Portimão», the mayor also praised the chosen time, because it is «when the people of Portimão and tourists stroll through our riverside area». For more because entry is free.
Photos de Elisabete Rodrigues | Sul Informação and Pedro Godinho, photography intern at Escola Profissional Gil Eanes
Comments