In Gijón, the Muséu del Pueblu d’Asturies houses a photo library that custodia more than two million photographs of the nineteenth century of this region; Twenty -nine thirteen is the name of a photography and visual arts meeting held every year in Lanzarote; In the province of Almería there are seven agents (centers, associations, educational spaces) related to this discipline. It is the type of information that the newborn virtual photographic portal provides since this morning. “A free and free access tool for professionals and amateurs,” says Natalia Garcés, secretary of the Platform and Image Platform Association, who has developed this project.
Garcés clarifies that the portal is not a list of photographers, but shows “those who work for photography in Spain, in their development, dissemination, preservation, research or management, such as institutions, museums, foundations, galleries, editorials, festivals, schools, associations, groups … thus even knitting a network with about 500 agents”, which plans to be expanded at the end of this year “with another two more”.
The portal is aimed at photographers, artists, commissioners, editorials, teachers, students, cultural centers, research staff or general public, is indicated on the web.
The tool has a map in which the main agents of photography in Spain are located; They are also grouped in alphabetical order (from collective, a Galician association of artists, to We Are Photo, a group of photographers of Huelva). Likewise, they can be located in a search engine according to the typology of the center and by autonomous communities.
This initiative is contrary to what has been “usual in Spain, where you have worked for photography disintegrated,” says Garcés. In this other way, connections between different actors in the Spanish photographic world can be established, their promoters trust.
Two -year fruit fruit, this website has also selected some eighty public and private archives (funds, collections, photo libraries …) to be able to consult them online. “We are an access bridge to those files,” adds Garcés. From each one offers practical information, a brief description of what it contains; In your case, list of your authors, and the link to your website.
This can be seen from the Archive of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, with their old photos of the work in the field, to the Cajal legacy, with the self -portraits of a great fans of photography such as the doctor and scientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal. Going through the Historical Railway Archive, of the foundation of the Spanish Railways, which houses photographs that document “the organization, structure and the economic and business policy of the Spanish trains” of the Spanish trains. The file directory is designed “to facilitate consultation with both the general public and those who investigate in photography.”
On the other hand, there is the possibility, for those who want to be part of the portal agents network or inform of any file, to communicate it by email ([email protected]). “There is a management team that will be in charge of assessing each case and that there is access to a form to create your file inside the portal,” adds Garcés, which is also a photographer.
The financing of the project has been possible thanks to an aid to the cultural and creative industries of the Ministry of Culture, the City Council of Soria – city where the future National Center for Photography is going to be lifted – and the Platform and Image Platform Association.