There is an urgency to the theme of this year’s Fotografia do Porto, Amanhã Hoje (Tomorrow Today). It wants us consider how we want the world to look in the future and to start making changes now. The environmental crisis and the role played by society are the burning issues in which photography is revealed as a force for change, not just a means to document it.
This is a small operation with a big heart and an ambitious raison d’être. There is nothing flashy or corporate in sight, and all 16 exhibitions in venues across the city are free. The co-director Virgílio Ferreira says most of the investment is spent in the invisible areas: paying honest fees and not wasting money on expensive framing. Instead, images are projected or displayed on screens to create engaging and ingenious exhibitions. There is also a refreshing lack of hierarchy – curators and artists, well-known and emerging, work in collaboration with local communities, scientists, and government bodies.
