Palau Robert hosts the exhibition Anna Turbau. In her own voice , an exhibition that offers a deep journey into the personal and professional universe of one of the key figures of contemporary Catalan photojournalism. The exhibition proposal recovers the legacy of Anna Turbau, a pioneering photographer marked by social commitment, sensitivity and a radical closeness to the people portrayed.
Born in Barcelona in 1949 and deceased in 2025, Turbau is part of the group of photographers who, during the Spanish Transition, promoted a conscious and committed photojournalism of denunciation. Her work moves away from more conventional documentary to adopt a more militant language, focused on making visible social mobilizations, popular struggles and the fractures of a society in transformation.
From 1975, Turbau began to document the harsh reality of the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona, breaking the visual silence imposed during the Franco regime. That same year he traveled to Galicia, where he photographed the construction of houses in the gypsy village of O Vao (Pontevedra), in a project linked to the architect César Portela, with whom he would establish a relationship of friendship and artistic collaboration. He later settled in Santiago de Compostela and worked for publications such as Interviú and Primera Plana , while also documenting the social and political mobilizations of the end of the Franco regime and the first years of democracy.
His work stands out for its deeply ethical perspective: for Turbau, photography was not just about recording reality, but also about establishing a bond of trust with the people portrayed. His images dignify invisible groups and pay special attention to women, often absent from the official narrative of the time. Far from focusing on misery, his camera reveals the human capacity to resist and celebrate life even in adverse contexts.
Curated by documentary photographer Adra Pallón and by Maria Planas and Sílvia Omedes, the exhibition has been promoted by the Photographic Social Vision Foundation and the Palau Robert. The project also has the collaboration of the International Photography Center Fundació Toni Catany and the Consello da Cultura Galega.
The exhibition will be open to the public from June 15 to August 30 and has been conceived as an exercise in proximity and responsibility towards Turbau’s work. The selection process involved the review of more than 40,000 photographs -including previously unpublished material-, as well as interviews, statements and conversations with the author, with the aim of keeping her voice and her way of understanding photography alive.
