Museum of Photography of Bahia

The story of this beautiful state told in epic images

Santa Maria Fort houses history and ancestry in frames

If you are used to going to Porto da Barra just to enjoy that wonderful beach, there is still a lot to do on that beautiful edge. In a single place, it is possible to travel throughout the State of Bahia, and to every corner of Salvador. How? In breathtaking photographs, great professionals present Bahia through different perspectives, showing the cultural diversity of this wonderful land, all combined with projections, cinema-room, interactive map and virtual reality.

This is the Pierre Verger Space of Bahian Photography (Espaço Pierre Verger da Fotografia Baiana), a project dedicated to the appreciation, recognition and dissemination of Bahian photography, highlighting the work of the Franco-Bahian ethnologist and photographer Pierre Verger and of over 100 photographers who were born or took up residence, albeit temporarily, in Bahia.

The intense use of technological means and resources turned this museum into a pioneering space in Bahia. Thus, each theme is treated with different technological resources, some adopting a more classic approach, such as projections and interactive screens; others, using state-of-the-art technology, such as virtual presentations and complex interactivity, allowing the visitor to create their own exhibition, among the more than 5,000 photographs presented.

Permanent Exhibition

The permanent exhibition is divided into six main areas: Portraits (Showing the first photographs taken in Bahia, portraits of important personalities, even nowadays with the “selfies”), Urban Landscapes (photos of streets, neighborhoods and different points of the city, in old and current images), Afro-Brazilian Cults (photos divided into different access levels, according to the visitor’s knowledge, showing various ceremonial moments), Interior of Bahia (projection of edited images which are set to music, showing the various regions of the state) , Scenes from Everyday Life (dozens of sets of photos divided by words and themes: capoeira, carnival, street party), and Contemporary Photography (images by photographers that show a diverse and avant-garde extract of the local photographic scene).

Virtual Exhibitions

This is one of the great technological differentials of the place. Several exhibitions that took place or were created specifically for the project are visited through Virtual Reality Glasses. Exhibitions by Pierre Verger, Adenor Gondim and Hirosuke Kitamura were the first to be made available to the public.

The virtual exhibitions of the Pierre Verger Space of Bahian Photography are:

1. As Aventuras de Pierre Verger – The Adventures of Pierre Verger (Exhibition held at the Afro-Brasil Museum – SP)
2. Ruínas da Memória – Ruins of Memory – Adenor Gondim (Exhibition held in the Church of Santíssima Trindade and in a mansion in ruins in Comércio – SSA – BA)
3. Universo oculto – Hidden Universe – Hirosuke Kitamura [Oske] (Exhibition about “Ladeira da Montanha” and surroundings)
4. Ciganos (Calon na Bahia) – Gypsies [Calon in Bahia] – Márcio Lima (Exhibition on the ethnicity of the Calon gypsies, held in gypsy camps in the cities of São Felipe, Maragogipe and Gov. Mangabeira)
5. Vales da Chapada – Chapada Valleys – Ruy Rezende (Photographs of Chapada Diamantina, held in Vale do Pati, all in 360o videos – In the programming phase)
6. Além dos Muros – Beyond the Walls – Collective (Exhibition held at FUNDAC Simões Filho, where the inmates curated the photographs that most referred them to freedom – In the programming phase).

The curatorship of Pierre Verger Space of Bahian Photography is by Alex Baradel, technical director of the Pierre Verger Foundation, who shares research/curatorship credits with Célia Aguiar, photographer and photography teacher. The expographic project is signed by the architects Fritz Zehnle Jr and Rose Lima.

Service

Pierre Verger Space of Bahian Photography
Instagram: @espacopierreverger
Date: Wednesday to Monday, from 11 am to 6 pm. Admission until 5 pm.
Ticket: R$ 20 (normal rate) / R$ 10 (half).
Location: Santa Maria Fort, Porto da Barra, Salvador.
Important: admission is also valid for visiting the Carybé de Artes (São Diogo Fort).
Half price for students and people over 60 years old. Public school students’ entry is free of charge, on previously scheduled visits. Every Wednesday, visits are free for everyone.

We’ve prepared a perfect playlist for this experience. Listen now!