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Documentary photography from the Banco Sabadell Art Collection at the Sabadell Herrero exhibition hall in Oviedo

The Banco Sabadell Art Collection presents, for the first time, a selection of more than fifty works from its Documentary Photography Collection. The exhibition, entitled Local is Global, can be visited from 6 March to 17 May 2026 at the Sabadell Herrero exhibition hall in Oviedo.

The Banco Sabadell Art Collection started the Documentary Photography Collection in 2013. Its collection was initially made up of national and international works, mostly unpublished, presented at the DOCfield Festival, organised by the Photographic Social Vision Foundation. Subsequently, the collection was expanded with winning entries from the prestigious annual World Press Photo competition, as well as photographs from other sources.

Local is Global, an exhibition curated by Silvia Omedes, brings together a stimulating collection of testimonies of recent events, chosen for their sensitivity and marked social commitment. True to the objectives and values of the best photojournalism, the exhibition explores the common contexts and challenges of humanity on both a local and global scale: migration flows, the effects of climate change, economic and political crises, civil protests, bodies as regions of conflict and also of identity vindication.

In a world increasingly saturated with images, this collection highlights the rigour and responsibility with which creators carry out their work, as well as their talent and ability to reimagine visual narratives, which are so necessary to encourage the creation of emotional and intellectual links between the audience and the documented realities. The exhibition invites us to cross borders, to recognise ourselves in others and to inhabit their skin, to be unfiltered witnesses to the complex journey through which we travel as humanity, with the clear objective of stimulating our senses, enriching our understanding and strengthening our critical thinking.

  • Arlette Bashizi
    Supervivents (Survivors)
    Mekelle, Tigray Region, Ethiopia, 2023

    Shila, a 32-year-old mother of three. She was running a hairdressing salon when Eritrean soldiers invaded her town and raped her repeatedly for three months. She became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy. Her other children do not know that their mother was assaulted, and Shila is not sure if she will be able to tell them the truth someday.

    Part of the Survivors project on women affected by sexual violence during the war in Ethiopia.

     

  • Olmo Calvo
    Bolsas de la compra (Shopping bags)
    Torrelavega, Cantabria, Spain, 2013

    Part of the Fourth World project, which documents the consequences of the Spanish crisis that began in 2008: evictions, unemployment, police repression and welfare cutbacks.

  • Anton Kusters
    Soichiro, a member of Yakuza, shows off his traditional tattoo of a koi fish
    Kabukicho, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 2009

    Part of the Yakuza project on the day-to-day life of a Japanese organised crime family that controls a popular adult nightlife area in the heart of the Japanese capital.

  • Brais Lorenzo
    Terra queimada (Scorched earth)

    Several people observe how the forest fire that affected the town of O Barco de Valdeorras (Galicia, Spain) unfolded, devastating 10,500 hectares.

    Part of the Scorched Earth project, which documents how Galicia, along with neighbouring Portugal, has become one of the regions with the highest number of forest fires in Europe. It seeks to bear witness to, and raise awareness of, this problem, which is rooted in land abandonment, global warming and climate change.