The Focused! season of talks is intended to raise awareness of the rise of women photographers, with all the difficulties they have faced and the heights they have achieved. The Agrupació Fotogràfica de Catalunya has played an important role in this evolution thanks to a range of initiatives, among them the creation of the Women’s Group in the 1950s and the subsequent international presence it established. Consequently, we propose a local but also a global vision of women photographers. 

In the opening session, we will gain an overview of research work concerning the presence of women in the Agrupació Fotogràfica de Catalunya, which began back in 2009 and will culminate in an exhibition and a publication in 2023, coinciding with the association’s centennial.

The AFC is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 1923 in the city of Barcelona to foster the art of photography. It was a pioneer in raising an appreciation of photography among women, fostering their training, the dissemination of their works in exhibitions and promoting them within the photographic association movement. A history of excellence and determination in an organisation that fought to combat inequality and which succeeded in presenting a modern and reforming gaze.

Victòria Bonet Carbonell – Holds an MA in the History of Art, awarded by the Universitat de Barcelona. Since 2007, she has been a member of the AFC specialising in researching its history. She is currently studying for a PhD at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

Begoña Fernández Díez – Photographer and member of the Agrupació Fotogràfica de Catalunya (AFC) since 2017. She is a member of the Archive and Heritage Group of the AFC, working on conservation and digitisation. She has curated a number of exhibitions, among them in Revela-t, Can Basté and the Centre Civic Casa Sagnier.