Workers’ and Anarchist Graphics (1870-1979)

Workers’ and Anarchist Graphics (1870-1979) is an interdisciplinary research project promoted by La Virreina Centre de la Imatge which aims to make public and fully explore the richness of the visual and iconographic production of anarchism in the 20th century through a vast programme of activities.
 

Barcelona is one of the places around the world where anarchism has been a really important movement politically, socially and culturally. And if this city is today a referent in the history of the workers’ movement, this is largely due to the intensity of the social conflict, a fire stoked mainly by the anarchists from the last third of the 19th century to the end of the Spanish Civil War. Despite the many attempts over time to silence it, literature on the libertarian movement is very abundant both nationally and internationally. Its voices have never fallen silent.

However, the history of anarchism is a wounded history with its eyes blindfolded. Comprehensive and global research to recover the impressive graphic legacy of the libertarian movement has not been undertaken until now. The graphic history of anarchism is a pending subject, and the scant knowledge we have about its unrivalled editorial production—hundreds and hundreds of publications over decades—and its cartoonists, poster artists, cover designers, photographers and filmmakers is a flagrant example of the veiled image. Another example of the many areas of omission with which the official memory of the city has been built over time.

Observatori de la Vida Quotidiana (OVQ) – Roger Adam, Andrés Antebi, Albert Caballero, Teresa Ferré and Pablo González

www.ovq.cat

www.graficaanarquista.com