The Virtual Photographic Portal is born, a who's who of the sector to guide professionals

In Gijón, the Muséu del Pueblu d'Asturies houses a photo library that houses more than two million 19th-century photographs of this region; Veintinueve Trece is the name of a photography and visual arts event held annually in Lanzarote; in the province of Almería, there are seven agencies (centers, associations, educational spaces) related to this discipline. This is the type of information that the newly launched Virtual Photographic Portal has been providing since early this morning. "A free and open access tool for professionals and amateurs," says Natalia Garcés, secretary of the Photography and Image Platform Association , which developed this project, over the phone.

Garcés clarifies that the portal is not a list of photographers, but rather showcases "those who work for photography in Spain, in its development, dissemination, preservation, research, or management, such as institutions, museums, foundations, galleries, publishers, festivals, schools, associations, collectives... and so on, creating a network of around 500 agents," which is expected to expand by the end of this year "with another two hundred more."

The portal is aimed at photographers, artists, curators, publishers, teachers, students, cultural centers, researchers, and the general public, the website states.

The tool features a map that shows the main photography centers in Spain; they are also grouped alphabetically (from A Colectiva, a Galician artists' association, to We Are Photo , a photography collective from Huelva). They can also be located using a search engine by center type and by autonomous community.

This initiative is contrary to what has been "common in Spain, where photography has been worked on in a fragmented way," notes Garcés. This alternative approach will allow for connections between different actors in the Spanish photography world, its promoters hope.

The result of two years of work, this website has also selected some eighty public and private archives (funds, collections, photo libraries, etc.) for online access. "We are a bridge to these archives," adds Garcés. For each archive, we offer practical information, a brief description of its contents; where applicable, a list of its authors, and a link to its website.

This can be seen from the archive of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, with its old photographs of field work, to the Cajal Legacy , with the self-portraits of a great photography enthusiast, the doctor and scientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal. And then to the Historical Railway Archive of the Spanish Railway Foundation, which houses photographs documenting "the organization, structure, and economic and business policy of railways" of Spanish railways. The archive directory is designed "to facilitate consultation by both the general public and those researching photography."

On the other hand, anyone who wants to join the portal's network of agents or report a file can do so by email ( [email protected] ). "There's a management team that will assess each case and provide access to a form to create your profile within the portal," adds Garcés, who is also a photographer.

The project was funded thanks to a grant from the Ministry of Culture to the Cultural and Creative Industries, the Soria City Council —the city where the future National Photography Center will be built—and the Photography and Image Platform Association.