Documentary Poetics and Museum Politics: Lecture by Jorge Ribalta

A lecture by Jorge Ribalta, Visiting Professor in Catalan Studies, in dialogue with Manuel Borja-Villel’s public programming.
About this Event

Documentary Poetics and Museum Politics

During a time of intense social mobilizations in Barcelona in 2001, Jorge Ribalta directed Public Programs at MACBA and curated Documentary Processes. Since then, his work as artist and curator has continued as research into the “documentary idea,” to use John Grierson’s expression.

Ribalta asks if the reevaluation of the “documentary idea” is necessary to resist a post-photographic condition in which photography becomes obsolete in the digital era. The “documentary idea” brought a promise of factuality and truth in visual culture and democratic struggles.

The talk will focus on Ribalta’s curatorial work over the last two decades, particularly his experience at MACBA and the historical exhibitions presented at the Museo Reina Sofia between 2011 and 2022.