“Crossed Gazes” Exhibition, a collaboration between Red Cross Tarragona and the Higher Vocational Training Programme in Photography

On 5 March, the exhibition Crossed Gazes will open in Tarragona, a photographic project that brings together women from the Red Cross Women’s Department and photography students from the School of Art and Design in Tarragona. The initiative was conceived as a space for encounter and dialogue through portraiture, where looking and being looked at becomes an act of recognition and dignity.

Through photography, the project invites reflection on the life trajectories and experiences that form part of the participants’ lives, without defining or limiting them. Each image is an invitation to look with respect and to understand identity.

The photographic process has represented a turning point for many of the participants, especially at the moment of presenting themselves and receiving a positive response: “I had never felt so important in my whole life.”

Standing behind the camera also implies an exercise in personal recognition: who I have been and who I am. I am here.

This work is part of the weekly sessions that the Red Cross organises with the users of the Women’s Project, meetings that become a safe space to strengthen confidence, care and self-esteem. Over time, these sessions have also helped to build bonds and create a support network. “I’m very grateful to share this space with all of them; it inspires me to see everything they have overcome. We have a relationship where I feel safe,” explained one of the participants in the Calafell project.

The women entered the room feeling nervous and left feeling empowered. On Thursday, for the first time, they will see themselves printed in photographs: in large format and occupying an exhibition space. For some of them, it had been decades since they had last had a portrait taken. “The last time was at the photographer’s studio, to send a photo to my boyfriend when he was doing his military service,” one participant recalled.

Crossed Gazes is a joint initiative by Red Cross Tarragona, Red Cross Calafell, the School of Art and Design of Tarragona of the Provincial Council of Tarragona, and the Tarragona City Council, with the support and use of the Antic Ajuntament venue. The project brings together life experiences, generations, cultures and perspectives, creating a meeting space based on respect and mutual recognition.

The exhibition invites reflection on the realities hidden behind each face. The photographs look us in the eyes and ask not to be judged. Before anything else, we are people. And we are women.

Admission to the exhibition is free.

Opening: Thursday, 5 March, 6:00 p.m.
Antic Ajuntament de Tarragona (Carrer Major 41)
Exhibition open from 5 to 24 March