15.07.2026
NARRATIVA Library | Overlapse
NARRATIVA thanks the Overlapse publishing house for the generous donation of publications to the NARRATIVA Library, made during Les Rencontres d’Arles 2026.
In the coming weeks, we will share more about the books that, starting today, will be available for free consultation:
* A Parallel Road, by Amani Willett
* Blue Strawberry, by Marinos Tsagkarakis
* Sound the Sirens, by Bryan Anselm
* Desire Lines, by Lara Shipley
* Lviv – God’s Will, by Viacheslav Poliakov
* Metropole, by Lewis Bush
With this new contribution, the NARRATIVA Library surpasses 520 works, increasingly establishing itself as a reference resource for students, teachers, photographers, and all who regularly visit our space.
13.07.2026
2nd Edition NARRATIVA AWARD - FUJIFILM
NARRATIVA and Fujifilm Portugal announce the second edition of the NARRATIVA AWARD – FUJIFILM, an award dedicated to contemporary photography in Portugal. This award aims to value photography, highlighting original projects by authors with established or developing careers residing in Portugal.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
The winner will receive a monetary prize of €3,500 and will have the opportunity to hold a solo exhibition at NARRATIVA in Lisbon, scheduled to open in January 2027. The jury may also award up to two honorable mentions, whose projects will be publicly presented at NARRATIVA.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Applications must be submitted from September 1st to 30th using the form available on the NARRATIVA website. Applicants must submit a biography, project title and synopsis, as well as 15 to 20 digital images, meeting the technical requirements indicated in the regulations.
JURY EVALUATION CRITERIA
The jury, composed of three jurors of recognized national and international merit, will evaluate the projects according to criteria of originality, concept, narrative coherence, and relevance of the theme. The announcement of the results will be made on November 2, 2026, on NARRATIVA's communication channels.
MORE INFORMATION
The complete regulations and all details about the registration process are available here. For further clarification, those interested may contact the organization by email at mail@anarrativa.com
08.07.2026
NARRATIVA PODCAST
S04#06 | Ditte Haarløv Johnsen | Maputo Dairy
In the sixth episode of the fourth season of the NARRATIVA Podcast, we welcomed Danish photographer and filmmaker Ditte Haarløv Johnsen for a conversation about Maputo Diary, a project built over more than two decades between personal memory and documentary photography.
Raised in Maputo during the years following Mozambique's independence and the first years of the civil war, Ditte returned to the city in 2000 and began work that became a visual diary of relationships, affections and belonging. Over more than twenty years, he photographed family, friends, lovers and different communities that were part of his life, including the "Manas", a trans and queer community in Maputo, building an archive deeply marked by closeness and trust.
In this episode, we talk about memory, identity and the passage of time, about the photographer's place between observation and participation, and about how photography can become a space for encounter, resistance and building lasting relationships.
Script and moderation by Bárbara Monteiro
Sound editing by Bárbara Monteiro
Jingle by Antonio Quintino
Design by Alex Paganelli
To listen here.
04.07.2026
The Space Between Silence | Guillermo Vidal
Thank you to everyone who attended the presentation of The Space Between Silence, the first book by photographer Guillermo Vidal, at NARRATIVA.
It's always great to see NARRATIVA full, especially when we reunite with friends who have been with us since day one and when we welcome those who participated in an event at our space for the first time.
This is the fourth book published this year under the NARRATIVA imprint and is already sold out, but naturally, it has a reserved place in our library.
01.07.2026
1st Edition NARRATIVA at School
We live surrounded by images. Knowing how to interpret them, question them, and create through them is an essential skill.
It was with this purpose that NARRATIVA at School – Visual Literacy Plan was born, a project that brought photography to the students of the Teixeira de Pascoais State School, using photography as a tool for learning, expression, and participation.
Throughout the school year, students explored visual language, discovered the narrative potential of photography, developed their observation skills, and learned to communicate ideas, emotions, and stories through images. In all sessions, the NARRATIVA Library was a constant reference, presenting various authors and projects that served as inspiration for observation, reflection, and the development of the work.
The journey culminates in the presentation of a photographic exhibition and the publication of a newspaper, distributed on the last day of class to all students and guardians. An initiative that reaches hundreds of elementary school children, giving visibility to the work developed and promoting photography as a language of expression, communication, and creation.
The goal is for NARRATIVA at School to establish itself as an annual program, consistently contributing to the development of visual literacy and enabling each child to learn to observe, interpret, and communicate through images.
NARRATIVA at School – Visual Literacy Plan is supported by INSTAX.
30.06.2026
Maputo Diary Exhibition | Expresso
The Maputo Diary exhibition by Ditte Haarløv Johnsen is featured in the weekly newspaper Expresso.
At NARRATIVA, Maputo Diary presents a testimony about intimacy, belonging, and resistance, built over more than two decades in Maputo.
The article, written by journalist Mara Tribuna, is the result of a conversation with the author.
Read it here.
20.06.2026
Talk with Ditte Haarløv Johnsen
Public session with Danish photographer Ditte Haarløv Johnsen about the Maputo Diary project.
A unique opportunity to discover this visual narrative, built over more than two decades.
19.06.2026
NARRATIVA reopens with the opening of the exhibition Maputo Diary, by Ditte Haarløv Johnsen.
Maputo Diary functions simultaneously as an affective archive and a testimony of the people, bonds, and experiences that marked the artist's trajectory in Maputo. Stories of friendship, loss, identity, and resilience intertwine in a body of work that reflects both a personal journey and a broader social reality.
Main support:
Fujifilmxpt
Support:
Moldura Minuto
Junta de Freguesia de Alvalade - Lisboa
17.06.2026
NARRATIVA 2026 Festival
Today we celebrated the Lisbon festivities again at our now-traditional NARRATIVA Festival, which reached its third edition and brought together dozens of people, including friends, photographers, and the public.
It was particularly gratifying to see not only those who regularly follow NARRATIVA, but also many people who joined our space for the first time, contributing to an atmosphere of conviviality, sharing, and celebration.
The result of the National Team's first game in the 2026 FIFA World Cup wasn't what we expected, but there are good reasons to maintain our enthusiasm: next Friday, at 7 pm, we will inaugurate the Maputo Diary exhibition, a moment that promises to mark this start of summer at NARRATIVA.
Thank you to everyone who was present.
08.06.2026
Cátia Valente | Masterclass NARRATIVA | Expresso
Cátia Valente's Por Cuidar project is featured in the weekly newspaper Expresso in an article showcasing four of the stories followed during the 7th edition of the NARRATIVA Masterclass.
Por Cuidar is a testament to closeness, time, and connection, where the extraordinary is revealed in the repetition of daily life – a shared philosophy in which devotion manifests itself in the act of caring.
In Portugal, despite the Informal Caregiver Statute, challenges persist regarding the visibility, support, and recognition of the burnout associated with caregiving. The project explores different contexts, revealing a common thread: continued presence, silent adaptation, and the inherent burnout of daily caregiving.
Read it here.
05.06.2026
Masterclass NARRATIVA 2026/2027
The 8th edition of the NARRATIVA MASTERCLASS is coming soon.
Since 2018, the NARRATIVA MASTERCLASS has revealed new names in Portuguese photography and followed the development of projects that have already won more than 20 national and international awards.
The NARRATIVA MASTERCLASS is a space dedicated to the development of photographic projects. Over five months, participants develop their projects in a context of continuous mentoring and critical reflection, deepening the research, editing, and narrative construction that transform an idea into a consistent photographic project.
Led by Mário Cruz, photographer and founder of NARRATIVA, two-time winner of the World Press Photo and recipient of the Portuguese Society of Authors Award, the Masterclass is aimed at anyone seeking to communicate through photographic narrative, regardless of their experience or professional field.
The NARRATIVA MASTERCLASS takes place between October and February and culminates in a collective exhibition of the works developed.
Registration opens on July 10th.
The 8th edition begins on October 17th.
Learn more here.
Support: Fujifilmxpt
02.06.2026
PODCAST NARRATIVA
S04#05 | Yael Martínez | Luciérnagas
In the fifth episode of the fourth season of the NARRATIVA podcast, we talk with Yael Martínez about Luciérnagas, a project born from the personal experience of loss to construct a visual reflection on violence, memory, and absence.
A Mexican photographer and member of Magnum Photos, Yael Martínez has developed work focused on communities affected by violence, forced disappearances, and the social fractures that mark his country. Distinguished with awards such as the World Press Photo, the W. Eugene Smith Grant, and the National Geographic Society's Wayfinder Award, the author constructs a language that crosses documentary photography and visual intervention, bringing together reality, symbolism, and lived experience.
In this episode, we discuss the representation of absence, the limits of documentary photography, the construction of a unique visual language, and how the image can become a gesture of resistance in the face of violence.
Script and moderation by Bárbara Monteiro
Sound editing by Bárbara Monteiro
Jingle by Antonio Quintino
Design by Alex Paganelli
Listen here.
01.06.2026
World Children's Day
To celebrate World Children's Day, NARRATIVA, in partnership with the Horizonte Neighborhood Association, developed a photographic expression workshop that challenged children to look attentively and creatively at one of the streets near them and one of Lisbon's most emblematic streets — Rua Morais Soares.
This initiative sought to create a space for observation, sharing, and creation through photography, bringing children closer to the territory they traverse daily.
The multiculturalism present in the group of children was also reflected in Rua Morais Soares itself — a street marked by different experiences, languages, cultural references, and ways of inhabiting the city.
At the same time, it continues to establish itself as an important hub of urban life, made up of local commerce and constant movement.
Throughout the workshop, the children constructed visual narratives from their own observations: the architecture, spontaneous portraits, the daily life of the street, the details of the commerce, and even the ever-present and famous pigeons of that Lisbon location became part of their photographic documentation.
The experiment concluded with the creation of visual compositions using the photographs taken, collage, drawing, and writing.
More than just taking photographs, this workshop sought to reinforce the importance of the image as a tool for expression, communication, and critical thinking.
This initiative was supported by Instax.
31.05.2026
Masterclass NARRATIVA | João Cruz | FNAC New Talents Award
João Cruz's project, Recanto, was awarded in the 2026 edition of the FNAC New Talents Award, reinforcing the continued recognition of the work developed within the context of the NARRATIVA Masterclass.
Recanto, by João Cruz, explores the life of the author's uncle through a work constructed between memory, archive, and contemporary observation. Using family photographs, drawings, and collages made over the years, the project establishes an intimate relationship with the universe of the portrayed character, simultaneously exploring the present and the emotional traces of the past.
In this edition, two projects developed in the NARRATIVA Masterclass were distinguished: THIS IS HEAVEN, by Bárbara Monteiro (see the publication below), and Recanto, by João Cruz.
31.05.2026
Masterclass NARRATIVA | Bárbara Monteiro | FNAC New Talents Award
The project THIS IS HEAVEN, by Bárbara Monteiro, was awarded in the 2026 edition of the FNAC New Talents Award, reinforcing the continued recognition of the work developed within the context of the NARRATIVA Masterclass.
THIS IS HEAVEN, by Bárbara Monteiro, presents work developed over three years that investigates the funerary universe as an integral dimension of daily life. Through the observation of different spaces, practices, and professionals linked to the area, the project addresses the continuous presence of death - often hidden and regulated by social, moral, and religious conventions.
Since 2022, projects developed in the NARRATIVA Masterclass have been consecutively distinguished in the FNAC New Talents Award, accumulating seven awards. Throughout its history, the Masterclass has also seen projects developed within its scope recognized more than twenty times in national and international awards and distinctions.
The NARRATIVA Masterclass is an annual program for the creation and development of photographic projects that takes place over five months with a select group of six participants. Conceived as an intensive space for mentoring, reflection, and narrative construction, the Masterclass proposes an approach to photography as a form of contemporary communication and expression.
27.05.2026
Exhibition Despojos de Guerra, by Leonel de Castro
After being shown at the Portuguese Photography Centre in Porto, the exhibition Despojos de Guerra now arrives at the Assembly of the Republic in Lisbon.
Despojos de Guerra, by Leonel de Castro, is an essay and also a memorial collection focusing on wounded veterans of the Colonial War (1961–1974).
The exhibition is the culmination of a long-term project that spans different territories, documenting the past and present of Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and Angola.
NARRATIVA has followed the work from its inception and is responsible for curating the exhibition.
25.05.2026
RTP spoke with photographers Ute and Werner Mahler about the exhibition Lisbon ’87/88, currently on display in Praça dos Restauradores, Lisbon.
In 1987 and 1988, Ute and Werner Mahler traveled to Lisbon when the city was beginning to feel the effects of Portugal's accession to the European Community and a political shift that heralded a new cycle of governance.
Their photographs and contact sheets were rediscovered in 2021, revealing a body of work that records, in black and white, a Lisbon in transition, seen from the curious and attentive perspective of two authors who, until then, had no connection with the territory they were documenting.
In Lisbon ’87/88, these images finally gain the visibility they deserve, inviting the public to revisit the Portuguese capital of the late 1980s and to reflect on its present, the vestiges of other times, and the transformations it has undergone.
Watch it here.
19.05.2026
Luciérnagas exhibition | RTP
RTP visited NARRATIVA and spoke with Magnum Photos photographer Yael Martínez about the Luciérnagas exhibition.
The exhibition has generated considerable interest and can be visited until June 6th.
Journalist: Catarina Cadavez
Image reporter: Nuno Tavares
Image editor: Pedro Pessoa
Watch it here.
15.05.2026
NARRATIVA at the Fujifilm X/GFX Tour 2026: Guarda
As part of the Fujifilm X/GFX Tour 2026 initiative, which aims to promote a day dedicated to photography in different district capitals of Portugal, NARRATIVA has participated through lectures, a traveling pop-up library, and portfolio reviews.
After Vila Real, Castelo Branco, Funchal, and Setúbal, Guarda is next.
Check the program here.
09.05.2026
Luciérnagas exhibition | SIC
SIC visited NARRATIVA and spoke with Magnum Photos photographer Yael Martínez about the Luciérnagas exhibition, which occupies the gallery until June 6th.
Luciérnagas began in 2013, following the disappearance of three of the author's family members, leading to an investigation into the violence of organized crime and its impact on daily life.
Following other affected families in countries such as Honduras, Brazil, and the United States, Martínez constructs a constellation of experiences marked by endemic violence.
Between 2019 and 2023, he intervened in the photographs with perforations and backlighting, creating beams of light that evoke reparation, resilience, and hope.
Journalist: Maria Gaspar
Image: Edgar Ascensão
Editing: Daniel Fernandes
Watch it here.
07.05.2026
Book Zero: Zero Zero in Expresso
José Fernandes' first book, recently launched in the 2026 CICLO NARRATIVA, is featured in the Expresso newspaper, in an article by journalist Eunice Lourenço.
Zero: Zero Zero (0:00) is an essay that portrays the last months of the author's mother's life, marked by a routine of isolation. During this period, the author observes his mother's repetitive gesture of filling out word searches, where fragments of memory and clues to her emotional state emerge. The work represents the suspension and end of time.
The book is out of print, but can be consulted in the NARRATIVA library.
Read it here.
05.05.2026
Lisbon ’87/88 Exhibition
Along with the opening of the exhibition, NARRATIVA and the Goethe-Institut hosted a conversation with the authors Ute and Werner Mahler, which significantly contributes to our collective memory. The session was moderated by Mário Cruz, director of NARRATIVA.
Lisbon ’87/88 runs until May 29th and is promoted by the Goethe-Institut Portugal, with curation, communication and production by NARRATIVA. The printing of the exhibition materials is ensured by the Lisbon Municipal Archive, with the support of the Lisbon City Council. The project has the support of the São Bartolomeu dos Alemães Association in Lisbon.
04.05.2026
Lisbon ’87/88 Exhibition
The Lisbon ’87/88 exhibition by Ute and Werner Mahler is currently on display at Praça dos Restauradores in Lisbon.
The result of a project initiated between 1987 and 1988, this exhibition brings together a collection of images never before seen in Portugal, captured by German photographers in a Lisbon undergoing profound transformation, coinciding with a period of change in Portuguese society and, consequently, in the city.
The Lisbon ’87/88 exhibition highlights the value of photography as a tool for historical and social observation, showing Lisbon at a time when identities, borders, and expectations were being redefined.
By being installed in the city's public space, Praça dos Restauradores, this project reinforces the mission of the Lisbon City Council, the Goethe-Institut Portugal, and NARRATIVA to bring photography to the center of Lisbon and to provide direct access to all forms of culture for its inhabitants and visitors.
Lisboa ’87/88 is on display until May 29th and is promoted by the Goethe-Institut Portugal, with curation, communication and production by NARRATIVA. The printing of the exhibition materials is ensured by the Lisbon Municipal Archive, with the support of the Lisbon City Council. The project has the support of the São Bartolomeu dos Alemães Association in Lisbon.
03.05.2026
2026 CICLO NARRATIVA | DAY 3
The third day of the 2026 CICLO NARRATIVA provided a morning of direct contact with authors: a Walk&Shoot with Arlindo Camacho and a masterclass with Yael Martínez.
The afternoon presented the works of the photographers selected in the Emerging Artists Open Call 2026 and revealed two new books under the NARRATIVA imprint: Delta, by Rodrigo Vargas, and Quanto Pesa um Segundo? (How Much Does a Second Weigh?), by António Saldanha.
Thank you to everyone who joined us during these days at NARRATIVA, and a special thank you to all the authors who were part of the program of this festival, which celebrates our anniversary.
02.05.2026
2026 CICLO NARRATIVA | DAY 2
The second day of the 2026 CICLO NARRATIVA brought a morning filled with portfolio reviews and an afternoon full of photographic sharing, marked by the presentation of José Fernandes' first book, a conversation about the Encontros da Imagem festival with Noora Manty and Carla Bacelar Ferreira, and the highly anticipated conference with this edition's guest author, Magnum Photos photographer Yael Martínez.
Throughout the day, NARRATIVA also hosted the Térmita pop-up bookstore, with over 100 works available for purchase, and the Fujifilm Touch & Try showcase, featuring all the equipment from the X and GFX series.
01.05.2026
2026 CICLO NARRATIVA | DAY 1
For the opening of the 2026 CICLO NARRATIVA there was a full house for the Luciérnagas exhibition opening, by Mexican and Magnum photographer Yael Martínez.
22.04.2026
NARRATIVA reopens on May 1st for another edition of CICLO NARRATIVA. We look forward to seeing you there!
More information here.
FULL PROGRAM
May 1st
7 PM Opening of the exhibition "Lucérnagas" by Yael Martínez
May 2nd
10 AM - 7 PM Cupim Pop-Up Bookstore
10 AM - 1 PM Portfolio Review XYZ Books/ Fotografika Publishing / NARRATIVA / Yael Martinez
3 PM - Book Launch: Zero: Zero, Zero, José Fernandes
4:30 PM - Conversation: Encounters of the Image with Carla Bacelar Ferreira and Noora Manty
6 PM - Talk: Yael Martínez
9 PM - Screening of the documentary "A Photographic Memory" by Rachel Elizabeth Seed
May 3rd
10 AM - 1 PM Masterclass: Yael Martínez
10 AM - 1 PM Walk & Shoot: Arlindo Camacho
3 PM - Book Launch: How Much Does a Second Weigh? by Antonio Saldanha
4:30 PM - Open Call Presentations Emerging 2026
6:30 PM - Book launch: Delta, by Rodrigo Vargas
May 4th
6 PM - Opening of the street exhibition Lisbon 87/88, by Ute and Werner Mahler, at Praça dos Restauradores
For four days, NARRATIVA once again brings together photographers, authors, publishers, and the public around contemporary photography.
Admission is free, as always.
21.04.2026
CICLO NARRATIVA 2026 is featured in Time Out Lisbon, in an article by journalist Rute Barbedo, and we couldn't be more excited about what's to come.
The festival begins on May 1st at 7pm with the opening of the exhibition Luciérnagas, by photographer Yael Martínez, a member of Magnum Photos.
On May 2nd and 3rd, the program continues with portfolio reviews, book presentations, talks, and screenings, bringing together different observations and practices of contemporary photography.
The closing event takes place on May 4th with an outdoor exhibition in Praça dos Restauradores, revealing previously unseen images of Lisbon in the late 1980s.
The festival is sponsored by Fujifilm, and also by Moldura Minuto and the Alvalade Parish Council.
Mark the dates May 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th on your calendar!
17.04.2026
Cabra Cega | Catarina Cesário Jesus | NARRATIVA Masterclass
Cabra Cega observes the experience of drifting aimlessly in an unstable and imprecise present. It stems from a prolonged state of doubt, in which fragility, weariness, and uncertainty have become recurring conditions. It questions how one inhabits a world without clear directions, where movement persists without a promise of arrival. A gaze marked by suspension, repetition, and silent resistance.
Catarina Cesário Jesus is one of the authors selected for the 7th edition of the NARRATIVA Masterclass.
The group exhibition ends next Saturday, April 18th, and reveals the six projects developed in the NARRATIVA Masterclass 2025/2026.
16.04.2026
Exhibition Lisbon ‘87/88, by Ute and Werner Mahler
NARRATIVA is pleased to announce the exhibition that will occupy Praça dos Restauradores from May 4th, and that concludes the CICLO NARRATIVA 2026.
Lisbon ‘87/88 is the result of a project initiated between 1987 and 1988. This exhibition brings together a collection of images never before seen in Portugal, captured by German photographers Ute and Werner Mahler in a Lisbon undergoing a profound transformation, coinciding with a moment of change in Portuguese society and, consequently, in the city.
At that time, Lisbon was beginning to feel the effects of Portugal's accession to the European Community and a political shift signaling a new cycle of governance. The planned book was never published. Two years after the trip, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of East Germany interrupted the project, and the photographic material remained forgotten in boxes for decades. The photographs and contact sheets were rediscovered in 2021, revealing a body of work that records, in black and white, a Lisbon in transition, seen from the curious and attentive perspective of two authors who, until then, had no connection with the territory they were documenting.
In Lisbon ’87/88, these images finally gain the visibility they deserve, inviting the public to revisit the Portuguese capital of the late 1980s and to reflect on its present, the vestiges of other times, and the transformations it has undergone.
The exhibition opens on May 4th at 6pm and is promoted by the Goethe-Institut Portugal, with curation, communication, and production by NARRATIVA. Printing of the exhibition materials is ensured by the Lisbon Municipal Archive, with the support of the Lisbon City Council. The project has the support of the São Bartolomeu dos Alemães Association in Lisbon.
CICLO NARRATIVA 2026 takes place between May 1st and 4th.
Mark your calendar!
16.04.2026
Presentation of the book 88, by Vasco Trancoso
88 reveals Vasco Trancoso's keen observation and continues the work of book 99, published in 2020, thus forming a duology dedicated to national street photography.
NARRATIVA thanks everyone who joined us for the presentation of this book, as well as photographer Vasco Trancoso for his availability and for the donations of his works and those of other authors that he made to our library.
14.04.2026
Por Cuidar | Cátia Valente | NARRATIVA Masterclass
Por Cuidar is a testament to closeness, time, and connection, where the extraordinary is revealed in the repetition of daily life – a shared philosophy in which devotion manifests itself in the act of caring.
In Portugal, despite the Informal Caregiver Statute, challenges persist regarding the visibility, support, and recognition of the burnout associated with caregiving. The project explores different contexts, revealing a common thread: continued presence, silent adaptation, and the inherent burnout of daily caregiving.
Cátia Valente is one of the authors selected for the 7th edition of the NARRATIVE Masterclass.
The collective exhibition ends next Saturday, April 18th, and reveals the six projects developed in the NARRATIVA Masterclass 2025/2026.
12.04.2026
Fujifilm Workshop: Introduction to Visual Narrative with Mário Cruz
NARRATIVA and Fujifilm Portugal develop a workshop dedicated to the construction of visual narratives, aimed at those with basic photography knowledge and former participants of the introductory workshop who wish to acquire new knowledge in the area of photographic project development.
The workshop was taught by X-Photographer and director of NARRATIVA, Mário Cruz, and was based on his personal projects.
Thank you all for your interest in this workshop, we will announce a new edition soon.
11.04.2026
Conversation with the authors of the NARRATIVA Masterclass 2025/2026
Thank you to everyone who gathered at NARRATIVA for the conversation that allowed us to learn about the creative process behind each project in the 7th edition of the NARRATIVA Masterclass.
The group exhibition is on display until next Saturday, April 18th, and features the works of Catarina Cesário Jesus, Cátia Valente, Denis Graeff, Fernando Pimenta, João Pedro Almeida, and Raquel Antunes.
04.04.2026
Fissura (Fissure) | Denis Graeff | NARRATIVA Masterclass
Fissura sees Lisbon as a national synthesis of a society under tension. Between urban and social pressures, the project captures a moment of instability and a future horizon that challenges established values, inviting analysis of the collective present.
Denis Graeff is one of the authors selected for the 7th edition of the Narrative Masterclass.
Next Saturday, April 11th, at 3 pm, there will be a conversation with all the authors selected for the 2025/2026 NARRATIVA Masterclass.
The conversation, open to the public, will allow participants to learn about the authorial process in each project and how this edition of the NARRATIVA Masterclass came about.
04.04.2026
NARRATIVA Podcast
S04#04 | NARRATIVA Masterclass 2025/2026 — Part II
In the fourth episode of the fourth season of the NARRATIVA podcast, we begin a series of conversations with the authors of the NARRATIVA Masterclass 2025/2026. In this second installment, we bring together Denis Graeff, Cátia Valente, and Catarina Cesário Jesus, completing the group of six authors who present their work in this edition's collective exhibition.
Using distinct approaches, the projects intersect social, urban, and intimate themes, exploring different ways of constructing visual narratives. In Fissura, Denis Graeff observes Lisbon as a territory in tension, revealing fragments of an unstable present. Cátia Valente, in Por Cuidar, addresses the reality of informal caregivers through portraiture, bringing to light issues of intimacy, devotion, and burnout. Catarina Cesário Jesus, in Cabra Cega, proposes a visual journey marked by doubt, drifting, and a sense of disorientation.
Led by photographer Mário Cruz, the NARRATIVA Masterclass establishes itself as a space for creation, reflection, and development of photographic projects grounded in visual narrative, bringing together authors with diverse backgrounds in a continuous, five-month mentoring process.
Listen here.
01.04.2026
Winners of the Emerging Artists Open Call 2026
NARRATIVA received 67 applications for the Emerging Artists Open Call 2026.
Continuing the trend of previous editions, this Open Call once again revealed a remarkable quality in the work presented by emerging photographers from different geographical contexts.
Exceptionally, NARRATIVA decided to award four authors, instead of the usual three, given the overall quality of the submitted proposals.
Winners:
Adriana Morais
André Cabrera
CI Demi
Christopher Berwing
The presentation of the projects is scheduled for May 3rd, at 4:30 pm, at NARRATIVA.
Learn more here.
31.03.2026
NARRATIVA Podcast
S04#03 | NARRATIVA Masterclass 2025/2026 — Part I
In the third episode of the fourth season of the NARRATIVA podcast, we begin a series of conversations with the authors of the NARRATIVA Masterclass 2025/2026. In this first episode, we bring together Fernando Pimenta, Raquel Antunes, and João Pedro Almeida, three of the six authors who present their work in this edition's group exhibition.
Based on personal, territorial, and social experiences, the projects developed explore themes such as grief, memory, the body, and the relationship with territory.
In Dez razões pelas quais estamos aqui, Fernando Pimenta revisits the family archive to construct a narrative about absence and memory. Raquel Antunes, in Matriz, proposes a reflection on the cycles of the female body, crossing biology and nature. And, João Pedro Almeida, in Chão que não se pisa, não dá fruto, documents the Pinhal Interior, revealing a territory marked by abandonment and transformation.
Led by photographer Mário Cruz, the NARRATIVA Masterclass establishes itself as a space for creation, reflection, and development of photographic projects based on visual narrative, bringing together authors with different backgrounds in a continuous process of mentoring over five months.
Listen here.
28.03.2026
NARRATIVA at the Fujifilm X/GFX Tour 2026: Funchal
As part of the Fujifilm X/GFX Tour 2026 initiative, which aims to promote a day dedicated to photography in different district capitals of Portugal, NARRATIVA is participating through lectures, a pop-up library, and portfolio reviews.
25.03.2026
Dez razões pelas quais estamos aqui (Ten Reasons Why We Are Here) | Fernando Pimenta | NARRATIVA Masterclass
Dez razões pelas quais estamos aqui is an intimate reflection on the death of the author's father, which occurred when he was six years old — an abrupt event with a profound legacy. The work wanders through absence, memory, family, and grief, exploring how this loss shaped these perceptions.
Fernando Pimenta is one of the authors selected for the 7th edition of the NARRATIVA Masterclass.
The project resulted in a book, currently available for consultation in the group exhibition on display at the NARRATIVA gallery until April 18th.
21.03.2026
Fujifilm Masterclass: Portraiture with photographer Frederico Martins.
This masterclass is aimed at photographers, photography students, and anyone interested in deepening their understanding of portraiture as an authorial language and conceptual process.
Throughout the session, Frederico Martins shares his work process, drawing from his career and the different projects he has developed, providing participants with an in-depth view of his creative, authorial, and technical trajectory.
Topics such as concept, planning, lighting, relationship with the subject, narrative construction, and authorship are covered.
Frederico Martins publishes his work in magazines such as Vogue, GQ, and Vanity Fair.
18.03.2026
Chão que não se pisa, não dá fruto (Ground that is not trodden bears no fruit) | João Pedro Almeida | NARRATIVA Masterclass
Chão que não se pisa, não dá fruto, by João Pedro Almeida, observes Pinhal Interior as a territory marked by abandonment and the cycle of raw material exploitation, harvested in winter and devastated in summer. It documents the period of the year outside the news spotlight, showing the relationship between people, places, and nature in continuous desertification.
João Pedro Almeida is one of the authors selected for the 7th edition of the NARRATIVA Masterclass.
The group exhibition is on display at the NARRATIVA gallery until April 18th.
15.03.2026
CICLO 2026 | YAEL MARTÍNEZ | MAGNUM PHOTOS
Yael Martínez, a Mexican photographer from Magnum Photos, is the guest author of the 2026 CICLO NARRATIVA, which this year takes place from May 1st to 4th at NARRATIVA, in Lisbon.
The 2026 CICLO NARRATIVA opens with the exhibition Luciérnagas, an attempt to exorcise unresolved traumas in the spectral landscape of the photographer's homeland, Guerrero, Mexico.
The work began in 2013, after three members of the artist's family disappeared. This tragedy triggered an investigation into the widespread violence of organized crime in the region, how it infiltrates daily life and transforms the spirit of a place. Later, Martínez followed other families whose relatives disappeared. Through these encounters, connections are established that transcend the artist's immediate family and extend beyond borders, to Honduras, Brazil, and the United States, forming a constellation marked by the shared experience of endemic violence.
Between 2019 and 2023, Martínez began a series of interventions in his photographs, piercing the evidence and backlighting it. Beams of light traverse the images in fluid patterns, projecting clarity onto a dark background. In this process, the light transforms with the scenes depicted and evokes a kind of alchemy where something restorative, cautiously optimistic, and resilient takes shape.
The exhibition is based on the book of the same name, bringing these stories to the exhibition space, where light once again confronts darkness.
We will soon announce the complete program for the 2026 CICLO NARRATIVA.
12.03.2026
Matriz | Raquel Antunes | NARRATIVA Masterclass
Raquel Antunes's Matriz presents an essay on the biological and symbolic complexity of women.
By drawing parallels between the cycles of nature and the transformations of women's lives, the work uses the body's matrix as a support for a reflection on menopause, where the red intervention delimits the territory between the body and the natural element.
Raquel Antunes is one of the authors selected for the 7th edition of the NARRATIVA Masterclass.
The collective exhibition is on display at the NARRATIVA gallery until April 18th.
07.03.2026
Masterclass Exhibition NARRATIVA 25/26
NARRATIVA was packed for the opening of the exhibition that, every year, significantly marks our programming.
The NARRATIVA Masterclass concludes its 7th edition with a collective exhibition that represents authorial diversity and presents new names in Portuguese photography.
Catarina Cesário Jesus, Cátia Valente, Denis Graeff, Fernando Pimenta, João Pedro Almeida, and Raquel Antunes present projects that explore themes such as territory, mourning, memory, isolation, devotion, and transformation.
We want to thank the more than two hundred people who joined NARRATIVA for another edition of the Masterclass, which is at the genesis of our space.
The exhibition can be visited until April 18th.
06.03.2026
Guillermo Vidal | FUTURES 2026
Photographer and NARRATIVA member Guillermo Vidal has been selected for the FUTURES 2026 platform with his project INVISIBLE LINE, developed during the NARRATIVA Masterclass.
INVISIBLE LINE is a documentary project developed under the Santa Apolónia bridge in Lisbon, where approximately fifty people live in a space designed solely as a passageway. Started in 2020, the project remains ongoing.
The FUTURES Photography Platform is an European network dedicated to the discovery, promotion, and development of emerging photographers in contemporary photography.
03.03.2026
I Am Martin Parr arrives in Portuguese cinemas on March 26th. NARRATIVA is a partner in this event.
An intimate, irreverent, and profoundly human portrait of one of the most influential and controversial photographers of our time.
Since the 1970s, the English photographer Martin Parr has reflected — sometimes tenderly, sometimes critically, always ironically — on our time, forcing us to confront how consumer society has shaped our lives.
When he turned 70, Martin opened the doors of his daily life to director Lee Shulman for a documentary that reveals the essence of his numerous projects and concerns.
To see at Cinema City.
01.03.2026
PODCAST NARRATIVA
S04#02 Teresa Freitas | Flower(s)
In the second episode of the fourth season of the NARRATIVA podcast, we talk with Teresa Freitas about Flower(s) – Vol. 1 — I wonder whose skin this crimson flower will touch, the first book in a long-running collection dedicated to the relationship between flower, territory, and body.
In this volume, the aauthor uses safflower in Yamagata, Japan, as a starting point to construct a visual narrative about memory, tradition, and care.
We discuss the poetic and political dimension of the flower, about color and matter, and about a project that unfolds as a continuous journey.
21.02.2026
NARRATIVA at the Fujifilm X/GFX Tour
As part of the Fujifilm X/GFX Tour 2026 initiative, which aims to promote a day dedicated to photography in different district capitals of Portugal, NARRATIVA participated through lectures, a pop-up library, and portfolio reviews.
The event took place at the Castelo Branco Municipal Library.
20.02.2026
Campo de Ourique Senior University
NARRATIVA received a visit from students of the Campo de Ourique Senior University.
During the morning, the participants consulted different works in the library and visited the gallery, where the exhibition PicNic, by Nuno Andrade, is on display, showcasing the winning work of the 1st edition of the NARRATIVA – FUJIFILM Prize.
As a space dedicated to photography, NARRATIVA values and promotes this practice as a form of communication and expression, creating opportunities for encounters between authors, works, and audiences.
21.02.2026
Conversation with Katya Bogachevskaya
Katya Bogachevskaya, distinguished author of the 1st edition of the NARRATIVA – FUJIFILM Award, presents her award-winning project in a session open to the public.
In Pele do Mundo, Katya Bogachevskaya constructs a sensitive visual narrative where humanity and the planet are inextricably intertwined.
The jury highlighted her ability to fuse the familiar microcosm with the natural macrocosm, establishing subtle parallels between bodies, territories, and global processes.
15.02.2026
Fujifilm Workshop: Street Photography with Rodrigo Vargas
The Fujifilm Workshop: Street Photography is aimed at those seeking direct contact with photography in an urban context through the guidance of photographer Rodrigo Vargas, winner of the 2025 Photography and Territory Award and distinguished author in the FNAC New Talents Award.
09.02.2026
Delta Exhibition | Rodrigo Vargas
Delta exhibition, by photographer and NARRATIVA member Rodrigo Vargas, is on display at the Center for Photography Studies in Tomar (CEFT) – Casa dos Cubos.
Awarded the Photography & Territory Prize 2025, Delta presents the author's observation of the Ribatejo region as a territory traversed by feelings of belonging and distance, where cultural heritages and contemporary impulses continuously confront each other.
The exhibition is free and can be visited until February 22nd.
07.02.2026
Masterclass NARRATIVA 2025/2026
The 7th edition of the Masterclass NARRATIVA has ended.
The working group met weekly from October 2025 to February 2026, developing six distinct projects in various regions of the country.
Since 2018, the Masterclass NARRATIVA, led by photographer and director of NARRATIVA, Mário Cruz, has provided a space for the creation of photographic projects that explore contemporary themes with the time and reflection they deserve.
The Masterclass NARRATIVA 2025/2026 culminates in a collective exhibition opening to the public on March 7th, showcasing the works of Catarina Cesário Jesus, Cátia Valente, Denis Graeff, Fernando Pimenta, João Pedro Almeida, and Raquel Antunes.
05.02.2026
Expresso | PicNic Exhibition
PicNic exhibition by Nuno Andrade is featured in the weekly newspaper Expresso, in an article by journalist Celso Martins.
PicNic, by Nuno Andrade, transforms a peripheral and seemingly marginal territory into a space of revelation and belonging. At Ponta dos Corvos, in the municipality of Seixal, between the estuary and the city, the author finds a symbolic point of confluence where gestures of freedom, coexistence, and collective celebration are reflected.
The work won the 1st edition of the NARRATIVA - FUJIFILM Award, a new distinction dedicated to contemporary photography, which aims to value original projects by authors in their initial or established phases.
The exhibition is free and can be visited from Wednesday to Friday, from 2 pm to 7 pm, and on Saturdays from 2 pm to 5 pm.
Read here.
05.02.2026
OPEN CALL FOR EMERGING ARTISTS 2026
In the 5th edition of CICLO NARRATIVA, we want to present new emerging authors and contribute to the visibility of their photographic projects. On May 3rd, three authors will have the opportunity to present their work within the framework of CICLO NARRATIVA - Photography Festival in Lisbon.
This Open Call is free and accepts entries on a wide variety of themes, prioritizing well-structured projects.
Applications:
Submission of a photographic project with up to 15 photographs;
Project synopsis;
Biographical note of the author.
Calendar:
Submission of applications: February 23rd - March 23rd
Announcement of winners: April 1st
Presentation: May 3rd at NARRATIVA
More information here.
29.01.2026
Presentation of the book Flower(s), by Teresa Freitas
Flower(s), by Teresa Freitas, investigates the relationships between people and flowers in different geographical locations, observing how certain species have shaped collective identities through cultural practices, rituals, local economies, and everyday life.
Combining a documentary approach with a personal language, photography is used as a means to preserve and give visibility to stories that remain outside the usual gaze.
The book is available for consultation in the NARRATIVA library.
29.01.2026
PODCAST NARRATIVA
S04#01 | Photography in Júlio de Matos Psychiatric Hospital
The first episode of the fourth season of the NARRATIVA podcast brings together the six patients from the Júlio de Matos Psychiatric Hospital who participated in the artistic and educational project JÚLIO, in which photography was explored as a means of expression and observation, opening space for dialogue between personal experience and artistic creation.
Between September and December 2025, the participants immersed themselves in a journey that articulated photographic practice and authorial research.
Each one created a personal work based on their direct relationship with the hospital space — its people, the architecture, the gestures of daily life, the places of silence and encounter.
The resulting works reveal unique perspectives on the same territory, exposing both the physical and the emotional and symbolic dimensions of this context.
Listen here.
24.01.2026
NARRATIVA at the Fujifilm X/GFX Tour 2025
As part of the Fujifilm X/GFX Tour 2025 initiative, which aims to promote a day dedicated to photography in different district capitals of Portugal, NARRATIVA has participated through lectures, a traveling pop-up library, and portfolio reviews.
After Coimbra, Faro, Bragança, Beja, and Viana do Castelo, it's now Vila Real's turn.
20.01.2026
PicNic Exhibition | RTP
NARRATIVA Award - FUJIFILM
RTP visited the PicNic exhibition and spoke with photographer Nuno Andrade, winner of the 1st edition of the NARRATIVA Award - FUJIFILM - an award dedicated to contemporary photography in Portugal, which aims to value original projects.
The exhibition is on display at the NARRATIVA gallery until February 21st.
Journalist: Isabel Rosa
Image: Carlos Oliveira
Editing: Carlos Valente
Watch here.
11.01.2026
PicNic exhibition opening, by Nuno Andrade
NARRATIVA entered 2026 with an exhibition resulting from the 1st edition of the NARRATIVA – FUJIFILM Award, a special milestone in our trajectory, which aims, from day one, to value and promote contemporary Portuguese photography.
The more than 150 people who joined the opening of the exhibition are a sign that we see as very positive and a strong incentive for a new year of programming.
PicNic, by Nuno Andrade, transforms a peripheral, seemingly marginal territory into a space of revelation and belonging. At Ponta dos Corvos, in the municipality of Seixal, between the river estuary and the city, the author finds a symbolic point of confluence where gestures of freedom, coexistence, and collective celebration are reflected.
Special thanks to Fujifilm Portugal for their support and encouragement in creating this award, without forgetting all the work that has been developed together at NARRATIVA and in various other locations in the country.
PicNic will be on display until February 21st.
29.12.2025
PODCAST NARRATIVA
S03#E12 Nuno Andrade | PicNic
In the last episode of the third season of the NARRATIVA podcast, we cross the Tagus River to Ponta dos Corvos with Nuno Andrade, photographer and architect, for whom the riverbank is a place of encounter, freedom, and belonging.
In PicNic, the author reveals simple gestures of coexistence and celebration, transforming a territory often seen as peripheral into a vibrant community space.
With exhibitions held in Portugal, France, Finland, and India, and after being awarded the HSBC Photography Prize in 2019, the year he published his first book, Nuno builds a consistent career, marked by a persistent gaze on the human geography that surrounds him.
PicNic now emerges as a decisive milestone: the project earns him the NARRATIVA – FUJIFILM Award, making him the first winner of this distinction dedicated to contemporary photography in Portugal.
In this episode, we talk to the author about photography as a tool for deconstructing stigmas, about the work in the field, and about the future of this project, which opens NARRATIVA's annual program with a solo exhibition opening on January 10, 2026 - closing the season with an invitation to rethink the idea of margin and community.
27.12.2025
NARRATIVA | Books of the Year | 2025
Following our annual tradition of sharing what has most impacted us in the photography book format, we share a list of books that arrived at the NARRATIVA library this year and that, in a particular way, marked photography in 2025.
Books 2025
* Diana Markosian - Father
* Ditte Haarløv Johnsen - Maputo Diary
* David Infante - Believe
* Siri Kaur - Sister Moon
* Lars Tunbjork - Country Beside Itself
* Daniel Arnold - You Are What You Do
* Weronika Gesicka - Encyclopaedia
* Rosalind Fox Solomon - A Woman I Once Knew
* Jorge Panchoaga - Kalabongó
* Felipe Romero Beltrán - Bravo
Other acquisitions that arrived at NARRATIVA library and that we highlight:
* Chloé Jafé - SAKASA Trilogy
* Don McCullin - Life, Death and Everything In Between
* Francesco Gioia - 57
* Gregory Crewdson - Retrospective
* Justine Kurland - Photos of Girls
* Nigel Shafran - Workout Books
* Paul Graham - A1 The North Road
* Pia Riverola - Days
* Tânia Franco Klein - Positive Disintegration
* Yael Martinez - Fireflies
Books bearing the NARRATIVA imprint published in 2025
* Maria Abranches - Maria
* Bruno Saavedra - When I Saw Him Dancing for the Last Time
NARRATIVA currently has 483 books available for free consultation. In addition to providing this resource, NARRATIVA supports authors in the creation and promotion of their works.
23.12.2025
2025 at NARRATIVA
In 2025, NARRATIVA reaffirmed its role as a leading photography institution in Portugal, with over 7,000 annual visits for the second consecutive year. This is a sign of the consistency of our programming and the growth of a community that recognizes us as a meeting point for photography, visual thought, and contemporary dialogue.
Throughout the year, we strengthened partnerships and expanded our activities beyond NARRATIVA’s physical space, taking exhibitions and educational initiatives to different communities, maintaining visual literacy, accessibility, and participation as central axes.
We hosted internationally renowned authors such as Newsha Tavakolian, Chloe Jafé, and Jorge Panchoaga, and maintained a strong focus on Portuguese authors through Augusto Brázio’s exhibition, the 6th edition of the NARRATIVA Masterclass, and the winner of the FNAC New Talents Award 2025.
Projects from the NARRATIVA Masterclass were awarded a World Press Photo and the Portfolio Award at Encontros da Imagem festival.
The NARRATIVA – FUJIFILM Award, in its 1st edition, received over 150 entries, reinforcing the space's role in promoting contemporary creation and new visual narratives.
On average, we held 5.4 events per month, published two works under our brand — Maria, by Maria Abranches, and Quando o vi dançar pela última vez, by Bruno Saavedra — and developed four projects that affirmed photography as a tool for expression and connection:
— Casal da Boba, with young people from Amadora, based on their relationship with the territory;
— Crianças na Mouraria, celebrating cultural diversity through images;
— Clube de Jornalismo, involving 80 elementary school students in reporting practices;
— JÚLIO, a project developed with patients at the Júlio de Matos Hospital, culminating in a collective exhibition.
None of this would have been possible without the support of our patrons Fujifilm Portugal and Moldura Minuto, nor without our community and the NARRATIVA Circle.
19.12.2025
Kalabongó exhibition visits
In recent days, we have received visits from students of the Portuguese Institute of Photography and the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal.
Kalabongó reveals the work nominated for the 2025 Paris Photo Book of the Year Award, presenting, for the first time in Portugal, a visual journey through the memory, culture, and struggle of Afro-descendant communities in Colombia.
Developed over four years, the project articulates historical memory with racial justice — a cause shared by communities worldwide, including Portugal — showing photography as an instrument of witness and resistance.
The exhibition transforms the NARRATIVA gallery into a unique immersive and sensory experience: visitors can explore the body of work with a flashlight, creating an intimate dialogue between the public and the photograph.
18.12.2025
JÚLIO
Photography at Júlio de Matos Hospital
NARRATIVA, in partnership with Júlio de Matos Hospital, carried out an artistic and educational project that included the participation of six patients from Júlio de Matos Hospital.
Under the guidance of photographers Bárbara Monteiro and Mário Cruz, photography was explored as a means of expression and observation, opening space for dialogue between personal experience and artistic creation.
Between September and December 2025, the participants immersed themselves in a journey that articulated photographic practice and authorial research.
Each participant created a personal work based on their direct relationship with the hospital space — its people, the architecture, the gestures of daily life, the places of silence and encounter.
The photographs reveal unique perspectives of the same territory, exposing both the physical and the emotional and symbolic dimensions of this context.
The exhibition proposes a plural reading of Júlio de Matos Hospital, where photography asserts itself as a tool for sharing and connection.
Authors: Rúben Cruz, Carlos Vargas, Paula Mata, Bruno Oliveira, Sara Esteves, and Ricardo Carvalho.
Support: Instax Portugal
16.12.2025
Rodrigo Vargas | DELTA
Winner of Photography & Territory 2025
Rodrigo Vargas, photographer and member of NARRATIVA, is the winner of the Photography & Territory 2025 award with the project DELTA, developed in Ribatejo.
The author observes a space traversed by belonging and distance, where cultural heritages and contemporary impulses confront each other continuously. Between bare landscapes and human concentrations, a territory made of oppositions is constructed: absence and remembrance, the intimate and the unknown, the permanence of the past in the face of the urgency of the present.
The exhibition of the now-distinguished work is scheduled for January 16th at the Center for Photography Studies in Tomar – CEFT – Casa dos Cubos.
11.12.2025
NARRATIVA at School
As part of the NARRATIVA AT SCHOOL program – Photographic Literacy Plan for Elementary School 2025/2026, NARRATIVA developed a workshop on color theory.
This photography workshop for children, based on works from the NARRATIVA Library, invites participants to observe and interpret the photographs in these books.
Based on printouts of the images, the children wrote about what they see and feel, reflecting on intentions, emotions, and stories.
The NARRATIVA AT SCHOOL – Photographic Literacy Plan for Elementary School 2025/2026 aims to foster visual literacy through regular contact with photography, through the development of different theoretical and practical workshops.
07.12.2025
Martin Parr (1952-2025)
Martin Parr, one of the most important British photographers and a leading figure in contemporary documentary photography, has died. Known for his biting and ironic gaze on everyday life, Parr built a body of work over decades that revealed, with saturated colors and meticulous compositions, the contradictions and peculiarities of the modern world.
Through his lens, the banal gained a new meaning: sometimes satirical, sometimes profoundly human, becoming a mirror of the Western world.
Several of his works are present in the NARRATIVA library, including Bad Weather and Last Resort.
Bad Weather, his first book, in which the monochromatic style contradicts the work for which he would later be celebrated, already revealed a distinct perspective on daily life. Last Resort is an unmissable work that is always of interest to those who visit us.
Martin Parr was one of the interviewees on the NARRATIVA Podcast on the occasion of World Photography Day.
NARRATIVA deeply regrets his death and will continue to share his enormous contribution and legacy to photography.
06.12.2025
TERRITÓRIO Exhibition at Alvalade Market
The TERRITÓRIO exhibition, built from the collection of the NARRATIVA Masterclass, is on display at the Alvalade Market, in the parish that is home to NARRATIVA.
TERRITÓRIO presents the work of 10 photographers who dedicated their attention to different national geographies — Lisbon, Alentejo, Porto, Azores, Trás-os-Montes and Setúbal.
Each photograph is a piece of a larger NARRATIVA, but it is also an expression of authorial diversity.
This exhibition arises within the scope of a partnership between NARRATIVA and the Alvalade Parish Council — a collaboration initiated this year that has already resulted in several training sessions and initiatives with the Teixeira de Pascoais School, support for CICLO, a photography festival with national and international authors, this exhibition at the Alvalade Market, and a new exhibition that will be inaugurated on December 18th at the Júlio de Matos Hospital.
The NARRATIVA Masterclass has seen its projects recognized more than 20 times, both nationally and internationally, promoting culture and revealing new names in Portuguese photography.
This exhibition showcases a part of that journey and can be visited until January 7, 2026.
02.12.2025
Kalabongó, by Jorge Panchoaga, at Expresso newspaper.
The exhibition will be on display at the NARRATIVA gallery until December 20th.
29.11.2025
PODCAST NARRATIVA
S03#E11 Jorge Panchoaga | Kalabongó - memory, lfreedom and night
In this episode, you'll hear from Jorge Panchoaga, a Colombian photographer and winner of five POY awards, about his exhibition Kalabongó, and the work nominated for Book of the Year 2025 at Paris Photo, which opened on November 7th at our gallery, bringing to Portugal for the first time a powerful visual narrative about the memory, culture, and resistance of Afro-descendant communities in Colombia.
Between San Basilio de Palenque, a community that has been fighting for freedom since 1599, and the contemporary tensions that run through the Afro-descendant diaspora, Panchoaga constructs a visual territory where history becomes living matter.
Created over four years, Kalabongó articulates racial justice, cultural identity, and collective memory, establishing bridges with historical processes that also resonate in Portugal.
Transformed by NARRATIVA's curatorial team into an immersive sensory space, the gallery invites each visitor to explore the images with a flashlight, in a gesture of revelation, intimacy, and participation.
Today we spoke with the author of this profoundly political, poetic, and necessary work. An invitation to listen to the past, acknowledge the struggles of the present, and imagine possible futures.
29.11.2025
NARRATIVA at the Fujifilm X/GFX Tour 2025
As part of the Fujifilm X/GFX Tour 2025 initiative, which aims to promote a day dedicated to photography in different district capitals of Portugal, NARRATIVA has participated through lectures, a traveling pop-up library, and portfolio reviews.
After Coimbra, Faro, Bragança, and Beja, it's now Viana do Castelo, at the Museum of Arts.
Program:
10:00 AM - Talk: Street Photography with Rodrigo Vargas
11:00 AM - Photographic Walk with Rodrigo Vargas
2:00 PM - Portfolio Reviews
3:00 PM - Conference with Mário Cruz: Photography as a Form of Communication and Expression
4:00 PM - GFX Workshop with Silva Jorge
27.11.2025
Presentation of the book Hard Steps, by Nelson Miranda, at NARRATIVA.
Hard Steps is a publication created from the photographic and research project Nepal/Odemira.
This project explores issues of migration, focusing on the Nepalese population residing in the Odemira region (southern Portugal) and the places, communities, and families from which they departed in Nepal. The publication reproduces photographs and testimonies captured in Portugal between 2020-2023 and in Nepal (April-June 2023).
The presentation was attended by Susana Lourenço Marques and the author.
The book is available for consultation in the NARRATIVA library.
23.11.2025
Fujifilm Workshop: RAW Editing
NARRATIVA and Fujifilm developed a workshop on editing RAW files.
The workshop was taught by Ricardo Dias, a professor at CENJOR, and was aimed at those who want to acquire basic and intermediate knowledge of image processing in RAW format, using software such as Adobe Bridge, Adobe Camera RAW, or Adobe Lightroom.
20.11.2025
Kalabongó Exhibition | RTP
RTP Notícias visited the Kalabongó exhibition and spoke with Colombian X-Photographer Jorge Panchoaga, winner of five POY awards.
The exhibition is on display at the NARRATIVA gallery until December 20th.
Journalist: Isabel Rosa
Image: Paulo Jorge
Editing: Sara Cravina
18.11.2025
Fujifilm Workshop: Introduction
Another Fujifilm Workshop: Introduction has concluded. Over the course of a month, the working group dedicated itself to technical photographic training, composition, and authorial development.
The workshop was led by Rui Costa, winner of the FNAC New Talents Award and instructor at the Portuguese Institute of Photography, and had the support of Bárbara Monteiro and Mário Cruz.
15.11.2025
Masterclass NARRATIVA 2025/2026
The 7th edition of the Masterclass NARRATIVA is underway.
Between October and February, the selected authors will participate in weekly mentoring sessions dedicated to the development of their projects.
The culmination of this process will be presented in a group exhibition, with an opening scheduled for March 2026.
Selected authors:
Catarina Cesário Jesus
Cátia Valente
Denis Graeff
Fernando Pimenta
João Pedro Almeida
Raquel Antunes
10.11.2025
Kalabongó exhibition coverage and Jorge Panchoaga interview by TSF.
To read here.
08.11.2025
The day after the opening of his exhibition, Jorge Panchoaga presents the book Kalabongó, nominated for the 2025 Book of the Year award by Aperture - Paris Photo.
Kalabongó, by Jorge Panchoaga, reveals the history and culture of San Basilio de Palenque, an Afro-descendant community on the Colombian coast that has been fighting for freedom and autonomy since 1599. The nighttime images capture the essence of this narrative, where the night becomes "an accomplice to the light of freedom."
In this session, the author will discuss his work process in an open conversation with the public.
07.11.2025
Kalabongó Opening
We have no words to express our gratitude for the presence of over two hundred people who gathered at NARRATIVA for two hours for the opening of an exhibition that is only complete through the actions of each visitor.
In Kalabongó, the darkness of night is complicit with freedom. Photography is testimony and resistance.
01.11.2025
1st Edition of PRÉMIO NARRATIVA - FUJIFILM
Nuno Andrade is the winner of the 1st edition of PRÉMIO NARRATIVA - FUJIFILM with PicNic, a work that shows Ponta dos Corvos, in Seixal, as a peripheral territory transformed into a space of freedom, conviviality, and collective belonging.
The 1st edition of the PRÉMIO NARRATIVA - FUJIFILM received 151 entries from authors residing in Portugal. This new distinction, dedicated to contemporary photography, aims to value original projects by authors in their initial or established phase, aged 18 or older.
The jury, composed of Emma Hardy, Augusto Brázio, and Mário Cruz, unanimously decided to award the prize to Nuno Andrade for the work PicNic, and gave honorable mentions to José Pedro Sousa (Olá mais tarde) and Katya Bogachevskaia (Pele do Mundo). The winning works highlight different perspectives, encompassing social essays, documentary photography, and authorial exploration.
The winner, Nuno Andrade, receives a prize of €3,500 and will have a solo exhibition at NARRATIVA in Lisbon, scheduled to open in January 2026. José Pedro Sousa and Katya Bogachevskaia will present their work in a public session at NARRATIVA.
NARRATIVA and Fujifilm Portugal thank all the participants who joined the first edition of the NARRATIVA – FUJIFILM Photography Prize.
You can learn more about the winning works here.
01.11.2025
Thank you all for attending the opening of the exhibition and the launch of the book Quando o vi dançar pela última vez, by Bruno Saavedra.
The exhibition will be on display until January 25, 2026, at the Cascais Cultural Center. The book is available on the author's website.
NARRATIVA is responsible for curating the exhibition and publishing the book.
The project originated in the NARRATIVA Masterclass and now takes shape as an author's book and a multidisciplinary exhibition.
Over three years, Bruno Saavedra dedicated his attention to a person in search of himself. The protagonist is Simão Telles — or Symone De Lá Dragma, “it doesn't matter,” as he likes to say. Born in Santarém, he moves between songs, drag, and performance, without allowing himself to be confined by labels.
The result is an intimate portrait, revealing days of certainties and uncertainties, of affirmations and concealments. It is the vulnerability that permeates us, the way space shapes who we are, and the urgency of preserving the freedom to be.
Congratulations, Bruno!
It was a memorable inauguration!
25.10.2025
João Salgueiro Baptista, winner of the FNAC New Talents Award 2025, will give a guided tour on the last day of the exhibition Saison Floue – Blurry Season.
An exhibition that delves into the marginalized lives of seasonal workers in France, offering a surprising and intimate perspective on a community reality marked by the influences of anarchism and punk.
A documentary project, produced from a first-person experience, captured in immersion in this context, whose focus is not on the objective particularities of the work, but on what happens on its periphery.
24.10.2025
Fujifilm Workshop: Introduction
Another edition of the Fujifilm Workshop: Introduction, the most popular workshop in our training program, is currently underway.
Over the course of a month, students will work on photographic technique, composition, and creative development.
The workshop is led by Rui Costa, winner of FNAC New Talent Award and professor at the Portuguese Institute of Photography, with the support of André Dias Nobre, Bárbara Monteiro, and Mário Cruz.
20.10.2025
Kalabongó exhibition | Jorge Panchoaga
We are delighted to share that the final exhibition of the year at NARRATIVA’s gallery is Kalabongó, by photographer Jorge Panchoaga, opening on November 7th at 7 pm in Lisbon.
With free entry, the exhibition, which showcases the work nominated for the 2025 Paris Photo Book of the Year Award, presents a visual journey through the memory, culture, and struggles of Afro-descendant communities in Colombia.
This is the first exhibition by the author, winner of five POY awards, in Portugal, and transforms NARRATIVA’s gallery into a unique immersive and sensory experience.
18.10.2025
Radiations of War book launch, by Yana Kononova
NARRATIVA hosted the book launch of Radiations of War, by Ukrainian artist Yana Kononova.
For Yana Kononova, war doesn't end when the sound of explosions fades. It lingers, saturating the earth and settling into the silence of devastated landscapes.
The Radiations of War project traces this persistent presence in Ukraine — not as a documentary record, but as an encounter with a terrain where the disaster continues after its impact. The land becomes both witness and archive.
When the frontline recedes, the ruins left behind reflect a changing landscape, laden with everything that passed through it. Kononova's images are testament to this process. They show how violence nests in the earth and how the weight of the absence of previous violence continues to act.
The work combines Kononova's images with poetry by Joyelle McSweeney. The book is published by FOTODOK and XYZ Books Lisbon and is part of the Intergalactic Creative Europe: Books for a Culture Without Borders initiative, co-financed by the European Union.
We thank everyone who attended the launch fof this book - a work that offers a unique perspective, far removed from journalistic documentation, on the war in Ukraine.
Our gratitude also extends to XYZ Books Lisbon, FOTODOK, and, of course, to Yana, for sharing her work process, her profound observations, and the tensions that permeate this work.
Starting today, the book is available for consultation in the NARRATIVA library.
11.10.2025
NARRATIVA at the Fujifilm X/GFX Tour 2025
As part of the Fujifilm X/GFX Tour 2025 initiative, which aims to promote a day dedicated to photography in different district capitals across Portugal, NARRATIVA participated through lectures, a pop-up library, and portfolio reviews.
This session took place in Beja.
Thank you all for participating.
09.10.2025
Talk: FNAC New Talents 2025 Authors
NARRATIVA, in partnership with FNAC, in addition to hosting the exhibition of the winning work of FNAC New Talents Award, promoted a conversation with the 2025 award-winning authors, Vasco Rafael Carvalho and António Saldanha.
Elves Raven Thousand Sausages, by Vasco Rafael Carvalho, is a visual exploration of life in the depths of the Icelandic Westfjords (Talknafjordur), where solitude, work, and the silent presence of nature intertwine. Using a thermal camera that prints on receipt paper, the project transforms everyday moments into a fragile, improvised archive, prone to disappearance.
Quanto pesa um segundo? by António Saldanha, presents an essay on a society experiencing burnout, in which the author reflects on how we accelerate time to such an extent that we force ourselves to consume and process experiences at breakneck speed, rendering everything superficial. This rhythm creates friction that ultimately wears us down, making us unable to disconnect from this circuit for fear of missing something.
Thank you all for coming.
08.10.2025
Quando o vi dançar pela última vez | Bruno Saavedra
Pre-orders for the book Quando o vi dançar pela última vez (When I saw him dance for the last time) by Bruno Saavedra, are now available.
The book stems from a project initiated at Masterclass NARRATIVA and has now become a work of its own and a multidisciplinary exhibition.
For three years, Bruno followed Simão Telles — or Symone De Lá Dragma, "whatever," an artist who moves between drag, music, and performance, reinventing himself in a dialogue between authenticity and acceptance. The result is an intimate observation on identity and belonging.
Edited by Mário Cruz and designed by Alex Paganelli, this book marks a new chapter in the author's career and in NARRATIVA's commitment to contemporary photography.
The book will be sold exclusively through the author's website. Copies will be available for pickup during the exhibition opening on November 1st, at 6 pm, at the Cascais Cultural Center.
Pre-order here.
Support: D. Luis I Foundation
02.10.2025
ROOF exhibition by Mário Cruz at Menorca Doc Fest
Over the course of ten years, ROOF has witnessed the plight of those surviving in abandoned spaces in the Portuguese capital.
Lisbon hides the faces of those living in inhumane conditions and those waging a lonely battle for decent housing.
ROOF was published by The New York Times and awarded by Magnum Photos and the Luis Valtueña International Humanitarian Photography Award.
The exhibition is part of the 7th edition of the Menorca Doc Fest, featuring an installation that occupies the facade of a vacant building next to the Mirante Claustre del Carme (Maó).
On display until November 2nd.
30.09.2025
PODCAST NARRATIVA
S03#E09 Saison Floue | Blurry Season - NFT Winner
In this episode, you'll hear from João Salgueiro Baptista, winner of the 2025 FNAC New Talent Award, about his project Saison Floue – Blurry Season.
This work immerses you in the marginalized lives of seasonal workers in France, providing an intimate glimpse into a community reality influenced by anarchism and punk culture.
The exhibition of the work is on display until October 25th at NARRATIVA’s gallery, through a partnership with FNAC.
To listen here.
27.09.2025
Lisbon Street Photo Fest
NARRATIVA is participating in the 1st edition of Lisbon Street Photo Fest and curating the festival's exhibitions.
Based on an international open call, two group exhibitions were created at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon cistern and gallery, reflecting different contemporary perspectives.
At the cistern, there is an exhibition with works by 21 photographers, revealing unique observations of daily life in different geographies.
The gallery features three visual narratives:
- Land of the Setting Sun by Skander Khlif, reflects on the constant change in the city of Dakar, Senegal.
- HÜZÜN by Kevin Wolf, explores the social contrasts of daily life in Istanbul, Turkey, in a photographic series that seeks to translate "hüzün" – the collective melancholy that defines the city's soul.
- New Wave by Gavin Libotte, examines the relationship with water as a space of liberation and revelation.
The exhibitions will be on display on September 27th and 28th, from 10am to 8pm.
21.09.2025
Fujifilm Workshop: Portrait
Today, another edition of Fujifilm workshop dedicated to portraiture was held, where technical and authorial skills were developed.
The session was led by Arlindo Camacho.
21.09.2025
Encontros da Imagem | Nuno Silva | Masterclass NARRATIVA
Nuno Silva is the winner of the 2025 Encontros da Imagem Portfolio Review Award with the project Enquanto o motivo não me encontrar developed during Masterclass NARRATIVA.
Enquanto o motivo não me encontrar is an urban exploration of visual discovery. A therapeutic exercise of personal search, between the concrete and the shadows, where each scene emerges as a reflection of a state of mind that finds itself and is separated from itself in the city's unknown landscape.
Congratulations, Nuno!
20.09.2025
NARRATIVA at Fujifilm X/GFX Tour 2025 | Faro
As part of the Fujifilm X/GFX Tour 2025 initiative, which aims to promote a day dedicated to photography in different district capitals across Portugal, NARRATIVA, with the participation of its director and photographer Mário Cruz, organized a conference, portfolio reviews, and presented a pop-up library from NARRATIVA’s collection.
The day concluded with the presentation of ROOF – a work developed over a decade that reveals the hidden side of the housing crisis in Lisbon. The work received an award from the Magnum Agency and was recognized in 2025 at the Luis Valtueña International Humanitarian Photography Award.
19.09.2025
Presentation of the book Fotografia e Direito (Photography and Law) by Mário Serra Pereira
Mário Serra Pereira's work, recently published by Almedina, provides a valuable and essential resource for photographers.
The presentation session at NARRATIVA was informative, and the book is now available in our library.
18.09.2025
Masterclass NARRATIVA 2025/2026
Selected Authors
Masterclass NARRATIVA currently occupies a unique place in the Portuguese photography landscape. Bringing together authors from different fields and backgrounds annually, it establishes itself as a privileged space for sharing, reflection, and experimentation.
After a demanding selection process – marked by the high number and quality of submissions – we are pleased to announce the authors selected for the 7th edition of Masterclass NARRATIVA:
Catarina Cesário Jesus
Cátia Valente
Denis Graeff
Fernando Pimenta
João Pedro Almeida
Raquel Antunes
Since 2018, Masterclass NARRATIVA has established itself as a space for the creation and development of photographic projects that explore contemporary themes, offering the time and reflection necessary for their development.
13.09.2025
Opening of the exhibition Saison Floue by João Salgueiro Baptista
This exhibition presents the winning work of the 2025 FNAC New Talents Award, promoted in partnership between NARRATIVA and FNAC, with the aim of valuing and promoting contemporary Portuguese photography.
Since its founding, NARRATIVA has focused on a program that combines recognized artists with those just starting out.
For over 20 years, FNAC New Talents Award has played a fundamental role in discovering and promoting emerging names.
The exhibition is open until October 25th.
Support: Fujifilm Portugal
Support and printing: Moldura Minuto
Partnership: FNAC
01.09.2025
Applications are now open for PRÉMIO NARRATIVA - FUJIFILM, a new award dedicated to contemporary photography in Portugal. This new award aims to promote photography by showcasing unpublished projects from authors at either an emerging or established stage in their careers
The application period closes on September 30th.
More information here.