Vol. 143 No. 3 (2026): Visualidad colonial de África. Perspectivas desde el sur de Europa
Dosier

History of an Exhibition. «Family Albums. Photographs of the African Diaspora in Greater Lisbon» (1975-2024)

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Filipa Lowndes Vicente
Instituto de Ciências Sociais da Universidade de Lisboa

Published 2026-09-15

Keywords

  • Family photographs,
  • African diaspora,
  • decolonization,
  • Portugal,
  • Black visualities

Copyright (c) 2026 Filipa Lowndes Vicente

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

History of an Exhibition. «Family Albums. Photographs of the African Diaspora in Greater Lisbon» (1975-2024). (2026). Ayer. Revista De Historia Contemporánea, 143(3), 127-164. https://doi.org/10.55509/ayer/3313

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Abstract

The exhibition «Family Albums: Photographs of the African Diaspora in Greater Lisbon (1975-Today)» took place in Lisbon, at the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries), between April 28 and December 1, 2024, 50 years after the revolution of April 25 1974 and the end of Portuguese colonialism in Africa with the independence of the former colonies. The exhibition juxtaposed two histories: that of the Lisbon African diaspora and that of photography as a visual autobiography. In doing so, it sought to demonstrate how personal stories intersect with collective history, political history, and national and international histories. The exhibition at the 1940 monument to the «Discoveries» —a controversial building and the subject of public debate— served as a way to value and make visible Black memory, the lives and citizenship of Black people, Portuguese or living in Portugal, giving them a voice and public presence through images and the spoken and written words accompanying their photographs. Family, personal and subjective photography was always the common thread of the narratives and visual autobiographies on display. In this article, as one of the curators, I will reflect on the international ideas and initiatives that inspired the exhibition and on the reactions it provoked.

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