- marglumbiarres(@)gmail.com
Anita Gispert:
The Photographer of Caldes
Exhibition + Documentary + XR Public Space Route
@THERMALIA History Museum
@Ajuntament de Caldes de Montbui
@Diputació de Barcelona
Anita Gispert Vila was Spain’s first registered woman documentary photographer, capturing the essence of early 20th-century society.
From 1911 to 1930, she served as the official photographer for Caldes de Montbui, a thermal bath town in Catalonia.
While portrait photography was common at the time, she ventured beyond that, documenting local festivities, the lives of residents, construction projects, and even crime scenes.
Her work earned her recognition among the elite, and she won several photography awards. Additionally, she was a pioneer in her use of techniques for developing images, such as multiple exposures and hand-colouring.
Unfortunately, over time, both her contributions and her identity faded into obscurity. She signed her photographs simply as ‘A. Gispert,’ which led many people to overlook the woman behind the signature.
Mini-Doc
‘La Fotògrafa de Caldes’ (The Photographer of Caldes) is a documentary essay that pays tribute to the pioneering woman and female references, an intergenerational conversation that reveals the story of Anita Gispert Vila.
Exhibition
Today, Anita’s legacy is celebrated through the exhibition Anita Gispert: The Photographer of Caldes.
Dates: 12 October 2024 – 30 March 2025
Location: @THERMALIA History Museum, Caldes de Montbui, Spain
The exhibition highlights her pioneering contributions as a photographer, showcasing her portrayal of society at the beginning of the 20th century and prior to the Spanish Civil War. It also emphasizes the importance of honouring women’s roles in history.
Additionally, the experience encourages viewers to reflect on their ancestors and appreciate the value of visual archives.
Visitors to the THERMALIA Museum can discover Anita’s story while also engaging with heritage themes through interactive experiences.
The living room replica:
A collective archive of Caldes
Participatory Open Call
Anita Gispert: the Photographer of Caldes
Exhibition
We’ve transformed part of the exhibition into a collaborative piece to explore the theme of forgotten ancestral memories.
THERMALIA Museum launched an open call, inviting the citizens of Caldes de Montbui to search through their family photo archives and uncover portraits taken by Anita Gispert. The response was remarkable, yielding over 40 unpublished portraits of the town’s grandparents and great-grandparents.
To honor these rediscovered memories, we’ve recreated a 1920s living room, displaying the portraits as they would have been showcased in the past.
Through this collective effort, family archives have once again brought ancestral memories into the present.
The Photobooth
Museum THERMALIA wanted to offer visitors a chance to step directly into Anita Gispert’s world. That’s why we created an interactive photo booth where visitors can capture their own portraits alongside a life-sized replica of Anita.
With period costumes available, this experience offers a playful and immersive glimpse into early 20th-century photography—bringing the past to life, one snapshot at a time.
XR Route
Explore the streets of Caldes de Montbui through Anita’s lens
Museum THERMALIA wanted to take Anita Gispert’s legacy beyond the gallery walls, bringing her vision back to the streets of Caldes de Montbui.
To do so, we designed an XR route that invites visitors to rediscover the town and its hidden memories from the 1920s through Anita’s lens.
This permanent route immerses visitors in the town’s history, offering a unique glimpse into its past.
As they walk through the same streets Anita once captured, they can experience Caldes and its people as they were a century ago—like looking through a window in time.
