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Anita Gispert: The Photographer of Caldes


Exhibition 12 October 2024 – 1 September 2025
THERMALIA History Museum, Caldes de Montbui, Spain
Role: Curator

Anita Gispert Vila was Catalonia’s first registered woman documentary photographer. Between 1911 and 1930, she worked as the official documentarist of Caldes de Montbui, capturing a society in transformation.


While portraiture dominated the era, Anita documented everyday life, festivities, construction sites and crime scenes with striking vision. She experimented with multiple exposures and hand-colouring, positioning herself at the forefront of early 20th-century photographic practice.

Yet much of her work was nearly lost to history. Signing as “A. Gispert,” her identity as a woman often went unrecognised. This project reclaims her authorship and restores her place in visual heritage.
The exhibition brings Anita’s archive into dialogue with the present. Through immersive and interactive formats, visitors encounter a vivid portrait of early 20th-century life while reflecting on the role of family memory and overlooked women in history.


The Living Room Replica
Participatory Installation (Open Call)

At the heart of the exhibition, a participatory chapter reconnects the town with its own archive. Through an open call, residents uncovered more than 40 unpublished portraits taken by Anita. These photographs are displayed inside a reconstructed 1920s living room — returning private memory to shared space.

Public Space Tour

The exhibition extends into the public space, inviting visitors to explore the historic Old Town of Caldes de Montbui through Anita’s lens. By scanning QR codes placed at key locations, historic photographs from the 1920s appear directly on site, revealing the town as Anita once captured it.




THERMALIA History Museum is located in the historic thermal baths of Caldes de Montbui, Catalonia. Dedicated to the town’s thermal water heritage and local history, the museum connects archaeology, industry and everyday life — preserving and activating the cultural memory of one of Europe’s oldest thermal towns.
Coordination: Anna Monleón i Esterli
Curator: Mar Gimeno Lumbiarres
Language Editing: Marc Barrobés Meix
Restoration and Conservation of the Municipal Archive Photographs: Esther Llorca, Cristina Lanau
Graphic Design: AT Comunicació
Printing and Installation: Impacte Gran Format
THERMALIA Museum Team: Oriol Castillo Castells, Francesca M. Lliteres, Carolina Redondo Pasqual, Jordi Montsalvatge Serra

Special Thanks to: Arxiu Municipal de Caldes de Montbu, Antoni Barceló Descamps, Joaquim Campistron, M. Teresa Pujol Berenguer, Família Torras Costa, Sisqueta Torras Aymerich, Família Codina, Fundació Casino de Caldes, Carlos Lumbiarres Féraud, Elisabet Lumbiarres Féraud; Grandchildren: Xavier Lumbiarres Féraud, Anna Lumbiarres Féraud; Great-grandchildren: Marta Lumbiarres Arguedas, Manuel Lumbiarres Arguedas, Bruno Anaya Lumbiarres, Raúl Pérez Lumbiarres, Mar Gimeno Lumbiarres; And to the people of Caldes – especially the Campàs-Poch family (Lali, Queralt and Jaume) and Ferran Devesa Coll.

© 2024 Museu Thermalia, Ajuntament de Caldes de Montbui. 
All rights reserved.
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