Iria Flavia, July 17, 2025. The exhibition Habitar o baleiro, a project of photographs and texts by the collective of the same name that documents depopulation and life in rural Galicia, opens on July 18 at 12:00 p.m. at the Camilo José Cela Museum. Organized by the Camilo José Cela Public Foundation, the exhibition also includes quotes from the celebrated Galician writer and large-format photographs.
Featuring 30 photographs drawn from up to ten years of work by photographer Brais Lorenzo (Ourense, 1986) and with texts coordinated by journalist Cláudia Morán (A Coruña, 1990), the exhibition combines images with texts by Morán and journalists Manolo Broa, Alba Moledo, Sergio Pascual, and Lucía Abarrategui. It documents the lights and shadows, what is born and what dies in some of the most depopulated areas of Galicia. The narrative is enhanced by audio, video, and texts—including reports by the Habitar o baleiro collective published in the press—creating an immersive experience.
The exhibition is supported by the Ourense Provincial Council, the Museo do Pobo Galego, the Ourense International Film Festival (OUFF), and the San Xoán de Río City Council. It has already been visited by more than 22,000 people during its free and guided showings at the Museo do Pobo Galego (Santiago de Compostela), the Marcos Valcárcel Cultural Center (Ourense), the Provincial Museum of Lugo (Lugo), and the Quiñones de León Museum (Vigo).
“This project arises from love for the life that beats in the rural world, as an exercise of memory and preservation. We want to spark debate through journalism on an issue that is happening right in front of us,” said Brais Lorenzo.
“As Cela did in part of his work, the exhibition highlights the vital, personal, and environmental stories of Galician rural areas, which largely explain who we are,” explained Cláudia Morán.
Themes such as loneliness, isolation, or abandonment in some of the areas most affected by depopulation in Galicia are addressed, but also a more hopeful side of rural life, such as renewed interest in the primary sector and life in nature, or the importance of traditions such as Entroido.
Habitar o baleiro is part of a long-term journalistic project of the same name, created by Lorenzo, Morán, Broa, Moledo, Pascual, and Alba Rodríguez Saavedra. With the support of audiovisual professionals Miguel Riaño, Thomas Harris, and Juan Carlos García, the collective is currently engaged in a crowdfunding campaign to finance its future documentary.
