After welcoming 25,000 visitors, the exhibition is on display at the Afundación headquarters in Praza da Constitución
After traveling across much of Galicia and welcoming more than 25,000 visitors between 2024 and 2025, “Habitar o baleiro” arrives at Ferrol. From Monday, June 8th until July 31st, the galleries of the Afundación headquarters (located in Praza da Constitución) will become the stage where rural Galicia, with its lights and shadows, raises its voice.
The exhibition opened on June 8th with two guided tours (at 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM) during which members of the collective accompanied the public to share the stories behind every image and every word.
An immersive journey through what is born and what dies
More than just a static exhibition, “Habitar o baleiro” was conceived as an immersive experience. Anyone visiting the Afundación headquarters will find a living dialogue across different disciplines, rooted in the gaze of Brais Lorenzo and nearly 100 photographs that synthesize a decade of tireless documentary work by the Ourense-born photographer.
The images are accompanied by chronicles and texts written by Cláudia Morán, Manolo Broa, Alba Moledo, Sergio Pascual, Alba R. Saavedra, and Lucía Abarrategui, providing context and soul to the faces and landscapes. In addition, the exhibition features audio pieces and a short video that help recreate the atmosphere of those latitudes where silence is heard the loudest.
This project stands as the result of over two years of intense fieldwork in the most depopulated areas of our region. In this Ferrol stop, the focus on the Ortegal region takes on a special meaning, as it is one of the territories that most clearly embodies this complex balance between abandonment and resistance.
“This project stems from a love for the life that pulses in rural areas, serving as an exercise in memory and preservation. We want to spark a debate through journalism about an issue that is unfolding right before our eyes.” – Brais Lorenzo, photographer.
The rural world is its wounds, but also its strength
The exhibition captures the harshness of “solitude, isolation, or abandonment,” notes Cláudia Morán—undeniable realities in many Galician villages. However, “Habitar o baleiro” also aims to shine a light on the warmer, brighter side: the community value of ancestral rituals like Entroido, the importance of living in connection with nature, and the seed of the future brought by the renewed interest in the primary sector.
Emptiness does not always mean absence; often, it is a space of resistance waiting to be heard.
