In 1975, Anna Turbau was commissioned by COAG to document the homes designed by architects César Portela and Pascuala Campos in the Romani settlement of O Vao, in Poio, Pontevedra—a project that would become one of her most notable series.

Shortly thereafter, she moved from Barcelona to Santiago de Compostela, where she would live until 1979.

From that moment on, Anna began a relationship with Galicia that would last for the rest of her life, until her passing in 2025.

During those nearly five years, she documented many of the most important events of the early days of the Transition in Galicia, with a deeply personal perspective that always went beyond her professional assignments, capturing the deeply human side that shines through in every image.

Her intense sensitivity and empathy toward her subjects—whom she always approached with the utmost respect—are evident in every photograph. In many of them, the presence of rural women—who made a strong impression on her—children, and the most disadvantaged communities is predominant.As one of the pioneers of documentary photography in Spain, she was present at the many labor and social protests that took place during those years in a Galicia that practically no longer exists, while also documenting rural life, the work of shellfish gatherers along the coast, the harsh conditions faced by patients at the Conxo psychiatric hospital, and the protests against the construction of the AP9 highway—among her other most important series.

The exhibition thus features a selection of photographs from Anna’s time in Galicia, where she carried out her most significant work, reflecting the intense personal bond she had with this region—to which she always felt connected—and which she ultimately left due to the intense pressure from the government she faced because of her constant presence at these demonstrations and her social and political commitment.

Back in Barcelona, she continued her remarkable body of work in Catalonia, where she had produced her earliest pieces, and occasionally in other places such as Morocco, Cuba, or Soria during her later years, though less frequently for personal reasons.

Despite her significant body of work and career, as was the case with other women of her generation, her work was not widely known nor did it receive the recognition it deserved until very late in her life; fortunately, however, she lived to see that recognition finally begin to grow more and more in the final moments of her life.

I would like to express my gratitude to Dani Soler, the heir to Anna Turbau’s legacy; the Consello da Cultura Galega—where Anna chose to deposit more than 10,000 negatives from her Galicia archive; and the Photographic Social Vision Foundation in Barcelona for their collaboration on this shared endeavor, which we undertake from different yet complementary perspectives, to disseminate and give well-deserved recognition to her magnificent legacy.

Chus Villar

Director of Nordés