Exhibitions, Portraits, and Dialogues: Casa Espacio Buenos Aires in Valparaíso Invites Reflection on the Image as a Tool for Memory and Social Connection

Original article: Exposiciones, retratos y diálogos: Casa Espacio Buenos Aires de Valparaíso invita a reflexionar sobre la imagen como herramienta de memoria y vínculo social

Throughout January, Casa Espacio Buenos Aires in Valparaíso has launched an engaging community program that blends photography, cultural mediation, editing, animation, memory, and civic engagement, reaffirming its commitment to «democratic access to visual culture and critical activation of the port area.»

Rodrigo Gómez Rovira, the artistic director of Casa Espacio, elaborated that this initiative spans «from nomadic studies and instant portraits in the neighborhood to photographic dialogues and the exhibition of the Valparaíso International Photography Festival at the Ex-Carcel Cultural Park. This program aims to bring photography into everyday life, strengthening the ties between art, territory, and community.»

Thus, the cultural space encourages reflection on the image as a tool for memory and social connection.

This year, the programming revolves around the question: Where is Valparaíso? This inquiry threads through both public space actions and exhibition and dialogue events, inviting participants to view the city through the eyes of its inhabitants, those who remember it, and those who build it day by day, explains Rodrigo Gómez.

«Casa Espacio is committed as an organization, with its entire team, to remain active, always seeking new encounters, situations, and activities. Therefore, during the summer, we aim to create multiple opportunities to engage with the neighborhood, where we will set up a portable studio for people to come and have their portraits taken for free, and then receive their photographs. We will host meetings and dialogues in our library, along with workshops, reflecting our desire to participate in the life of Valparaíso, constantly challenging ourselves and provoking artists and photographers we invite to explore new projects,» he elaborated.

Below is the full program:

Photographic Dialogues / DJ Books

As part of its programming focused on the intersection of photography, editing, and audiovisual language, Casa Espacio presents a session of Photographic Dialogues / DJ Books concentrating on the adaptation processes between the book and moving image.

1.- Presentation of the animated short film “Rearview Mirror,” created from drawings by Cristián Elizalde, originally made for the book of the same name. The event will feature Tomás Elizalde and Nicolás García, director of the production company Los Pájaros, who will share the creative process of translating a literary and visual work into cinematic language, as well as the collaborative effort that made this adaptation possible.

Friday, January 16, 2026
7:00 PM
Casa Espacio – Buenos Aires 824, Valparaíso
Event open to the community

2.-Casa Piedra with Fernanda Soto

Continuing with this cycle, Casa Espacio presents Photographic Dialogues / DJ Books: Casa Piedra, a screening and discussion event addressing the role of photography as a critical tool to activate discussions around memory and human rights, particularly in a social context where denialist discourses advance and dispute the meaning of the past.

The activity will feature Fernanda Soto, who will engage the audience in a dialogue about the intersections of image, archive, memory, and the ethical responsibility of contemporary photography.

Friday, January 23, 2026
7:00 PM
Casa Espacio – Buenos Aires 824, Valparaíso
Event open to the community

Casa Espacio Photography Library

Throughout January, the Casa Espacio Photography Library is open, serving as a community space dedicated to reflection, study, and the dissemination of image culture. Established in 2015 through a donation from the Arles Meetings (France), the library currently houses over two thousand titles from authors around the globe.

Monday and Tuesday | 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Buenos Aires 824, Valparaíso
For visits at other times: [email protected]
Catalog: www.fifv.cl/biblioteca

FIFV 2025 Exhibition – Until February 10

What is the Nature of Things?

At the Visual Arts Room of the Cultural Park of Valparaíso, Site of Memory Ex-Carcel, the Central Exhibition of the 2025 Valparaíso International Photography Festival is on display, providing a visual journey that invites contemplation on the relationship between image, memory, and territory, remaining open to the public until February 10.

Lost in Paradise — Stéphane Lavoué (FR)

The exhibit includes Lost in Paradise, by French photographer Stéphane Lavoué, a project developed during his FIFV 2024 Artistic Residency. Through intimate portraits and domestic scenes, the author opens the doors of Valparaíso to reveal the visual memory of its inhabitants — and those who are no longer present — constructing a sensitive narrative about belonging and absence.

Imagen Salvaje 2025

The exhibition also features Imagen Salvaje 2025, a Trainers of Trainers program that gathers learning communities around photography, exploring new forms of collective creation, knowledge transmission, and image production situated in the territory.

Award-Winning Projects – Review of Photography Projects 2024

The Central Exhibition also showcases the winning projects from the Review of Photography Projects 2024:

Frogs are Synthesizers — Exequiel Vargas (CL), an exploration between the dreamy and the organic, where affections transform into living matter.

Apoastro — Sthefany López (PE), a dialogue between photography, memory, and constellations, where migration manifests as a desire for reconnection.

Open until February 10
Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday: 10:00 AM–1:30 PM / 3:30 PM–6:30 PM
Sundays: 10:00 AM–1:30 PM / 4:30 PM–6:30 PM
Free entry | Suitable for all ages
Visual Arts Gallery
Valparaíso Cultural Park (Site of Memory Ex-Carcel)

The Citizen