Ana Baião
CANTE
8 August to 20 September 2026
Museu do Hospital e das Caldas
Caldas da Rainha, Portugal
Exhibition Opening
19 August 2026
Part of the F/262 International Photography Festival and the 200 Years of Photography celebrations.
About the Exhibition
Cante presents a decade-long photographic journey into one of Portugal’s most treasured cultural traditions. Since 2015, photojournalist Ana Baião has documented the people, rituals and landscapes that keep the Cante Alentejano alive, creating one of the most extensive photographic records ever produced on this unique form of collective singing.
Recognised by UNESCO in 2014 as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Cante Alentejano is performed in chorus, without musical instruments, and has its roots in the rural communities of Portugal’s Alentejo region. More than a musical tradition, it is an expression of identity, memory and community, passed from generation to generation.
Photographed across the Alentejo and the Lisbon metropolitan area, Baião’s images reveal rehearsals, religious celebrations, village festivals and everyday encounters. Her work goes beyond documentary photography, offering an intimate portrait of the women and men whose voices continue to preserve this living heritage.
Through powerful black and white photographs, Cante invites visitors to experience the dignity, resilience and humanity of a culture where singing is inseparable from the land, from memory and from a profound sense of belonging.
Audio Guide
Audioguia (Português)
CANTE
Ana Baião
Bem-vindo à exposição Cante, da fotojornalista portuguesa Ana Baião, apresentada no âmbito do Festival Internacional de Fotografia F/262 e das comemorações dos 200 Anos da Fotografia.
Há mais de uma década que Ana Baião acompanha uma das mais importantes tradições vivas de Portugal: o Cante Alentejano, reconhecido pela UNESCO como Património Cultural Imaterial da Humanidade.
Ao contrário de muitas expressões musicais, o Cante não recorre a instrumentos. É construído apenas pela voz humana. Cantado em grupo, fala da terra, do trabalho, do amor, da saudade e da vida quotidiana. Mais do que música, é uma forma de identidade, de memória e de pertença.
Desde 2015, Ana Baião percorre o Alentejo e a região de Lisboa, acompanhando grupos corais, ensaios, celebrações religiosas e festas populares. Mais do que fotografar atuações, interessa-lhe documentar as pessoas que mantêm viva esta tradição, registando momentos de preparação, de silêncio, de amizade e de emoção.
As suas fotografias revelam rostos marcados pelo tempo, mãos trabalhadas e paisagens moldadas por gerações. Lembram-nos que o património vive porque continua a ser praticado pelas comunidades.
Ao longo da exposição, repare como cada imagem nos convida a abrandar e a escutar, mesmo em silêncio. Estas fotografias não documentam apenas uma tradição musical. São retratos da memória, da dignidade e do espírito coletivo.
A exposição é apresentada no Museu do Hospital e das Caldas, um dos mais antigos museus de Portugal, instalado no histórico Hospital Termal fundado pela Rainha D. Leonor em 1485. O diálogo entre este espaço de grande valor patrimonial e a fotografia documental contemporânea de Ana Baião reforça a reflexão sobre a memória, a identidade e a preservação do património.
Obrigado pela sua visita. Esperamos que estas imagens lhe permitam descobrir não apenas uma tradição única, mas também as pessoas que, através das suas vozes, continuam a mantê-la viva.
Audio Guide (English)
CANTE
Ana Baião
Welcome to Cante, an exhibition by Portuguese photojournalist Ana Baião, presented as part of the F/262 International Photography Festival and the celebrations marking 200 Years of Photography.
For more than a decade, Ana Baião has documented one of Portugal’s most remarkable living traditions: Cante Alentejano, a form of collective singing recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Unlike many musical traditions, Cante is performed without instruments. It is built entirely on the human voice. Sung collectively, it speaks of work, love, longing, the land and everyday life. More than music, it is a shared expression of identity and belonging.
Since 2015, Ana Baião has travelled throughout the Alentejo and the Lisbon region, following choirs, rehearsals, religious celebrations and local festivals. Rather than documenting performances alone, she focuses on the people behind the songs, capturing moments of preparation, silence, friendship and emotion.
Her photographs reveal weathered hands, expressive faces and landscapes shaped by generations. They remind us that traditions survive because people continue to live them.
As you move through the exhibition, notice how each photograph invites you to slow down and listen, even in silence. The images are not simply records of a musical tradition. They are portraits of memory, dignity and community.
The exhibition is presented at the Museu do Hospital e das Caldas, one of Portugal’s oldest museum institutions, founded within the historic thermal hospital established by Queen Leonor in 1485. The dialogue between this remarkable historic setting and Ana Baião’s contemporary documentary photography creates a powerful reflection on heritage, memory and the passage of time.
Thank you for visiting Cante. We hope these photographs allow you to discover not only a unique musical tradition, but also the people whose voices continue to keep it alive.
Cante is not just something we hear, it is something we feel. Through these photographs, I wanted to preserve the faces, gestures and moments that give voice to a living heritage, celebrating the people who keep this tradition alive every day. — Ana Baião
About the Artist
Ana Baião has been a photojournalist with the Portuguese newspaper Expresso since 2000. She began her career in 1988 at O Século before working for Diário de Notícias, O Independente and the Associated Press. She studied Advanced Photography at the Portuguese Institute of Photography (IPF) and also completed studies in Scenography, Cultural Management and Performing Arts Production.
Throughout her career she has received several distinctions for her journalistic work, including the Gold Medal awarded by the Portuguese Parliament during the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Since 2015 she has dedicated herself to documenting Cante Alentejano through a long-term photographic project that has resulted in the publications Cante – Alma do Alentejo (2017), Cuba, Cante, Tabernas e Talhas (2021) and 10 Years of Cante (2024). Today, her work stands as one of the most significant visual archives of this remarkable Portuguese cultural tradition.
Venue
Museu do Hospital e das Caldas
Rua Diário de Notícias
2500-176 Caldas da Rainha
Portugal
The Museu do Hospital e das Caldas is one of Portugal’s oldest museum institutions and is located within the historic Hospital Termal Rainha D. Leonor, founded in 1485 by Queen Leonor. The museum preserves the history of the world’s oldest continuously operating thermal hospital while presenting exhibitions dedicated to art, history and cultural heritage.
As one of the principal venues of the F/262 International Photography Festival, the museum provides a unique historical setting where contemporary photography engages with more than five centuries of Portuguese history.
Visitor Information
Exhibition Dates: 8 August to 20 September 2026
Opening: 8 August 2026
Official Exhibition Opening with artist: 19 August 2026
Venue: Museu do Hospital e das Caldas, Caldas da Rainha, Portugal
Produced by F/262 & Associação F/SOS
With the support of:
May – September 2026
Caldas da Rainha Portugal
About F/262
F/262 is an international photography festival rooted in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal.
Through exhibitions, talks, education, and public installations, the festival engages contemporary photography with place, community, and the world we share.
©2026 F/262 – Festival Internacional de Fotografia
Produced by Associação F/SOS – Fotografia, Solidariedade e Obras Sociais
English (UK)