LUZ PERMANENTE 200 YEARS OF PHOTOGRAPHY, 1826–2026
2026-06-13 - 2026-09-20 | Casa Museu Jaime Umbelino – Centro de Experimentação da Fotografia, R. da Igreja 5, Foz do Arelho, Caldas da Rainha, 2500, Foz do Arelho, Portugal
Marking 200 years of photography, Luz Permanente / Permanent Light explores the evolution of the photographic image from its earliest beginnings to the defining visual moments of the modern world.
Presented as part of the F/262 Festival Internacional de Fotografia and developed in collaboration with the Instituto Português de Fotografia (IPF), the exhibition combines historically significant photographs with an extensive presentation of cameras, lenses, photographic equipment and archival objects tracing the technological and cultural evolution of photography across two centuries.
The exhibition includes works connected to figures such as Nicéphore Niépce, William Henry Fox Talbot, Louis Daguerre, Nadar, Julia Margaret Cameron, Eadweard Muybridge, Alfred Stieglitz, Lewis Hine, Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks, Robert Capa, Philippe Halsman, Yousuf Karsh, Alberto Korda, Malcolm Browne, Neil Armstrong and many others whose images transformed photography into one of the defining visual languages of modern society.
Alongside the photographs, visitors encounter a curated selection of historic cameras and photographic technologies, revealing how image-making evolved from early experimental processes to portable reportage cameras, scientific imaging systems and the beginning of the digital era.
Through portraiture, documentary photography, war photography, scientific experimentation, social commentary and visual innovation, Luz Permanente / Permanent Light reflects on photography not only as a tool of representation, but as one of the most influential inventions in modern history.
Rather than presenting a complete historical archive, the exhibition proposes a curated journey through key moments, images, and technologies that have shaped how humanity records memory, understands reality, and sees the world.
Official opening: 13 June 2026.
Curated by João Carlos.
In collaboration with Instituto Português de Fotografia.
Free admission.
Casa Museu Jaime UmbelinoCentro de Experimentação da FotografiaR. da Igreja 5, 2500 Foz do Arelho
