Image: Museu d'Art Modern de Tarragona
The Museu d’Art Modern de Tarragona is presenting 'Col·lecció Forvm. Sacsejar la història, transformar la fotografia', an exhibition devoted to the Forvm Collection and its role in the redefinition of photography as an artistic practice. According to the museum’s description, the collection was created by David Balsells and Chantal Grande in 1981, at a moment when photography was undergoing a radical reassessment as a form of art. The exhibition is on view from 22 June 2026 to 10 January 2027.
The show is presented as part of the Col·lecció Nacional de Fotografia de Catalunya and is described as the collection’s first presentation in that framework. The museum says the exhibition takes a transversal approach to the holdings, drawing on the breadth of the archive and setting up resonances and counterpoints between works from different practices, chronologies and geographies. Rather than arranging the material around a single linear story, it uses the collection to trace broader shifts in photographic culture.
In the museum’s account, the Forvm Collection emerged from a context in which photography was not widely recognised as a cultural fact in Catalonia, as in the rest of Spain. The text stresses the importance of artists themselves in pushing for legitimation at a time when institutional infrastructure was limited. It also points to the role of exhibition spaces such as the Galeria Forvm in Tarragona, which supported a generation of photographers working with what the museum calls a new creative freedom.
The collection’s development has included both contemporary photography from the 1970s onward and earlier works, with the institution emphasising its patrimonial value. The museum notes that many of the works now have institutional recognition, in part thanks to the professional work carried out by Balsells and Grande over the course of their careers. Their collaboration has produced what the museum describes as a unique body of work with many possible readings, both for the history of photography and for reflection on its place in contemporary visual culture.
The exhibition is curated by Marta Dahó Masdemont. The museum’s online listing presents it as an exhibition currently on view, and its newsletter identifies it under the heading of temporary exhibitions. A guided visit to 'COL·LECCIÓ FORVM. Sacsejar la història, transformar la fotografia' is also listed for Wednesday 22 July 2026 at 18:00, with prior registration required.
The museum’s announcement situates the show firmly within Tarragona while connecting it to a wider Catalan photographic collection. The exhibition remains open through 10 January 2027 at the Museu d’Art Modern de Tarragona.
