Andorra Roundtable Spotlights Women's Absence in Early Photography

The National Archive is hosting a roundtable discussion this evening on the role of women in Andorran photography, highlighting their absence from the pioneering era documented in the current exhibition *Pioners: l'Andorra dels primers fotògrafs (1884-1954)*.

The exhibition, running until 7 March at the government's exhibition hall, features a dozen early photographers from Andorra's history—none of whom were women. This reflects the reality for much of the 20th century, when the first female photojournalists, Rosa Mari Sorribes and Carme Grau, entered the field in the late 1970s. Professional photographers Rosa Casanovas and Salomé Escribà followed in the early 1990s.

Titled *Dones i fotografia*, the event begins at 7pm in the same venue. Casanovas and Escribà will share their experiences breaking into the profession four decades ago. They will be joined by younger practitioners: photojournalist Maricel Blanch and documentary photographer Laura Gálvez-Rhein, representing today's generations.

Isidre Escorihuela, curator of the Archive's photographic collection and commissioner of *Pioners*, emphasised that the participants are among a select group of women who have worked professionally in Andorra. He named others including Montserrat Altimiras, Imma Torra, Mònica Llorens, Tati Masià and Laura Justicia, noting the list is likely incomplete.

Escorihuela said gender no longer carries professional connotations: "Having an eye for photography depends on talent, not gender." He added that in the 1980s, women may have found it easier to cover social topics—"from my experience, though they probably faced other challenges I did not."

The roundtable caps the parallel activities for *Pioners*, which also included a pinhole photography workshop led by Altimiras and a wet collodion session by Israel Ariño.