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110 photographs. Could they be enough to try to capture what these two cities, these two communities 2,858 kilometres apart, were like? Has our a priori conception, before undertaking the research, which lead us to argue that a town from Northern Europe and a town from Southern Europe must have very different characteristics, been proved right? And does the chronological framework, 1880-1914, which would seemingly accentuate the diversity, reinforce the initial hypothesis?
I invite you to visit this exhibition, which brings us closer to two cities that flank two seas. A pretext to get to know another culture, and also to know and recognize ourselves. The desire and willingness to know what they, and we, were like, and in what ways we were different or the same. The hope that this Europe that embraces us all will be able to move forward by articulating new realities, since at heart, between the north of our south and the far north, as these photographs corroborate, there were, and are, more similarities than differences.
Joan Boadas i Raset
Head of the Municipal Records Management, Archives and Publications (SGDAP) of Girona City Council
It may appear odd that the two cities, Girona and Gävle, which geographically are situated rather far from each other, occur in the same exhibition. The idea emerged as one of many in the frame of a much larger EU project, where possibilities of collaboration on digitization of archival materials were discussed.
The photograph as a cultural bearer is well known. Our conviction is that photographs unite people, both different generations as well as different cultures. The early history of photography, itself, was a technical innovation that made it possible to spread and preserve information for different purposes. Today the modern technology allows amazing opportunities to make the image content accessible to different users. The original photographs, as they once created, are preserved, documented and safely stored in our archives in Girona and Gävle.
We are proud of contributing to an unusual exhibition and that we have had the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues in Girona. The exhibition is a travel in time and space. We hope that you as a viewer will find both similarities and differences between our two cities and that the expression "a picture is worth a thousand words", here comes into its own.
Eva Lindelöw Sjöö
Head of the Municipal Archives of Gävle