12 May │ Lecture: 200 Years of Women Photographers

Lecture (IT): 12.05.2026, 5 p.m.
With Walter Guadagnini
Moderated by Sabine Gamper
Location: Free University of Bolzano, Room F0.03, Faculty of Design and Art

“This little activity will surely please the ladies” (Louis Daguerre)

The presence of women in the history of photography is emblematic of the transformations that have taken place in society over two centuries, while also having specific characteristics that deserve to be highlighted.

The lecture unfolds through a series of examples, starting from the origins of this history in the mid-19th century and reaching up to the present day. The first example is Anna Atkins, author of a book considered the first true photographic book, although priority has often been attributed to Talbot for various reasons. This is followed by examples such as Julia Margaret Cameron, the Countess of Castiglione, and Frances Benjamin Johnston – a questioning of roles and identities through disguise and self-portraiture.

The great era of photojournalism and documentary photography: discriminated against yet central figures – from Gerda Taro to Dorothea Lange to Lee Miller. Likewise, the great era of the avant-garde, marginalized and discriminated against – from Claude Cahun to Lucia Moholy-Nagy. The Magnum case: where have the women photographers gone? The cases of Gisele Freund and Maria Eisner, the (few) leading female photographers, and the current situation.

The revolution of the body, from documentation to invention, the female side of “performing for the camera” from the 1970s to the 2000s, with examples such as Francesca Woodman, Ana Mendieta, VALIE EXPORT, up to Barbara Kruger and Cindy Sherman – thus returning to themes of disguise and identity.

Today, from the margins to the center: a reinterpretation of history through archives, between revendication and reflection.

Walter Guadagnini: Artistic Director of “Fotografia Europea”, Reggio Emilia, until 2025.
From 2026, Artistic Director of “Exposed – Torino Photo Festival”

Location: Free University of Bolzano, Room F0.03, Faculty of Design and Art
Language: Italian