The announcement of Sebastião Salgado’s death caught us off guard and required some time to consider how the duo Sebastião and Lelia impacted us. The Salgados’ work describes a bit of the trajectory of Brazilian documentary photography and, consequently, the school through which FestFoto was created. From attention to the world of work and threats to human rights to the climate emergency, there were more than four decades of continuous work dedicated to major contemporary themes, serving as a reference and provocation for those who produce images and care about the world. The editorial initiatives and bold exhibitions made the scale of the public a possible goal for photography. The book project Terra, with Saramago and Chico Buarque, decanonized photography. It provoked a wave of solidarity with landless workers in Brazil and brought images and poetry to bookshelves where art was a luxury item.

At FestFoto, we had two opportunities to work directly with the Salgados. In 2009, Lelia was in Porto Alegre to talk about the venture that was helping to popularize photography on a global scale. How they planned, edited and created events. In 2014, we put together the Genesis exhibition. A huge challenge for a small production company. The political climate was favorable and it wasn’t just any city. There was a lot of sympathy for Porto Alegre, which had already hosted a major exhibition, and there was always a vivid memory of the World Social Forum, where Sebastião had been. Genesis was set up at the Gasômetro and attracted one of the largest audiences ever recorded in Porto Alegre. We learned the ins and outs of a montage, understood the importance of an exhibition project and the potential for interaction between an image and visitors. Lelia and Sebastião came. UFRGS was packed with a master class and the City Council granted Sebastião the title of citizen of Porto Alegre. Fluxo organized a meeting and the photography people had a moment of close contact with the Salgados. We even managed to eat a pastelzinho from the bar on the corner. Full program. A great moment.

And due to these not-so-random coincidences, we had already decided that the 2025 edition of FestFoto would have “Tree” as its theme. Nothing more appropriate to celebrate the life of the Sebastião part of the Salgado duo who together planted millions of trees.

Long live the Brazilian forest. Long live photography.