Nearly 4,700 people have visited the Clock Building in the Port of Valencia to see the exhibition “Unforgettable Images” and 2,500 have downloaded the photographs from the website valenciaport.com
Visitors filled the “Un Mar d’Agraïments” mural at the entrance to the exhibition with their wishes and messages
200 physical photos taken by the public and videos with testimonies have formed part of this exhibition which has shown the vision and feelings of Valencian society during the pandemic
More than 7,000 people have visited the homage exhibition “Unforgettable Images” which from 16 September to 12 October has been housed in the Clock Building in the Port of Valencia, and which can be seen virtually on the Valenciaport website. During these days, the citizens who have come to the exhibition have evoked sadness, joy, hope, gratitude…feelings that we have all experienced since the state of alarm was decreed for the Covid-19 pandemic. These wishes and messages were reflected in the mural that was installed for the acknowledgements, “Un Mar d’Agraïments “, located at the entrance to the Clock Building. A real “book” or “mural” of honour open to the freedom of expression and feeling of the public.
Visitors to the exhibition have written hundreds of messages on stickers illustrated with marine floats made available to the public. On them, thanks have been written and read to doctors, nurses, policemen, researchers and transporters; … wishes for the pandemic to disappear as soon as possible, for a vaccine to arrive now, for us to recognise what is really important in life, …calls for solidarity, for attention to the weakest, for hope, … congratulations to the public health, to Valencia, to the Port Community, to Valenciaport for having organised the exhibition and to all the people who have helped and who collaborate to overcome this health crisis.
The exhibition “Unforgettable Images” has received nearly 4,700 physical visits and another 2,500 on-line to be moved by the 200 physical photographs, the 1,900 images that were shown on television screens or the videos with testimonies of people and professionals collected by the cameras of À Punt. An initiative that was launched at the beginning of May to reflect the day-to-day life of health or emergency personnel, experiences during confinement or de-escalation phases. This is the result of the collaboration between the port and the citizens to highlight the efforts of Valencian society.
“Unforgettable Images” is the homage of the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) to the effort of the whole population to overcome the challenge caused by the coronavirus. Each one of these images, photographs and videos, gathered thanks to the participation of the citizens, tells a personal experience in which we all recognise ourselves. They evoke emotions, thoughts and uncertainties that we have shared in the face of the unusual situations provoked by the pandemic and they confirm what is really essential as individuals and as a society. This exhibition is an exercise in collective memory through images that were unthinkable just a few months ago and that we cannot and must not forget.
An extraordinary and exceptional time that the PAV has recognised through different initiatives to reflect the work and the capacity of the citizens to overcome and which started with the campaign #AlPieDelCañon to highlight the solidarity and the work of the logistics chain by the professionals of the different sectors and the port community. Furthermore, the PAV also highlighted the role of the media with the digital meeting “Informing in times of Covid-19” which brought together international, national, regional and specialised communication professionals.
An indelible exhibition
The Port Authority of Valencia would like to thank all the people who have made possible the successful participation in this exhibition. A new reason for pride that strengthens the relationship of the ports of Valencia, Sagunto and Gandia with their citizens. It will be an unforgettable exhibition. Without the photographs sent in by 1,000 citizens, the exhibition would have been impossible. Neither would it have been possible to complete the mural of wishes and thanks, nor to launch the message of hope for all those who have suffered and are suffering the consequences of a pandemic that we all wish would be overcome as soon as possible.