Sebastião Salgado donates works to Sciences Po

On 29 May 2017, as part of the Political Observatory of Latin America and the Caribbean’s tenth anniversary celebrations, Sciences Po was honoured to receive two large-scale photographic works donated by Mr. Sebastião Salgado. This is the photographer's first donation to a university and the first time an artwork has been gifted to Sciences Po. The works, both 1.80m by 2.70m in size, are exhibited on the Sciences Po premises at 27 rue Saint-Guillaume, Paris, and can be viewed by all Sciences Po students, faculty members, staff and visitors.

Photos that force students to reflect on the dangerous overexploitation of the Amazon region

The two photographs, taken by Salgado in 1986 and 2016 in the Amazon, illustrate the artist's work for and commitment to the environment and the fight against poverty. His commitment has been commended by political figures such as Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oscar Arias and by leaders of international organisations including Angel Gurria, Secretary-General of the OECD, who spoke at the opening reception.

The 1986 photograph, taken in the Serra Pelada mine (state of Pará), shows 50,000 garimpeiros (gold diggers) deep in mud. They're digging for gold, a source of both inhuman labour and hope for the workers. This image is from one of Salgado’s most well-known series, Workers: An Archeaology of the Industrial Age, a project he worked on from 1986 to 1992 focused on manual labour around the world (Salgado began his career as an economist). In contrast, the 2016 photograph shows the immensity of the Amazonian rainforest, a territory threatened by deforestation and human exploitation of its natural resources.

With this donation, Salgado underscores his support for the values of humanity, ecological concern and intercultural dialogue; values championed by Sciences Po. The photographer wishes to draw the public’s attention to educational issues and has always promoted the type of cultural exchange fostered by the University.

Watch the interview with Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado (source: AFP News agency).

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