The project “Ca sa padrina” by Maya Valencia is showcased at the documentary photography festival

The Institut d’Estudis Baleàrics (IEB), maintaining its collaboration agreement with the international photography festival Cortona On The Move (COTM), is participating in this year’s edition — held from July 17 to November 2, 2025, in Cortona, Italy — with the project Ca sa padrina by Maya Valencia, the winner of the open call launched by the institution.

Since 2011, Cortona On The Move has been a key event in the international photography scene. It has become a reference point for photographers, curators, authors, and critics, focusing on documentary storytelling that addresses contemporary and socially relevant issues.

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Balearic Presence at the Cortona On The Move Festival Through the Institut d’Estudis Baleàrics (IEB)

The IEB has maintained a collaboration agreement with the festival, held in the Tuscan town of Cortona (Province of Arezzo), since 2019. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the festival. The main theme proposed by the festival is Come Together, which explores reconciliation as the only viable path, investigating the many ways it can be achieved socially, politically, and personally.

The project Ca sa padrina, by Mallorcan photographer Maya Valencia and curated by Paolo Woods, was selected to participate in the international photography festival. It portrays Valencia’s final farewell to the family home located in the Son Espanyolet neighbourhood of Palma. This house, which served as the family’s central hub, was home to her grandparents throughout their lives. After their passing, Valencia explores the grief of both these personal losses and that of the house itself. She presents her project as an act of resistance against the effects of gentrification, aiming to preserve living memory and create shared spaces for coexistence.

The jury responsible for selecting the winning Balearic project included: Veronica Nicolardi, director of Cortona On The Move; Paolo Woods, the festival’s artistic director; Kublaiklan, the festival’s curatorial collective; Karen Müller, visual arts officer at the IEB; and Llorenç Perelló Rosselló, director of the IEB.

Photographic projects by Balearic authors previously featured at the festival include: L’illa by Beatriz Polo (2019); Badlands by Tomeu Coll (2022); Tourism’s War-Like Focus: All-Inclusive by Marina Planas (2023); and Androids in the Woods by Toni Amengual (2024).

The director of the IEB, Llorenç Perelló, stated:

“The participation of photographer Maya Valencia, through the IEB, in such a major festival like COTM, contributes to the visibility and international recognition of photographers from the Balearic Islands.”