The last private guided tour of the World Press Photo exhibition, the one for the ARA Premium Club

"Despite having come in previous years, being able to enjoy it alone and with the pleasant and interesting explanations of Sílvia Omedes, director of the Photographic Social Vision Foundation, has made this visit a very good experience, even exciting at times," commented one of the members of the ARA Premium Club After the massive guided tour of the World Press Photo exhibition, which was hosted by the Centre for Contemporary Culture of Barcelona until Sunday, December 14th. It is abouta splendid display of the best of photojournalism, which collects "unofficial" stories and images from around the world, such as the one published by Washington Post, after the attack (or alleged attack) on Donald Trump, in which he appears not with his fist raised –it is the photo that most media showed– but with a worried face.

The most abundant images in this exhibition are, unfortunately, those depicting tragedy. However, paradoxically, most of the photographs are beautiful, thanks to the gaze of their subjects and the light. And, of course, to the photographer's eye, which knows how to capture the "decisive moment," an expression coined by Cartier-Bresson, sometimes after months and months of preparation and at great personal risk.

This has been the twenty-first time that the World Press Photo contest exhibition –the Oscars of photojournalism– has been exhibited at the CCCB. The exhibition brings together the best photographs from the 59,320 submitted by 3,778 photographers from 141 countries to this year's competition. They depict both public spaces and domestic settings. These are images that interpret, question, and move us. "The exhibition travels to over a hundred cities and receives millions of online visits—and represents enormous professional exposure for the winners," Sílvia Omedes explained to the attendees.

"The photographer takes sides by focusing on a detail, cropping elements, or choosing the angle of the photo. 'To photograph is to frame, and to frame is to exclude,'" Silvia commented, making these words of the writer Susan Sontag her own.

"World Press Photo focuses on the innocent victims of conflict," explained Silvia Omedes. This year's winning photo, by Palestinian photographer Samar Abu Elouf, forThe New York Times, It's a picture of a mutilated child, wounded during an Israeli attack on Gaza. "How will I hug my mother from now on, without my arms?" exclaimed the child, the subject of the image. Now he hugs her with his legs.

All participants left with a gift of a poster with a reproduction of a beautiful black and white image taken by photographer Joaquín Tusquets of Cabirol around 1940 – from an archive found in a container in Palma de Mallorca, rescued by the Maritime Museum and the Photographic Foundation – and with their hearts deeply moved.

"I also really enjoyed doing this visit for ARA subscribers. I could tell from the start that they really valued photojournalism. They're the group that asked me the most questions!" Silvia Omedes commented as she left.

The Premium Club is entering the final stretch of the year. The last three activities of 2025 are guided tours of the Torre de les Aigües del Besòs (December 20), the Casa Coll i Regàs (December 27), and Hostalric Castle (December 30). This year "the ARA's die-hard supporters' club" has carried out about 150 activities throughout the country. It has experienced remarkable growth, both in terms of activities and membership. "Since several experiences sold out quickly, we've repeated them. This was the case with the guided tour of the modernist Sant Pau Hospital complex, which included the archives; the second tour also sold out... We'll be offering a third one soon; in addition, to meet the demand, we've significantly increased the number of nature and gastronomy activities, including meetings with journalists from ARA to discuss current affairs. All of these will be announced, as always, in [the following format/link]. The Store of NOW.