"There was no other way to celebrate Leica's 50th anniversary in Famalicão than in community and with its employees". After all, explains Leica Portugal Director Pedro Oliveira,
"They are the foundation of the brand's success".
The pioneering company in the development of cameras, lenses and imaging systems set up shop in the municipality of Vila Nova de Famalicão five decades ago, in 1973. The date is being marked and the celebrations began yesterday with the opening of the photographic exhibition "From Famalicão to the World: 50 Years of Leica in Portugal", at the Casa das Artes in Famalicão.
Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, curator of the exhibition and Art Director and International Director of the 26 Leica Galleries, speaks of an "incredible story of ups and downs that today is experiencing good and auspicious days".
"While in the early days the German presence was dominant, today at the Leica factory there are only Portuguese, including the management," adds Pedro Oliveira, emphasising the professionalism and quality of the human resources from the municipality and the region.
The exhibition will be open until 12 November, from Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with free admission. It promises to captivate art and photography enthusiasts by taking them on a journey through time, technology and timeless moments eternalised in photography, immersing them in the world of Leica, an iconic brand that has shaped the way we see and remember our world.
Also present at the inauguration was the mayor, Mário Passos, who took the opportunity to congratulate the brand on the path it has travelled over the last five decades in Vila Nova de Famalicão. "I'm extremely proud to have such a prestigious and world-renowned brand as Leica in Famalicão. But I'm even prouder when I hear that at the root of the brand's success and strength are the people of Famalicão," he said.
Using archive photographs, the "5 Decades" series, the exhibition demonstrates the commitment and dedication, as well as the evolution of this Leica production unit, born in Vila Nova de Famalicão, which began its journey in 1973 with just over 10 employees.
The "One Day" series by Gonçalo Fonseca, a documentary photographer and curator from Lisbon who specialises in intimate and long-term projects, presents the routines of the factory, five decades after it began.
On display for the first time in Portugal are a set of 12 iconic photographs by names such as Ralph Gibson, Steve Mcurry, Joel Meyerowitz, Thomas Hoepker or Barbara Klemm, winners of the Leica Hall of Fame award, a prize that celebrates the careers of photographers who have contributed to the development of the brand and photographic art.
On the first floor of the Casa das Artes, "The faces of today" by renowned photographer Michael Agel is on show, a series that depicts the faces of each of Leica's current employees in Portugal, people who have worked daily for the company's success over the last five decades and who have transformed the traditional Wetzlar business into a European enterprise that passionately conveys Leica's values and precision to the world