PHOTOGRAPHY MUSEUM INITIATIVE CABO VERDE
A multi-part conversation about the creation of Cabo Verde’s first Photography Museum
The Photography Museum Initiative – Cabo Verde begins with its first public panel on 17 October 2026 at the Nieuwe Luxor Theater.
This first conversation introduces the vision behind the initiative and brings together artists, photographers, cultural professionals, an architect and members of the Cabo Verdean community to discuss why a dedicated photography museum could be important for Cabo Verde.
PANEL 1 — THE VISION
Photography as Cultural Heritage, National Identity and Future Infrastructure
17 October 2026
Rijnfoyer, Nieuwe Luxor Theater
15:00h — Doors open
15:30h — Panel Talk Starts
17:00h — Panel Talk Ends
* Expo — Stays Open until 18:00h
The first conversation
Photography is an important part of how a country remembers, documents and understands itself. In Cabo Verde, much of this photographic heritage is spread across family albums, private collections and archives outside the country.
The first panel introduces the idea of creating a dedicated photography museum in Cabo Verde - a place where photographic heritage can be collected, preserved, researched and shared, while also creating space for contemporary photography and future generations.
In Panel 1, Gilson Do Rosário Silva, initiator of the Photography Museum Initiative – Cabo Verde, together with a group of powerful thinkers and movers in the cultural sector, will introduce the vision for creating Cabo Verde’s first photography museum. The idea will be introduced to the public in a conversation between colleagues/fellow panelists from the Cabo Verdian diaspora in Rotterdam.
Inviting the public to embrace the initiative (as a collective effort), at the same time opening up the conversation about why a dedicated photography museum is needed, what it could mean for Cabo Verde, and how it could help preserve and share the country’s heritage.
The conversation will explore:
Photography as cultural heritage and national identity
The importance of preserving Cabo Verde’s visual memory
Why Cabo Verde could benefit from a dedicated photography institution
What such a museum could represent for the community and future generations
Possible missions and institutional identity
The role of architecture in creating a cultural institution
The relationship between the museum, its communities and audiences
Photography, cultural development and tourism
Panelists
Gilson do Rosário Silva (Photographer/Idea initiator)
Janilda Bartolomeu (Researcher/Filmmaker)
Jane Ortet
(Cultural/Historical Expert)Nicky do Rosário
(Photographer/Curator)Zico Lopes
(Architect)+ Additional Contributors (On video).
Central questions
Why does Cabo Verde need a photography museum?
What should such an institution represent?
The first panel is intended as an open conversation and starting point. It brings together different perspectives, knowledge and experiences that can help shape the initiative and identify the questions that need to be addressed as the project develops.
A Cultural Landmark for Cabo Verde
The museum has the potential to become an important part of Cabo Verde's cultural infrastructure and a destination for both local communities and international visitors. As Cabo Verde's international visibility continues to grow, cultural institutions can provide visitors with a deeper understanding of the country beyond its landscapes and tourism offer.
A photography museum can become such a place: a cultural landmark where visitors encounter Cabo Verde through its people, its histories, its memories, and its own visual perspectives.
The ambition is therefore not simply to build a museum. It is to build an institution that can preserve the past, serve the present, and contribute to Cabo Verde's cultural future.
A CONVERSATION THAT CONTINUES
The creation of a photography museum is a long-term process. Following the first panel, the initiative will continue through further conversations focusing on the practical and institutional questions involved in building and sustaining a museum.
A future Panel 2 will explore subjects including:
Collecting and documenting Cabo Verde’s photographic heritage
Archive preservation and conservation
Digitization and collection management
Curation and exhibition-making
Education and photographic practice
Research and public engagement
International partnerships and knowledge exchange
Financing and institutional sustainability
The central question will be:
What knowledge, partnerships and resources are required to establish and sustain Cabo Verde’s first Photography Museum?
Panel 2 — To Be Announced
Panel 2 will take place at a later stage.
Its date, location, format and guest panelists will be announced in the future as the initiative develops and the next stage of the conversation is defined.
The intention is for each conversation to build on the previous one, gradually developing the knowledge, partnerships and support needed to move the Photography Museum Initiative from an idea towards a sustainable institution.
Do not miss this first panel (17th October), where the vision will be made public by Gilson Do Rosário Silva & the above mentioned fellow panelists.
Subscribe to the event and secure your place in the venue.
This panel is part of the program from Gilson’s expo Cabo Verde: The Future, currently on display at Luxor Theater’s Art Wall, an ongoing exhibition space in the Nieuwe Luxor Theater. The Art Wall showcases visual and community-focused projects for theatergoers and visitors, regularly featuring local art, storytelling projects, and rotating photography series.
“Every nation deserves an official home for its memories, but until today, Cabo Verde’s visual soul has been scattered across private drawers, family albums and foreign archives. I’m aiming for a change of the status quo. So we can photograph, curate, display and tell our own visual and photographic stories, from our own perspectives. We need a place that specializes in that. A proper photography museum inside Cabo Verde is a necessity and a long overdue one.”
— Gilson Do Rosário Silva