Disunited States of America" exhibition

Taguspark - City of Knowledge and Associação Centro Cultural 11 are presenting the photographic exhibition DISUNITED STATES OF AMERICA, a portrait of a country that is highly mobilized but also deeply divided. The exhibition will be on display at the Taguspark Central Center, in Oeiras, from March 19 to May 14, and admission is free.

The exhibition records the journey that photographer João Porfírio made with journalist João de Almeida Dias to cover the US presidential campaign for Observador. They covered more than 2,600 km in 16 days, between October 24 and November 7, 2020.

The work now on display shows a country that is politically engaged but severely straitjacketed. In New York, they found a city still suffering from the trauma of the Covid-19 pandemic; they portrayed Scranton, Pennsylvania, the hometown of Joe Biden, whom Donald Trump accused of abandoning; in Philadelphia, they reported on the African-American community and encountered the demonstrations and looting that followed the death of Walter Wallace Jr; in West Virginia, they captured the atmosphere of a drug rehabilitation center; in Youngstown, Ohio, they showed the survivors of a town where a General Motors plant closed; in Pennsylvania, they attended one of Trump's biggest rallies of the campaign; in Philadelphia, they covered one of Joe Biden's innovative drive-in rallies; in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, they reported on election night at the home of a Donald Trump supporter; in Philadelphia, during the vote count, they covered a pro-Biden and a pro-Trump rally; back in New York, they witnessed Joe Biden's election celebrations in the streets.

João de Almeida Dias reports that "in the 16 days we spent together in the US reporting, we didn't find anyone willing to stay halfway. We heard those who put Trump alongside the worst of the fascists and also those who equated Biden with communist dictators. We also met people who had stopped talking to friends or family because they couldn't tolerate their political opinions. We passed through four states: New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, where together we signed 16 reports. We went from the immense buildings of Manhattan to the plains as far as the eye can see in Ohio. We spoke to people who were happy about the state of their country and others who felt on edge. Here, we tell you what those days were like, between the people we met and the challenges we encountered."

For the exhibition's curator, Maria Mann, "João Porfírio and João de Almeida Dias have captured the very heart of today's America in an eloquent and evocative documentation. Their images and words place us directly at the center of a Disunited America."

Eduardo Baptista Correia, CEO of Taguspark, highlights "Taguspark's commitment to supporting the transformation of an exceptional piece of journalism into an exhibition that portrays and reports on a defining moment in the recent history of the United States of America and democracies in the Western world, such as the US elections".

This exhibition and catalog were produced with the sponsorship of Taguspark and the support of Casa da Imprensa, in partnership with Observador. The CC11 cultural association, which coordinated this initiative, was founded at the beginning of 2020 and aims to disseminate and promote photography and photojournalism in Portugal.