The event, which was attended by the main Balearic authorities and a broad representation of the cultural fabric of Madrid, was part of a “cultural journey” through the Balearic Islands.

In the context of the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum in Madrid, and as an act before the Fitur Tourism Fair, the President of the Government, Marga Prohens, presented the project to digitise the Casa Planas photographic archive.

TDB keeps you informed. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

The digitisation of the Casa Planas photographic archive at the Thyssen Museum on the centenary of the birth of Josep Planas

Coinciding with the centenary of the birth of the founder of the house, Josep Planas i Montanyà, the Government will be involved in the recovery of more than three million images linked to the development of tourism from the 1960s onwards.

The event, which was attended by the main Balearic authorities and a broad representation of the cultural fabric of Madrid, was part of a “cultural journey” through the Balearic Islands and began with a brief tour of selected works from the museum with the theme of the journey as a backdrop.

The visit began in the foyer of the gallery, where the essence of the Balearic Islands was evident: The Symphony Orchestra of the Balearic Islands (OSIB) performed its “Sound Impressions of the Balearic Islands”, with works by Balearic composers such as Joan Valent, among others. In this room, which is usually closed to the general public, part of the work of another author with close ties to Mallorca, Joan Miró, is on display.

Planas House

Josep Planas i Montanyà was the founder of the Balearic Islands’ leading photographic house; an entrepreneur in photography and a visionary, as he saw the symbiotic relationship between tourism and the image. His camera captured the tourist, economic and social development between the 50s, 60s and 70s in Spain in which mass tourism was being born.

The history of photography and its technological evolution in the Balearic Islands cannot be understood without this character, who introduced colour and the concept of industrial photography and who developed innovative techniques, incorporating an aerial point of view with the purchase of a helicopter. In this way, he acquired the industrial production of postcards and established the iconography of the tourist boom in the Balearic Islands. This allowed the image of the islands to spread internationally.

Casa Planas produced millions of images at a time that ethnographically portrayed cultural events, icons of a social transformation resulting from the tourist model, which later took on an international dimension.

Centre for Research and Culture

The Casa Planas Centre for Research and Contemporary Culture is a platform for experimentation, research and creativity that is committed to rescuing the former Casa Planas photography factory. A disused space that recovers the material and immaterial memory of this place for the city of Palma, and which opened its doors as an independent centre for research and artistic creation in April 2015.

They support creative processes and offer resources to encourage creation by professional and active creators. Currently, the archive contains three million images that tell the most recent history of our islands and is used as a space for creation, thought, collectivity and interpretation of the identity of the Balearic Islands and tourist culture.