Lunwerg

For more than fifteen years, the AXA Foundation has organized a series of large-format photographic exhibitions in collaboration with Editorial Lunwerg. Curated by Joaquín Araújo, a renowned naturalist, journalist, and trustee of the AXA Foundation, these exhibitions have been offered free of charge in public outdoor spaces across the country to raise awareness of the importance of protecting the planet, the urgency of addressing climate change, and the need to preserve biodiversity.

 

Forests, our allies against climate change.


In 2023, the Foundation presented the exhibition "Bosques, nuestros aliados contra el cambio climático" (Forests: our allies against climate change). Featuring 39 large-format photographs, the exhibition highlights the need for preventative policies to protect our forests and the importance of education in achieving this goal. ‘Sin bosques, no hay futuro’ (Without forests there is no future).
Forests cover 31% of the Earth's land surface. However, millions of hectares are lost each year to deforestation and environmental degradation, with serious consequences for both the environment and human health. Protecting the well-being of our planet requires the restoration of forests and their sustainable management.  
•    Madrid, Parque del Retiro (Casa de Fieras, Paseo Fernando Núñez, 24); exhibition open to the public from 26 May to 31 July 2023.
•    Vigo, Calle del Príncipe; exhibition open to the public from 18 September - 31 October.

 

Climate change: How to prevent catastrophic collapse


In 2022, the exhibition ‘Cambio Climático: cómo evitar un colapso total’ (Climate change: How to prevent catastrophic collapse) was presented in Málaga, Palma de Mallorca, Madrid, Santander, Bilbao, and San Sebastian in 2023. Bringing together around 70 striking photographs, the exhibition surveys the changing climate and its key causes. The photographs also examine the fragility of landscapes and life in some of the world's more vulnerable regions.


As visitors move through the exhibition, they have an opportunity to see vivid images of various locations around the planet that have been permanently transformed and others that could change even more dramatically if we fail to act. The photographs on display capture the loss of glaciers, animal migrations, flowers that bloom out of season, heatwaves, changes in the composition of marine waters, declining forests, and rising sea levels. Yet the exhibition also offers visitors a message of hope by highlighting the measures and actions being taken to mitigate these changes. These include scientific research, the protection of natural areas, carbon pricing, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the adoption of sustainability principles and clean energy solutions, regenerative agriculture, and the use of renewable energy sources. Ultimately, the exhibition is both a call to reflection and a call to action, encouraging everyone to play their part in addressing the climate crisis insofar as they are able.

 

Biosphere reserves


In 2021, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere programme, (MAB), the goal of which being to improve human connection to nature, an exhibition was presented in Bilbao, Santander, Madrid, and Barcelona titled: ‘Reservas de la Biosfera’ (Biosphere Reserves). This exhibition offers a trip around the world through 61 evocative photographs showcasing these unique ecosystems on land and in water, from mountain peaks to ocean trenches, and exploring the principles and practices of sustainable development.  There are currently 738 biosphere reserves across 134 countries (53 of which are part of the Spanish Network of Biosphere Reserves). These are places that offer numerous opportunities for research in nearly every field of science and constitute, in the words of curator Joaquín Araújo, “schools of life”. In addition, thanks to the spirit of collaboration behind the ONE AXA partnership between the AXA Foundation and Mexico, the Biosphere Reserves exhibition was brought to Mexico City in 2021, held at the iconic Las Rejas area of the Chapultepec Forest Park.

 

Save the forests


With 65 photographs on view, this exhibition offers a glimpse of the principal forest landscapes of the world and the conservation challenges they face, the devastating consequences of the expansion of the agricultural frontier, unsustainable logging practices, poorly planned urban development, and pollution, as well as the urgent need to implement measures to prevent and protect the world's remaining primary forests.