Curitiba will host one of the traveling exhibitions of the 35th Bienal de São Paulo – choreographies of the impossible, in partnership with the Museu Oscar Niemeyer. Curated by Diane Lima, Grada Kilomba, Hélio Menezes and Manuel Borja-Villel, the exhibition, which was a success with audiences and critics in 2023, will land in the city, where it will remain open to the public from March 12 to May 26. This year, the show is expanding to fifteen cities, and Curitiba will receive a special section, one of the largest outside São Paulo, with seventeen participants: Aida Harika Yanomami, Edmar Tokorino Yanomami & Roseane Yariana Yanomami, Amos Gitaï, Anna Boghiguian, Dayanita Singh, Gabriel Gentil Tukano, Geraldine Javier, Katherine Dunham, Luana Vitra, Maya Deren, Min Tanaka & François Pain, Morzaniel Ɨramari, Nontsikelelo Mutiti, Rosana Paulino, Sammy Baloji, Sonia Gomes, Tadáskía and Zumví Arquivo Afro Fotográfico.

The 35th Bienal de São Paulo – choreographies of the impossible explores the complexities and urgencies of the contemporary world, addressing social, political and cultural transformations. The curators seek to tension the spaces between the possible and the impossible, the visible and the invisible, the real and the imaginary, giving voice to diverse issues and perspectives in a poetic way. Choreography, understood as a set of body-centered movements that defy limits, considers diverse trajectories and areas of activity, creating strategies to face institutional and curatorial challenges. The choreographies of the impossible generate their own relationships, times and spaces, offering visitors a remarkable experience.

For the curators, it is crucial that the exhibition reaches more cities, transcending the limits of the Bienal Pavilion. According to them, “the debates proposed by the 35th Bienal cross countless territories around the world, so not restricting the choreographies of the impossible to the Bienal Pavilion is extremely important for the work carried out”.

Andrea Pinheiro, president of the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, highlights the importance not only of bringing the choreographies of the impossible to a wider audience, but also of strengthening ties between cultural institutions. “Taking the show to more cities and with a partner as important as the Museu Oscar Niemeyer is extremely important for strengthening Brazil’s cultural institutions. The exchange of experiences between audiences and institutions is one of the great assets of the Bienal de São Paulo’s traveling exhibitions program,” she says.

The chief executive officer of the Museu Oscar Niemeyer, Juliana Vosnika, comments that art has the ability to communicate without words and therefore provides a deep and present connection that would often not be possible in any other way. “By participating in the traveling exhibition of such an important event, MON helps to cross barriers through art and, in this way, allows a link between people, worlds and experiences,” she says.

Educational action

On March 13, at 7 pm, there will be an educational action related to the exhibition, in the Museum’s Mini-Auditorium. MON will host the education team from the 35th Bienal de São Paulo for a conversation based on the three movements of the exhibition’s educational publication, recognizing and integrating the open dimension of education.

The meeting will include sharing the education team’s gestures and collaborations with the artists and authors of the titles, influenced by the thoughts of poet, playwright and teacher Leda Maria Martins, artist Rosana Paulino, curator and researcher Sandra Benites and Regina Aparecida Pereira and Cíntia Aparecida Delgado, leaders of the
Quilombo Cafundó. The event is aimed at teachers, educators, cultural mediators and the general public interested in the subject, with free admission.

35th Bienal de São Paulo – choreographies of the impossible
Traveling Exhibitions Program
Museu Oscar Niemeyer Traveling Exhibition
Curators: Diane Lima, Grada Kilomba, Hélio Menezes, and Manuel Borja-Villel
Opening: Mar 12, 2024, 5 pm (open to the public)
Visiting: Mar 13 – May 26, 2024
Tue – Sun, 10 am – 6 pm (last entrance: 5:30 pm)
Museu Oscar Niemeyer
Rooms 1 and 2
Rua Marechal Hermes, 999
Centro Cívico, Curitiba, PR
entrance R$30 (full ticket), R$15 (half ticket), free admission on Wednesdays
gratuity policy on this link