For the third time, the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo is taking its traveling exhibitions program to Fortaleza, in partnership with the Government of Ceará, through the Secretariat of Culture and the Centro Dragão do Mar de Arte e Cultura, a facility managed by the Instituto Dragão do Mar (IDM). From September 10 to November 10, the Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Ceará (MAC-CE), located in the Centro Dragão do Mar de Arte e Cultura, will host a selection of fourteen participants in the 35th Bienal de São Paulo – choreographies of the impossible, curated by Diane Lima, Grada Kilomba, Hélio Menezes and Manuel Borja-Villel. The city has already hosted the traveling exhibitions of the 34th Bienal de São Paulo – Though It’s Dark, Still I Sing (2022) and the 32nd Bienal de São Paulo – Live Uncertainty (2017). The show is signed by J.Macêdo.

On this occasion, the list of participants selected for the traveling exhibition in Fortaleza includes Cozinha Ocupação 9 de Julho – MSTC, Deborah Anzinger, Denilson Baniwa, Gabriel Gentil Tukano, Katherine Dunham, Leilah Weinraub, MAHKU, Maya Deren, Melchor María Mercado, Nadir Bouhmouch e Soumeya Ait Ahmed, Nikau Hindin, Nontsikelelo Mutiti, Rosa Gauditano and Simone Leigh e Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich.

According to the superintendent of the Centro Dragão do Mar de Arte e Cultura, Helena Barbosa, hosting a traveling exhibition of the Bienal de São Paulo once again reinforces the importance and quality of the Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Ceará in the visual arts circuit. “As well as the privilege of being chosen to host this powerful selection of contemporary art from Brazil and around the world, this year’s theme is in line with the ancestry of the Dragão and its history of struggles, and what the cultural center, through the MAC-CE, continues to represent for artists and the public: a space for experimentation, deviation from established routes, deconstruction, other possibilities of becoming, fabrications of a new future and the establishment of practices to break away from an unequal structure,” she said.

“We are delighted to see the Bienal de São Paulo return to Fortaleza for the third time, a city that is so special to me, for it is my hometown. This edition is even more important as it takes place during the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the Dragão do Mar complex, a space that has been fundamental for promoting art and culture in Ceará. Bringing the choreographies of the impossible to Fortaleza reinforces the connection between the Bienal and Ceará’s culture, establishing new bridges with the public and the local art scene,” says Andrea Pinheiro, president of the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo.

The traveling exhibition

Among the artists arriving in the Ceará capital are Denilson Baniwa, one of the curators of the exhibition Ka’a Pûera: we are walking birds, the current Brazilian participation at La Biennale di Venezia; Deborah Anzinger, whose work moves between language and materiality as subject and object; and Nontsikelelo Mutiti, responsible for designing the visual identity of the 35th Bienal de São Paulo – choreographies of the impossible.

The MAHKU collective (Movimento dos Artistas Huni Kuin) presents a visual translation of the sacred Huni Meka songs, reverberating cultural activism and the preservation of the lands of the original peoples. Gabriel Gentil Tukano, who died in 2006, is honored with works that perpetuate the Tukano cosmogony and the sacredness of the ancestral territory.

The exhibition also includes the work of Katherine Dunham, a pioneer of modern dance that integrates African and Caribbean traditions, and the film SHAKEDOWN (2018) by Leilah Weinraub, which documents the life and culture of a lesbian strip club in Los Angeles. Maya Deren, one of the great names in experimental cinema, is also present with her film Meditation on Violence (1948), which explores dance and temporality.

Other artists such as Nadir Bouhmouch & Soumeya Ait Ahmed and Nikau Hindin bring to the show works that dialog with the specificity of their cultures and traditions, offering critical perspectives on colonialism, diaspora and identity.

Actions with the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo education team

During the traveling exhibitions, the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, together with its partner institutions, carries out two fronts of educational work that complement each other. These are training actions with the city’s teams of mediators and educators, and outreach actions for the general public.

One of the main moments of the program is the series of encounters on the three movements of the educational publication of the 35th Bienal de São Paulo. Each volume addresses different aspects of the show, as well as mediation and outreach practices. The third movement, specially prepared for the traveling exhibitions, is based on the practices carried out during the exhibition at the Bienal Pavilion and will be distributed free of charge to participants.

On September 10, at 7 pm, during the opening, the education team from the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo proposes a tour of the traveling exhibition at the Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Ceará, suggesting dialogues with the educational publication of the 35th Bienal de São Paulo. The tour includes participants such as Cozinha Ocupação 9 de Julho – MSTC, Denilson Baniwa and Rosa Gauditano. The thematic visit with the Bienal’s education team and meetings with the educational publication take place on Thursday, September 12. More information on the service.

These initiatives are designed to create a collaborative learning environment, strengthening interaction with the public and promoting contemporary art in Fortaleza, contributing to a more inclusive and culturally engaged society.

Service
35th Bienal de São Paulo – choreographies of the impossible
Traveling Exhibition Fortaleza – Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Ceará / Centro Dragão do Mar de Arte e Cultura
curators: Diane Lima, Grada Kilomba, Hélio Menezes and Manuel Borja-Villel
opening: Sep 10, Tue, 6 pm – 9 pm
Main access from the museum entrance, avenida Presidente Castelo Branco, s/n
visitation: Sep 11 – Nov 10, 2024
Wed – Fri, 9 am – 6 pm (access until 5:30 pm)
Sat, Sun, holidays, 1 pm – 6pm (access until 5:30 pm)
Centro Dragão do Mar de Arte e Cultura
Fortaleza, Brazil
free admission

Mediated visit with the Bienal’s education team
Sep 10, 2024
Tue, 7 pm
Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Ceará (MAC-CE)
Main access from the museum entrance, avenida Presidente Castelo Branco, s/n
Fortaleza, Brazil
free admission

Thematic visit with the Bienal’s education team
Sep 12, 2024
Thu, 4 pm
Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Ceará (MAC-CE)
Main access from the museum entrance, avenida Presidente Castelo Branco, s/n
Fortaleza, Brazil
free admission

Meeting with the 35th Bienal’s educational publication
Sep 12, 2024
Thu, 7 pm
Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Ceará (MAC-CE)
Rua Dragão do Mar, 81
Fortaleza, Brazil
free admission

For more information on the educational program visits: educacao@bienal.org.br