ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Pinacoteca de São Paulo Celebrates 120 Years with Focus on Diversity and Silenced Narratives

institutional · 2026-04-19

In 2025, the Pinacoteca de São Paulo will mark its 120th anniversary by adopting a new identity that emphasizes marginalized voices. Since Jochen Volz took the helm in 2017, the museum has transformed from a local Paulista establishment into one that prioritizes historical representation. Notably, around 60% of its visitors are newcomers. With a collection comprising 12,000 pieces and a budget of R$ 66 million for 2024, the museum drew over 800,000 visitors in 2023 and 2024. It operates across three buildings and plans to showcase 18 exhibitions in 2025, including "Pop Brasil" on May 31 and "Trabalho de Carnaval" in November. Its mission focuses on acquiring art from Black, Indigenous, peripheral, and LGBTQIA+ creators, increasing its contemporary Indigenous works from none in 2018 to about 40 by 2024.

Key facts

  • Pinacoteca de São Paulo celebrates 120 years in 2025.
  • Director Jochen Volz has led a shift towards representing Black, Indigenous, peripheral, and LGBTQIA+ artists since 2017.
  • Approximately 60% of visitors are at a museum for the first time.
  • The institution operates with a R$ 66 million budget (2024) and had over 800,000 visitors in 2023 and 2024.
  • The museum manages three buildings: Pina Luz, Pina Estação, and Pina Contemporânea (opened two years ago).
  • Eighteen exhibitions are planned for the anniversary year, including "Pop Brasil" and "Trabalho de Carnaval".
  • A 2017-2018 museological plan revision established the mission as a museum of Brazilian art in global dialogue.
  • The collection expanded from zero to about 40 contemporary Indigenous artists between 2018 and 2024.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

  • Pinacoteca de São Paulo
  • Museu Paulista da USP
  • Associação de Amigos
  • Secretaria de Cultura
  • Memorial da Resistência
  • Governo do Estado de São Paulo
  • arte!brasileiros
  • Conselho de Orientação Artística
  • Tate Modern
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Galeria Galatea Salvador
  • Nara Roesler
  • Museu de Arte do Espírito Santo (MAES)
  • Movimento Grevista Negro
  • Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo
  • Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
  • Ministério da Cultura (MINC)
  • Secretaria da Cultura (Secultes)
  • Fundo de Cultura do Estado do Espirito Santo (Funcultura)
  • Política Nacional Aldir Blanc (PNAB)
  • Midiateca Capixaba
  • Governo do Estado
  • Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel
  • Casa Onze
  • Sesc Sorocaba
  • Capela João de Camargo
  • Clube 28 de Setembro
  • CAIXA Cultural São Paulo
  • Phi Projetos
  • Cinnamon
  • Governo do Brasil
  • Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Belo Horizonte (CCBB BH)
  • Ateliê Marlene Barros
  • Ponto de Cultura Coletivo ZBM
  • Universidade de Aveiro
  • MASP — Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand
  • Janaina Torres Galeria
  • Casa Seva
  • FAMA Museu
  • IMS - Instituto Moreira Salles
  • 10x10 Photobooks
  • Biblioteca de Fotografia
  • Getty Research Institute
  • Museo Reina Sofía
  • Rijksmuseum
  • New York Public Library
  • Livraria da Travessa
  • Simões de Assis
  • El Espacio 23
  • Coleção Jorge M. Pérez
  • Galeria Estúdio Reverso
  • NONADA SP
  • NND|Azeco
  • DAN Galeria
  • SP-Arte
  • Casa de Cultura do Parque
  • Instituto de Cultura Contemporânea (ICCo)
  • Lei Rouanet
  • banco BV
  • Laranjinha
  • Banco Itaú
  • Biblioteca Brasiliana Guita e José Mindlin - USP
  • Instituto Hercule Florence
  • Documenta Pantanal
  • Instituto Moreira Salles (IMS)
  • Centro Maria Antônia da USP
  • Império Russo
  • Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)
  • Coleção Cyrillo Hercules Florence
  • Galeria Nara Roesler - SP
  • Roesler Hotel
  • Fonte
  • Carmo Johnson Projects
  • Itaú Cultural
  • Ilê Asipá
  • Pina Luz
  • Centro de Pesquisa e Formação do Sesc
  • PGHEA-MAC/USP

Locations

  • São Paulo
  • Brazil
  • São Paulo, Brazil
  • Salvador
  • Bahia
  • Salvador - BA
  • Recife
  • Pernambuco
  • Olinda
  • Zona Leste paulistana
  • Vitória
  • Espírito Santo
  • Vitória - ES
  • Rio de Janeiro
  • Jardins
  • São Paulo - SP
  • Sorocaba
  • Sorocaba - SP
  • Londres
  • Nova York
  • Tóquio
  • Mumbai
  • Pequim
  • Jacarta
  • Belo Horizonte
  • Minas Gerais
  • Belo Horizonte - MG
  • Maranhão
  • Portugal
  • Aveiro
  • Santiago
  • La Puntana
  • Argentina
  • Gran Chaco
  • Paraguai
  • Campo Grande
  • São Paulo-SP
  • Jardins, São Paulo - SP
  • Itu
  • CEP 13300-190
  • Itu – SP
  • Amsterdã
  • Los Angeles
  • Madri
  • Paris
  • Miami
  • EUA
  • Vila Nova Conceição - São Paulo - SP
  • Centro, São Paulo - SP
  • Barra Funda, São Paulo-SP
  • Alto de Pinheiros, São Paulo - SP, 05461-010
  • Cidade Universitária, São Paulo - SP
  • Porto Feliz (SP)
  • Mato Grosso
  • Grão-Pará
  • Amazônia
  • Pantanal
  • Algarve
  • Santo Antônio da Patrulha (RS)
  • Boaçava / Alto de Pinheiros, São Paulo - SP
  • Bela Vista - São Paulo - SP
  • Bom Retiro, São Paulo — SP
  • Cidade Tiradentes
  • Jardim da Luz
  • Estação da Luz
  • Sudeste
  • Nordeste
  • Fortaleza
  • Ipojuca
  • Ilha de Itaparica
  • Recôncavo Baiano
  • África
  • Yanomami
  • sertão mineiro
  • Alto de Pinheiros
  • Vila Madalena, São Paulo - SP
  • Centro de Vitória - ES

Sources

Related stories