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Videobrasil Celebrates 40 Years with 22nd Biennial, Online Platform, and Major Exhibitions

institutional · 2026-04-23

The Associação Cultural Videobrasil marks its 40th anniversary with a prolific period of activity, overcoming recent institutional paralysis. The 22nd Bienal Sesc_Videobrasil, postponed from 2023 due to the pandemic, is now confirmed for 2023, curated by Raphael Fonseca and Renée M’boya at Sesc 24 de Maio. A major exhibition of its vast archive opens in Vitória, Espírito Santo, in March, occupying the Museu de Arte do Espírito Santo and Galeria Homero Massena. The association launched the Videobrasil Online platform in September 2020, which has presented nine exhibitions, including works by Gabriela Golder and a partnership with KADIST. Founder and director Solange Farkas reflects on the organization's history, from its first festival at the Museu da Imagem e do Som in August 1983 during Brazil's military dictatorship to its focus on the Global South. The archive, which includes commissioned works and collections from artists like Rosangela Rennó and Rafael França, is being considered for transfer to institutions with greater conservation resources. The association also participates in the exhibition 'Sonhei em Português!' at the Museu da Língua Portuguesa in São Paulo.

Key facts

  • The Associação Cultural Videobrasil celebrates 40 years since its first festival in 1983.
  • The 22nd Bienal Sesc_Videobrasil is scheduled for 2023 after a two-year pandemic delay.
  • A major archive exhibition opens in Vitória, Espírito Santo, in March.
  • The Videobrasil Online platform launched in September 2020 and has hosted nine exhibitions.
  • Founder Solange Farkas started the festival after encouragement from her father-in-law, photographer Thomas Farkas.
  • The association's archive includes works by Akram Zaatari, Bouchra Khalili, and Walid Raad, among others.
  • The organization faced institutional paralysis and returned its São Paulo headquarters in 2019 due to funding difficulties.
  • Videobrasil has focused on artistic production from the Global South since the 1990s.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

  • Associação Cultural Videobrasil
  • Sesc-SP
  • Museu da Imagem e do Som
  • Universidade Federal da Bahia
  • MAC-USP
  • Fotoptica
  • arte!brasileiros
  • Museu de Arte do Espírito Santo
  • Galeria Homero Massena
  • Museu da Língua Portuguesa
  • Videobrasil Online
  • KADIST
  • Governo do Estado do Espírito Santo
  • Sesc 24 de Maio
  • Bienal Sesc_Videobrasil
  • Galeria Galatea
  • Nara Roesler
  • Museu de Arte do Espírito Santo (MAES)
  • Movimento Grevista Negro
  • Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo
  • Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
  • Sesc Sorocaba
  • Capela João de Camargo
  • Clube 28 de Setembro
  • CAIXA Cultural São Paulo
  • Phi Projetos
  • Cinnamon
  • Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Belo Horizonte (CCBB BH)
  • Ateliê Marlene Barros
  • Ponto de Cultura Coletivo ZBM
  • Universidade de Aveiro
  • MASP
  • El Espacio 23
  • Coleção Jorge M. Pérez
  • Janaina Torres Galeria
  • FAMA Museu
  • IMS - Instituto Moreira Salles
  • Biblioteca de Fotografia
  • 10×10 Photobooks
  • Getty Research Institute
  • Museo Reina Sofía
  • Rijksmuseum
  • New York Public Library
  • Livraria da Travessa
  • Simões de Assis
  • Galeria Estúdio Reverso
  • NND|Azeco
  • NONADA SP
  • DAN Galeria
  • Casa de Cultura do Parque
  • Instituto de Cultura Contemporânea (ICCo)
  • Biblioteca Brasiliana Guita e José Mindlin - USP
  • Instituto Hercule Florence
  • Documenta Pantanal
  • Instituto Moreira Salles (IMS)
  • Centro Maria Antônia da USP
  • Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)
  • Itaú Cultural
  • Ilê Asipá
  • Pina Luz
  • Centro de Pesquisa e Formação do Sesc
  • Secretaria da Cultura (Secultes)
  • Fundo de Cultura do Estado do Espirito Santo (Funcultura)
  • Política Nacional Aldir Blanc (PNAB)
  • Ministério da Cultura (MINC)
  • Midiateca Capixaba
  • Governo do Estado
  • SP-Arte
  • Lei Rouanet
  • Ministério da Cultura
  • banco BV
  • Laranjinha
  • Banco Itaú
  • Empire Russo
  • Carmo Johnson Projects
  • Videobrasil
  • Sesc São Paulo

Locations

  • São Paulo
  • Brazil
  • Vitória
  • Espírito Santo
  • Salvador
  • Bahia
  • São Francisco
  • Paris
  • France
  • Mali
  • Coreia do Sul
  • Colômbia
  • Rio de Janeiro
  • Recife
  • Pernambuco
  • Olinda
  • Guatemala
  • República Democrática do Congo
  • Camarões
  • Sorocaba
  • Nova York
  • United States
  • Tóquio
  • Japan
  • Mumbai
  • India
  • Pequim
  • China
  • Jacarta
  • Indonesia
  • Belo Horizonte
  • Minas Gerais
  • Maranhão
  • Portugal
  • Aveiro
  • Santiago
  • La Puntana
  • Argentina
  • Gran Chaco
  • Paraguai
  • Miami
  • EUA
  • Campo Grande
  • Mato Grosso do Sul
  • Itu
  • Amsterdã
  • Netherlands
  • Los Angeles
  • Madri
  • Spain
  • Lorena
  • Jardim Paulista
  • Vila Nova Conceição
  • Alto de Pinheiros
  • Centro
  • Boaçava
  • Vila Madalena
  • Bela Vista
  • Bom Retiro
  • Cidade Universitária
  • Porto Feliz
  • Mato Grosso
  • Grão-Pará
  • Amazônia
  • Pantanal
  • Algarve
  • Santo Antônio da Patrulha
  • Rio Grande do Sul
  • Fortaleza
  • Ceará
  • Switzerland
  • Zurich
  • Kenya
  • Morocco
  • Sri Lanka
  • Sierra Leone
  • Albania
  • Lebanon
  • Poland
  • Georgia
  • Czechia
  • Peru
  • Australia
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Serbia
  • Mozambique
  • New Zealand
  • Colombia
  • USA
  • Taiwan
  • Mexico
  • Estonia
  • Singapore
  • Haiti
  • South Korea
  • Puerto Rico
  • Zambia
  • Ecuador
  • Iraq
  • Cameroon
  • Chile
  • Vietnam
  • Curaçao
  • Africa
  • Americas
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • Oceania
  • Global South

Sources