Anri Sala and Carlos Garaicoa explore music as symbolic territory in São Paulo exhibitions

exhibition · 2026-04-23

Anri Sala and Carlos Garaicoa, both migrants from communist countries, use music as a symbolic space for territory and belonging in their concurrent São Paulo exhibitions. Sala's 'O Momento Presente' at Instituto Moreira Salles features video works like 'The Clash' (2010), which appropriates the punk song 'Should I Stay or Should I Go' by The Clash, exploring political and poetic dimensions. His installation includes two large screens with Arnold Schoenberg's 'Noite Transfigurada' and a live performance by saxophonist Andre Vida during the opening week. Garaicoa's 'Ser Urbano' at Espaço Cultural Porto Seguro, curated by Rodolfo de Athayde, comprises seven works including installations, videos, maquettes, and drawings. His piece 'Partitura' (2017) involved over 70 street musicians from Madrid and Bilbao over ten years, with tablets and headphones displaying their performances. Both artists reflect on historical-political-cultural issues through their work, with Sala focusing on public space and Garaicoa on urban language and fragments. The exhibitions highlight transitoriness and everyday life transformed through artistic practices.

Key facts

Anri Sala's exhibition 'O Momento Presente' is at Instituto Moreira Salles in São Paulo
Carlos Garaicoa's exhibition 'Ser Urbano' is at Espaço Cultural Porto Seguro in São Paulo
Sala uses The Clash's song 'Should I Stay or Should I Go' in his video work 'The Clash' (2010)
Garaicoa's 'Partitura' (2017) involved over 70 street musicians from Madrid and Bilbao
Sala's installation includes Arnold Schoenberg's 'Noite Transfigurada' on two large screens
Garaicoa's work includes tablets and headphones displaying street musician performances
Sala was born in Tirana, Albania, and lives in Berlin
Garaicoa is from Havana, Cuba, with studios in Havana and Madrid

Entities

Artists

Anri Sala
Carlos Garaicoa
Rodolfo de Athayde
Heloisa Espada
Arnold Schoenberg
Andre Vida
Jemeel Moondoc
Milton Santos
Tadeu Kaingang
Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui
Antônio Bispo dos Santos
Nêgo Bispo
Luciara Ribeiro
Naine Terena
Khadyg Fares
Guilherme Wisnik
Daniela Thomas
Betânia Pinheiro
Fábio Nunes
Júlia Martins
Adriano Pedrosa
Laura Cosendey
Tadeu Chiarelli
Moacir dos Anjos
Aracy Amaral
Cao Guimarães
Marcelo Silveira
Catalina Bergues
Claudio Cretti
Guilherme Teixeira
Ana Avelar
José Augusto Ribeiro
Darks Miranda
Flávia Metzler
Ivan Cardoso
Yuli Yamagata
Maria Noujaim
Ayrson Heráclito
Rodrigo Moura
Abdias Nascimento
Mônica Cardim
Alberto Henschel
Anna Atkins
Elizabeth B. Brownell
Eslanda Cardozo Goode Robeson
Annette Messager
Angèle Etoundi Essamba
Hiromix
Claudia Andujar
Maureen Bisilliat
Gretta Sarfaty
Vilma Slomp
Claudia Jaguaribe
Anna Mariani
Stefania Bril
Tomás Toledo
Alana Silveira
Montez Magno
Mari Ra
Zé di Cabeça
Fabio Miguez
Adenor Gondim
Júlio Bittencourt
Marlene Barros
Claudia Alarcón
Thalita Hamaoui
Ana Paula Cavalcanti Simioni
Rogério Medeiros
Rafael Hayashi
Lázaro Roberto
Hélio Menezes
Ivald Granato
Maria Alice Milliet
Christian-Jack Heymès
Felipe Rezende
Andrea Brazil
Georg Heinrich von Langsdorff
Ludwig Riedel
Néster Rubtsov
Aimé-Adrien Taunay
Hercule Florence
Wilhelmine von Langsdorff
Antonio Florence
Francis Melvin Lee
Mônica Guimarães
Lalo de Almeida
Paula Sampaio
Miguel Chikaoka
João Pompeu
Flavia Renault
Paula Borghi
Belony Ferreira
Paula Ramos
Paulo Pedro Leal
Jean Boghici
Carlos Lacerda
Francisco Brennand
José Cláudio
Nuno Ramos
Marcos Amaro
Russet Lederman
Olga Yatskevich
Miguel Del Castillo

Institutions

Instituto Moreira Salles
Espaço Cultural Porto Seguro
Sesc Sorocaba
CAIXA Cultural São Paulo
Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Belo Horizonte (CCBB BH)
MASP — Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand
Janaina Torres Galeria
FAMA Museu
IMS - Instituto Moreira Salles
Simões de Assis
Galeria Estúdio Reverso
NONADA SP
DAN Galeria
Casa de Cultura do Parque
Biblioteca Brasiliana Guita e José Mindlin - USP
Galeria Nara Roesler - SP
Fonte
Carmo Johnson Projects
Itaú Cultural
Pina Luz
Centro de Pesquisa e Formação do Sesc
Galeria Galatea Salvador
Phi Projetos
Cinnamon
Ateliê Marlene Barros
Ponto de Cultura Coletivo ZBM
Universidade de Aveiro
Coleção Jorge M. Pérez
El Espacio 23
10×10 Photobooks
Getty Research Institute
Museo Reina Sofía
Rijksmuseum
New York Public Library
Livraria da Travessa
Instituto Hercule Florence
Documenta Pantanal
Centro Maria Antônia da USP
Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)
Ilê Asipá
Secretaria da Cultura (Secultes)
Fundo de Cultura do Estado do Espirito Santo (Funcultura)
Política Nacional Aldir Blanc (PNAB)
Ministério da Cultura (MINC)
Midiateca Capixaba
Instituto de Cultura Contemporânea (ICCo)
Movimento Grevista Negro
Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo
Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
Império Russo
Universidade de São Paulo (USP)
SP-Arte

Locations

São Paulo
Brazil
Tirana
Albania
Berlim
Germany
Havana
Cuba
Madri
Spain
Bilbao
Bordeaux
France
Salle de Fêtes
Grand Parc de Bordeaux
Senegal
Portugal
Angola
Salvador
Bahia
Recife
Pernambuco
Olinda
Zona Leste
Vitória
Espírito Santo
Sorocaba
Capela João de Camargo
Clube 28 de Setembro
Monumento Pelourinho
Monumento à Mãe Preta
Nova York
United States
Tóquio
Japan
Mumbai
India
Pequim
China
Jacarta
Indonesia
Belo Horizonte
Minas Gerais
La Puntana
Argentina
Gran Chaco
Paraguai
Miami
Campo Grande
Mato Grosso do Sul
Itu
Los Angeles
Amsterdã
Netherlands
Lorena
Jardim Paulista
Vila Nova Conceição
Alto de Pinheiros
Cidade Universitária
Vila Madalena
Boaçava
Bela Vista
Bom Retiro
Porto Feliz
Mato Grosso
Grão-Pará
Amazônia
Pantanal
Algarve
Santo Antônio da Patrulha
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio de Janeiro
Fortaleza
Ceará
Ilha de Itaparica
Recôncavo Baiano
Ipojuca

Sources

ARTE!Brasileiros — 2018-03-28