Brazilian Cultural Institutions Face Political Attacks and Pandemic Challenges
Brazil's cultural institutions confront severe political hostility and funding cuts under President Jair Bolsonaro's government, which downgraded the Ministry of Culture to a secretariat. Danilo Santos de Miranda of Sesc-SP and Solange Farkas of Associação Cultural Videobrasil describe the administration's actions as a fascist attack on culture. The COVID-19 pandemic forced closures from March 2020, prompting a shift to digital programming. Institutions like Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Itaú Cultural, and Instituto Tomie Ohtake expanded online activities, with Jochen Volz noting a legacy of hybrid engagement. The Aldir Blanc Law, providing emergency funds, faced delays. Leaders including Eduardo Saron and Ricardo Ohtake discussed reinvention and financial strain, with Saron launching emergency grants. Farkas postponed the Bienal Sesc_Videobrasil to 2023, focusing on the Videobrasil online platform. Miranda and Farkas highlighted global inequities exacerbated by the pandemic, linking the crisis to environmental exploitation. Discussions on post-pandemic society emphasized solidarity and institutional adaptation. Parallels were drawn to Brazil's military dictatorship, with concerns over censorship and resource scarcity threatening institutional survival.
Key facts
- President Jair Bolsonaro's government downgraded the Ministry of Culture to a secretariat linked to Tourism.
- Cultural institutions faced funding cuts and political attacks, described as fascist by Solange Farkas.
- The COVID-19 pandemic forced closures from March 2020, accelerating digital programming shifts.
- The Aldir Blanc Law provided R$3 billion in emergency funds but faced implementation delays.
- Institutions like Pinacoteca, Itaú Cultural, and Instituto Tomie Ohtake expanded online engagement.
- Solange Farkas postponed the Bienal Sesc_Videobrasil to 2023, focusing on the Videobrasil online platform.
- Leaders highlighted global social and economic disparities worsened by the pandemic.
- Parallels were drawn to censorship during Brazil's 1964-1985 military dictatorship.
Entities
Artists
- Jochen Volz
- Eduardo Saron
- Ricardo Ohtake
- Marcelo Araujo
- João Fernandes
- Danilo Santos de Miranda
- Solange Farkas
- Ailton Krenak
- Francisco Weffort
- Gilberto Gil
- Montez Magno
- Mari Ra
- Zé di Cabeça
- Fabio Miguez
- Adenor Gondim
- Tomás Toledo
- Alana Silveira
- Luciano Feijão
- Renato Lopes
- Elaine Pinheiro
- Karenn Amorim
- Nicolas Soares
- Ronaldo Domingues de Almeida
- Adriana Machado
- Paulo Bruscky
- Luciara Ribeiro
- Naine Terena
- Khadyg Fares
- Tadeu Kaingang
- Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui
- Antônio Bispo dos Santos
- Júlio Bittencourt
- Guilherme Wisnik
- Daniela Thomas
- Hannah Arendt
- Marlene Barros
- Betânia Pinheiro
- Fábio Nunes
- Júlia Martins
- Claudia Alarcón
- Adriano Pedrosa
- Laura Cosendey
- Deborah Paiva
- Tadeu Chiarelli
- Walter Benjamin
- Iberê Camargo
- Jasper Johns
- Henri Matisse
- Marie Laurencin
- Nuno Ramos
- Marcos Amaro
- Russet Lederman
- Olga Yatskevich
- Miguel Del Castillo
- 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
- Thalita Hamaoui
- Ana Paula Cavalcanti Simioni
- Rogério Medeiros
- Catalina Bergues
- Rafael Hayashi
- Lázaro Roberto
- Hélio Menezes
- Ivald Granato
- Maria Alice Milliet
- Christian-Jack Heymès
- Felipe Rezende
- Claudio Cretti
- Guilherme Teixeira
- Andrea Brazil
- Ana Avelar
- Darks Miranda
- Flávia Metzler
- Ivan Cardoso
- Yuli Yamagata
- José Augusto Ribeiro
- Maria Noujaim
- 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
- Moacir dos Anjos
- Francisco Brennand
- José Cláudio
- Aracy Amaral
- Cao Guimarães
- Marcelo Silveira
- Flavia Renault
- Paula Borghi
- Belony Ferreira
- Paula Ramos
- Mestre Didi
- Ayrson Heráclito
- Rodrigo Moura
- Abdias Nascimento
- Paulo Pedro Leal
- Jean Boghici
- Carlos Lacerda
- Mônica Cardim
- Alberto Henschel
- Juca Rosa
Institutions
- Sesc-SP
- Associação Cultural Videobrasil
- Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo
- Itaú Cultural
- Instituto Tomie Ohtake
- Instituto Moreira Salles
- arte!brasileiros
- Sistema S
- Bienal Sesc_Videobrasil
- Videobrasil online
- Galeria Galatea Salvador
- Nara Roesler
- Museu de Arte do Espírito Santo (MAES)
- Movimento Grevista Negro
- Sesc Sorocaba
- Frestas – Trienal de Artes
- 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
- Gran Chaco
- Enciclopédia de Arte e Cultura Brasileira
- Observatório Itaú Cultural
- 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
- NONADA SP
- NND|Azeco
- DAN Galeria
- Casa de Cultura do Parque
- Instituto de Cultura Contemporânea (ICCo)
- Biblioteca Brasiliana Guita e José Mindlin - USP
- Instituto Hercule Florence
- Documenta Pantanal
- Centro Maria Antônia da USP
- Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)
- Galeria Nara Roesler - SP
- Fonte
- Carmo Johnson Projects
- 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
- Fundo Nacional da Cultura
- Funarte
- Ilê Asipá
- Serviço de Repressão à Mendicância
- PGHEA-MAC/USP
Locations
- Brazil
- São Paulo
- Salvador
- Bahia
- Recife
- Pernambuco
- Olinda
- Espírito Santo
- Vitória
- Sorocaba
- Porto Feliz
- Mato Grosso
- Grão-Pará
- Argentina
- La Puntana
- Paraguay
- Gran Chaco
- Miami
- EUA
- United States
- Nova York
- New York
- Los Angeles
- Madri
- Spain
- Amsterdã
- Netherlands
- Portugal
- Aveiro
- Santiago
- Algarve
- Rio de Janeiro
- Itu
- Fortaleza
- Tóquio
- Japan
- Mumbai
- India
- Pequim
- China
- Jacarta
- Indonesia
- Cameroon
- Amazon
- Pantanal
- Santo Antônio da Patrulha
- Rio Grande do Sul
- Belo Horizonte
- Minas Gerais
- Boaçava
- Alto de Pinheiros
- Vila Madalena
- Bela Vista
- Bom Retiro
- Cidade Universitária
- Jardim Paulista
- Vila Nova Conceição
- Centro
- Jardim Faculdade
- Funcionários
- Barra Funda
- Europe
- Switzerland