Júlia Rebouças Curates 36th Panorama of Brazilian Art at MAM São Paulo with 'Sertão' as Epistemology

The 36th Panorama of Brazilian Art, curated by Júlia Rebouças, opens at the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo from August 17 to November 15. Rebouças proposes 'arte sertão' not as a geographical theme but as an epistemology—a mode of thinking and acting characterized by experimentation and resistance. The exhibition features 29 artists, mostly born between the 1980s and 1990s, selected for their practices that engage with structural racism, police violence, public space, indigenous and environmental causes, gender, and alternative spiritualities. A majority of the works are newly commissioned. The curator emphasizes escaping clichés associated with the Brazilian Northeast and the sertão, instead focusing on artistic practices that find fissures in hegemonic systems, speculate on alternative circuits and materialities, and propose repair or re-elaboration of historical wounds. Rebouças notes the exhibition is not a direct response to Brazil's current political climate but aims to discuss tactical thinking and strategies for reorganizing resistance. The participating artists include Ana Lira, Ana Pi, Antonio Obá, Dalton Paula, Maxwell Alexandre, and Vulcanica PokaRopa, among others.