MASP Reinstates Censored Exhibition After Curators' Protest, Agrees to Free Access and Indigenous Representation

The Museu de Arte de São Paulo (Masp) reached a settlement with curators Sandra Benites and Clarissa Diniz, who resigned on May 17 after the museum attempted to censor six photographs depicting the Movimento Sem Terra (MST) from their exhibition. The censored works by photographers André Vilaron, Edgar Kanaykõ Xakriabá, and João Zinclar will now be reinstated and distributed as posters to the public. As part of the agreement, Masp will extend free admission to Wednesdays, recognize the curators' intellectual property under a copyleft license, and host an online seminar about the exhibition's production. The museum also committed to producing a magazine with editora Expressão Popular and organizing a cultural act with the MST and indigenous movements for the opening on August 26. Sandra Benites will be reinstated as an adjunct curator, marking her return as the first indigenous woman on Masp's curatorial staff. The exhibition, part of the collective show Histórias Brasileiras, is now confirmed to run from August 26 to October 30. This resolution follows a public note from Masp on May 20 expressing regret and a willingness to learn from the incident, to which the curators responded with six conditions for their return. The episode highlights broader institutional challenges in museology, coinciding with the CIMAM 2022 conference in Spain, themed 'The Attentive Museum', which will address decolonial narratives and new governance models.