Moisés Patrício's 'Aceita?' Series Confronts Racial Exclusion in Brazilian Art
Moisés Patrício, a 33-year-old Black artist from São Paulo's periphery, critiques the labeling of 'Black Art' and systemic exclusion through his photographic series 'Aceita?'. The work, born from his despair to be assimilated into a predominantly white art world, uses discarded urban objects as metaphors for the social discard of Black youth. Patrício's journey began at age nine with lessons from Argentine artist Juan José Balzi and continued at the University of São Paulo's School of Communications and Arts, where he faced alienation from a Eurocentric curriculum. His series is now featured in the landmark exhibition 'Histórias Afro-atlânticas' at the Museu de Arte de São Paulo (Masp), which dedicates its entire space to Afro-Atlantic narratives for the first time. The show includes over 400 works by more than 200 artists, also exhibited at the Instituto Tomie Ohtake. This institutional shift follows the 2018 exhibition of 90 works by African artists at the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil in São Paulo. Patrício co-founded the collective Opa Negra with other Black students to promote empowerment. Despite Black and mixed-race people constituting 54% of Brazil's population in 2014, their representation in art spaces remains low, often confined to stereotypes of slavery, African rituals, and Afro-American religions. Patrício's practice is deeply informed by his Candomblé faith as a son of Exu, connecting walking, communication, and the body as artistic material.
Key facts
- Moisés Patrício's series 'Aceita?' critiques the social discard of Black youth in Brazil.
- The 'Histórias Afro-atlânticas' exhibition at Masp features over 400 works by more than 200 artists.
- Black and mixed-race people represented 54% of Brazil's population in 2014.
- Patrício began his art education at age nine with Argentine artist Juan José Balzi.
- He studied at the University of São Paulo's School of Communications and Arts (ECA-USP).
- Patrício co-founded the Black student and artist collective Opa Negra.
- His work is informed by his Candomblé faith as a son of Exu.
- The Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil in São Paulo exhibited 90 works by African artists in 2018.
Entities
Artists
- Moisés Patrício
- Juan José Balzi
- Adriano Pedrosa
- Laura Cosendey
- La Chola Poblete
- Sandra Gamarra Heshiki
- Santiago Yahuarcani
- Damián Ortega
- Sol Calero
- Carolina Caycedo
- Pablo Delano
- Rosa Elena Curruchich
- Manuel Herreros
- Mateo Manaure
- Jesús Soto
- Colectivo Acciones de Arte
- Claudia Alarcón
- 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
- Nêgo Bispo
- Júlio Bittencourt
- Guilherme Wisnik
- Daniela Thomas
- Hannah Arendt
- Marlene Barros
- Betânia Pinheiro
- Fábio Nunes
- Júlia Martins
- 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
- Maria Noujaim
- Andrea Brazil
- Ana Avelar
- Darks Miranda
- Flávia Metzler
- Ivan Cardoso
- Yuli Yamagata
- José Augusto Ribeiro
- Georg Heinrich von Langsdorff
- Ludwig Riedel
- Néster Rubtsov
- Aimé-Adrien Taunay
- Hercule Florence
- Wilhelmine von Langsdorff
- Antonio Florence
- Francis Melvin Lee
- Lalo de Almeida
- Paula Sampaio
- Miguel Chikaoka
- João Pompeu
- Mônica Guimarães
- 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
- Alberto Henschel
- Mônica Cardim
- Juca Rosa
Institutions
- Museu de Arte de São Paulo (Masp)
- Instituto Tomie Ohtake
- Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (CCBB)
- Escola de Comunicação e Artes da Universidade de São Paulo (ECA-USP)
- Opa Negra
- Galeria Galatea Salvador
- Nara Roesler
- Museu de Arte do Espírito Santo (MAES)
- Movimento Grevista Negro
- Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo
- Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
- Secretaria da Cultura (Secultes)
- Fundo de Cultura do Estado do Espírito Santo (Funcultura)
- Política Nacional Aldir Blanc (PNAB)
- Ministério da Cultura (MINC)
- Midiateca Capixaba
- Governo do Estado
- Sesc Sorocaba
- Capela João de Camargo
- Clube 28 de Setembro
- CAIXA Cultural São Paulo
- Phi Projetos
- Cinnamon
- Governo do Brasil
- Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Belo Horizonte (CCBB BH)
- Ateliê Marlene Barros
- Ponto de Cultura Coletivo ZBM
- Universidade de Aveiro
- FAMA Museu
- IMS - Instituto Moreira Salles
- Biblioteca de Fotografia
- 10×10 Photobooks
- Getty Research Institute
- Museo Reina Sofía
- Rijksmuseum
- New York Public Library
- Paris Photo
- Livraria da Travessa
- Simões de Assis
- Coleção Jorge M. Pérez
- El Espacio 23
- Galeria Estúdio Reverso
- NND|Azeco
- NONADA SP
- DAN Galeria
- SP-Arte
- Casa de Cultura do Parque
- Projeto 280X1020
- Instituto de Cultura Contemporânea (ICCo)
- Lei Rouanet
- banco BV
- Laranjinha
- Banco Itaú
- Biblioteca Brasiliana Guita e José Mindlin - USP (BBM-USP)
- Instituto Hercule Florence
- Documenta Pantanal
- Instituto Moreira Salles (IMS)
- Centro Maria Antônia da USP
- Império Russo
- Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)
- Coleção Cyrillo Hercules Florence
- Fonte
- Carmo Johnson Projects
- Itaú Cultural
- Ilê Asipá
- Pina Luz
- Centro de Pesquisa e Formação do Sesc
- PGHEA-MAC/USP
Locations
- São Paulo
- Brazil
- Pinheiros
- Salvador
- Bahia
- Recife
- Pernambuco
- Olinda
- Zona Leste
- Vitória
- Espírito Santo
- Sorocaba
- Porto Feliz
- Mato Grosso
- Grão-Pará
- Nova York
- United States
- Tóquio
- Japan
- Mumbai
- India
- Pequim
- China
- Jacarta
- Indonesia
- Belo Horizonte
- Minas Gerais
- La Puntana
- Argentina
- Gran Chaco
- Paraguai
- Paraguay
- Itu
- Miami
- EUA
- Fortaleza
- Ceará
- Rio de Janeiro
- Algarve
- Portugal
- Santo Antônio da Patrulha
- Rio Grande do Sul
- Campo Grande
- Mato Grosso do Sul
- Ipojuca
- Los Angeles
- Madri
- Spain
- Amsterdã
- Netherlands
- Lorena
- Jardim Paulista
- Vila Nova Conceição
- Centro
- Alto de Pinheiros
- Boaçava
- Bela Vista
- Bom Retiro
- Cidade Universitária
- Vila Madalena
- Jardim Faculdade
- Funcionários
- Ilha de Itaparica
- Recôncavo Baiano
- Amazônia
- Pantanal
- Tietê
- Amazonas
- Guandu
- Sertão mineiro
- Africa
- Yanomami