Museum of the Portuguese Language Reopens in São Paulo After Fire and Renovation

The Museum of the Portuguese Language in São Paulo is set to reopen in late July after a six-year reconstruction following a 2015 fire. While reassembling much of the original virtual collection, the institution has conceptually reorganized, updating its permanent exhibition to reflect linguistic transformations and contemporary identity debates. Its first temporary exhibition, 'Língua Solta,' curated by Isa Grinspum Ferraz, explores language through everyday objects and visual arts. New installations include an expanded timeline problematizing historical moments like 1500 with testimonies from indigenous leaders Davi Kopenawa and Ailton Krenak, and 'Nós da Língua Portuguesa,' highlighting Portuguese as a language of liberation in African countries like Mozambique, Angola, and Cape Verde. Another installation, 'Falares,' curated by Marcelino Freire and Roberta Estrela D’Alva, features a canvas forest with testimonies and accents. The museum has shifted from a focus on virtual technology to using it in service of storytelling. Facing pandemic delays, it has developed virtual interactions, including online talks with figures like Mia Couto, José Eduardo Agualusa, and José Miguel Wisnik, attracting over 15,000 viewers. It plans lecture cycles, teacher training, and film screenings to extend its reach beyond its physical headquarters at Estação da Luz.