Museums Reimagine Post-Pandemic Futures Amidst Calls for Decolonization and Local Focus
A critical essay questions the future of museums after the pandemic, arguing pre-closure institutions were already compromised by tourism-driven spectacle, blockbuster exhibitions, and economic pressures that prioritized visitor numbers over critical reflection. The text highlights how museums, integrated into a global entertainment landscape, often infantilized audiences and reflected societal inequalities in their internal labor practices. It calls for a radical reinvention centered on locality, decolonization of historical narratives—specifically naming the Louvre, British Museum, Metropolitan, and Prado—and new collaborative models. The piece suggests the pandemic's pause offers a chance to move away from a 'normal' that failed to protect society, urging museums in places like Brazil to engage with their specific colonial histories and cultural diversity. This reflection is followed by a comprehensive list of upcoming and current exhibitions across Brazil, including the 4th Frestas Triennial in Sorocaba, Claudia Alarcón & Silät's textile works at MASP, a historical photobook show at IMS Paulista, and shows featuring artists like Mestre Didi, Paulo Pedro Leal, and Júlio Bittencourt.
Key facts
- The pandemic has forced a global reconsideration of museum models and purposes.
- Pre-pandemic museums were criticized for prioritizing tourism, blockbuster shows, and visitor statistics over depth and critical engagement.
- Museums are urged to decolonize their narratives, with specific calls directed at the Louvre, British Museum, Metropolitan Museum, and Prado.
- A new focus on locality, community, and internal labor equity is proposed for post-pandemic institutions.
- The article is accompanied by an extensive calendar of Brazilian art exhibitions spanning January to November 2026.
- Notable upcoming shows include the 4th Frestas – Trienal de Artes in Sorocaba and 'Claudia Alarcón & Silät: viver tecendo' at MASP.
- Other highlights include retrospectives of Mestre Didi at Itaú Cultural and Paulo Pedro Leal at Pinacoteca.
- The text originally appeared in Revista Museu.
Entities
Artists
- Montez Magno
- Mari Ra
- Zé di Cabeça
- Fabio Miguez
- Adenor Gondim
- Luciano Feijão
- Júlio Bittencourt
- Marlene Barros
- Claudia Alarcón
- Deborah Paiva
- Nuno Ramos
- Marcos Amaro
- 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
- Rogério Medeiros
- Rafael Hayashi
- Lázaro Roberto
- Ivald Granato
- Felipe Rezende
- Andrea Brazil
- Darks Miranda
- Flávia Metzler
- Ivan Cardoso
- Yuli Yamagata
- Georg Heinrich von Langsdorff
- Ludwig Riedel
- Néster Rubtsov
- Aimé-Adrien Taunay
- Hercule Florence
- Wilhelmine von Langsdorff
- Francisco Brennand
- José Cláudio
- Flavia Renault
- Belony Ferreira
- Mestre Didi
- Paulo Pedro Leal
- Alberto Henschel
Institutions
- Galeria Galatea Salvador
- Nara Roesler
- Museu de Arte do Espírito Santo (MAES)
- Sesc Sorocaba
- CAIXA Cultural São Paulo
- Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Belo Horizonte (CCBB BH)
- MASP — Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand
- Janaina Torres Galeria
- FAMA Museu
- IMS - Instituto Moreira Salles
- Simões de Assis
- Galeria Estúdio Reverso
- NONADA SP
- DAN Galeria
- Casa de Cultura do Parque
- Biblioteca Brasiliana Guita e José Mindlin - USP
- Fonte
- Carmo Johnson Projects
- Itaú Cultural
- Pinacoteca (Pina Luz)
- Centro de Pesquisa e Formação do Sesc
- Louvre
- British Museum
- Metropolitan Museum
- Prado
- Instituto Hercule Florence
- Documenta Pantanal
- Instituto Moreira Salles (IMS)
- 10x10 Photobooks
- Getty Research Institute
- Museo Reina Sofía
- Rijksmuseum
- New York Public Library
- Revista Museu
- Phi Projetos
- Cinnamon
- Movimento Grevista Negro
- Ateliê Marlene Barros
- Coletivo ZBM
- Silät
- Ilê Asipá
- Roesler Hotel
- El Espacio 23
- Coleção Jorge M. Pérez
- Instituto de Cultura Contemporânea (ICCo)
Locations
- Salvador
- Brazil
- Bahia
- Vitória
- Espírito Santo
- Sorocaba
- São Paulo
- Belo Horizonte
- Minas Gerais
- Argentina
- La Puntana
- Gran Chaco
- Paraguay
- Rio de Janeiro
- Itu
- Nova York
- United States
- Los Angeles
- Madri
- Spain
- Amsterdã
- Netherlands
- Portugal
- Aveiro
- Algarve
- Miami
- Porto Feliz
- Amazonas
- Mato Grosso
- Grão-Pará
- Pantanal
- Recife
- Pernambuco
- Olinda
- Santo Antônio da Patrulha
- Rio Grande do Sul
- Fortaleza
- Tóquio
- Japan
- Mumbai
- India
- Pequim
- China
- Jacarta
- Indonesia
- Cameroon
- France
- Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)
- Switzerland