Pandemic Drives Art World Online with Critiques and Notable Virtual Events

exhibition · 2026-04-23

The art sector experienced a transition to online communication due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a move that Giselle Beiguelman criticized in April 2020 for the antiquated methods of cultural institutions. High-quality recordings became increasingly favored, as noted by managers who observed global discussions. Noteworthy virtual events included Alfredo Jaar at Festival ZUM (2020), a dialogue between Rosana Paulino and Ailton Krenak in June 2020, and an online discussion at the 34th Bienal de São Paulo in February featuring Jota Mombaça and others. Various exhibitions were announced in Brazil, such as 'Barracas e fachadas do nordeste' (Jan 30-May 30), 'Solidão Coletiva' (Mar 3-Jul 12), and 'Mestre Didi' (Apr 8-Jul 5). A lecture on Alberto Henschel's photography is set for April 23.

Key facts

The pandemic accelerated a global shift to online platforms like Instagram Live and YouTube for art events.
Giselle Beiguelman criticized the art world's digital migration in April 2020 as a return to a primitive internet.
Alfredo Jaar emphasized daily news reading as essential for an artist's understanding of the world in a 2020 Festival ZUM talk.
Ailton Krenak and Rosana Paulino discussed systemic exclusion and environmental issues in a June 2020 virtual conversation hosted by Ashoka.
The 34th Bienal de São Paulo's online talk in February featured artists discussing historical persistence, symbolized by an 18th-century bell from Ouro Preto.
Over twenty physical exhibitions are scheduled across Brazil from January through November 2026.
The 4th Frestas Triennial in Sorocaba, titled 'do caminho um rezo', features 188 works from 102 participants.
The exhibition 'O que elas viram' at IMS Paulista presents 106 historical photobooks by women, spanning from 1843 to 1999.
The project 'Langsdorff: A expedição fluvial 200 anos depois' revisits a 19th-century scientific expedition to reflect on contemporary environmental crises.

Entities

Artists

Giselle Beiguelman
Alfredo Jaar
Rosana Paulino
Ailton Krenak
Jota Mombaça
Ana Adamović
Nina Beier
Vincent Meessen
Jacopo Crivelli Visconti
Musa Michelle Mattiuzzi
Montez Magno
Mari Ra
Zé di Cabeça
Fabio Miguez
Adenor Gondim
Tomás Toledo
Alana Silveira
Luciano Feijão
Renato Lopes
Elaine Pinheiro
Karenn Amorim
Ronaldo Domingues de Almeida
Nicolas Soares
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
Claudia Alarcón
Adriano Pedrosa
Laura Cosendey
Deborah Paiva
Tadeu Chiarelli
Walter Benjamin
Iberê Camargo
Jasper Johns
Henri Matisse
Marie Laurencin
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
Russet Lederman
Olga Yatskevich
Miguel Del Castillo
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
Andrea Brazil
Ana Avelar
Darks Miranda
Flávia Metzler
Ivan Cardoso
Yuli Yamagata
José Augusto Ribeiro
Maria Noujaim
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
Francisco Brennand
José Cláudio
Moacir dos Anjos
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
Mônica Cardim
Alberto Henschel
Juca Rosa

Institutions

Folha de S.Paulo
arte!brasileiros
Festival ZUM
Trienal de San Juan
Organização Ashoka
Pinacoteca do Estado
34ª Bienal de São Paulo
Galeria Galatea
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 Espirito Santo (Funcultura)
Política Nacional Aldir Blanc (PNAB)
Ministério da Cultura (MINC)
Midiateca Capixaba
Sesc Sorocaba
Capela João de Camargo
Clube 28 de Setembro
CAIXA Cultural São Paulo
Phi Projetos
Cinnamon
CAIXA
Governo do Brasil
Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Belo Horizonte (CCBB BH)
Ateliê Marlene Barros
Ponto de Cultura Coletivo ZBM
Universidade de Aveiro
MASP — Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand
Janaina Torres Galeria
FAMA Museu
IMS - Instituto Moreira Salles
10×10 Photobooks
Biblioteca de Fotografia
Getty Research Institute
Museo Reina Sofía
Rijksmuseum
New York Public Library
Livraria da Travessa
Simões de Assis
El Espacio 23
Coleção Jorge M. Pérez
Galeria Estúdio Reverso
NONADA SP
NND|Azeco
DAN Galeria
Casa de Cultura do Parque
Instituto de Cultura Contemporânea (ICCo)
Lei Rouanet
banco BV
Laranjinha
Banco Itaú
Biblioteca Brasiliana Guita e José Mindlin - USP
Instituto Hercule Florence
Documenta Pantanal
Centro Maria Antônia da USP
Instituto Moreira Salles (IMS)
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
Chile
United States
Salvador
Bahia
Recife
Pernambuco
Olinda
Vitória
Espírito Santo
Rio de Janeiro
Sorocaba
Porto Feliz
Mato Grosso
Grão-Pará
Nova York
Tóquio
Mumbai
Pequim
Jacarta
Belo Horizonte
Minas Gerais
Maranhão
Portugal
Aveiro
Santiago
Argentina
La Puntana
Gran Chaco
Paraguay
Campo Grande
São Paulo-SP
Itu
Amsterdã
Netherlands
Madri
Spain
Los Angeles
USA
Miami
Florida
EUA
Alameda Lorena
Jardim Paulista
Vila Nova Conceição
Centro
Alto de Pinheiros
Boaçava
Vila Madalena
Bela Vista
Bom Retiro
Cidade Universitária
Jardim Faculdade
Funcionários
Centro de Vitória
Ouro Preto
Vila Rica
Brasília
Sérvia
ex-Iugoslávia
Fortaleza
Algarve
Santo Antônio da Patrulha
RS
Amazonas
Tietê
Pantanal
Amazônia
Rio Guandu

Sources

ARTE!Brasileiros — 2021-03-21