Solange Farkas on Pandemic Paralysis, Postponed Bienal, and Brazil's Political Crisis
Solange Farkas, founder of Associação Cultural Videobrasil, describes the initial pandemic period as paralyzing, leading to a profound re-evaluation of art's role and institutional structures. The 22nd Bienal Sesc_Videobrasil, scheduled for 2021 with curators Raphael Fonseca and Renée M’boya, is postponed, possibly to 2023. Farkas criticizes Brazil's current government for disrespecting and attacking culture, drawing parallels to the censorship era of the 1980s when Videobrasil began. She rejects a return to pre-pandemic normality, echoing indigenous leader Ailton Krenak's view of a crisis of humanity. The association, focused on the Global South, will shift focus to its 35-year video archive, developing an online platform for curated exhibitions. Farkas expresses caution about the market's recent interest in Black and Indigenous art, viewing it as predatory. She credits Sesc-SP and Danilo Miranda for enabling the bienal since 2016 amid a lack of public cultural policy.
Key facts
- The 22nd Bienal Sesc_Videobrasil, curated by Raphael Fonseca and Renée M’boya, is postponed from 2021, possibly to 2023.
- Solange Farkas describes the pandemic's start as a paralyzing moment that forced a rethink of art's purpose.
- Farkas draws a direct parallel between current government attacks on culture and the state censorship Videobrasil faced in the 1980s.
- Videobrasil will prioritize its 35-year video archive from the Global South, developing a new online platform for exhibitions.
- Farkas is skeptical of the art market's newfound interest in Black and Indigenous production, calling it predatory.
- She states planning is impossible under a Brazilian government that "disrespects, attacks, eliminates" culture.
- The association closed its physical office on March 14 and staff worked from home during social isolation.
- Farkas credits Sesc-SP and director Danilo Miranda as the de facto cultural policy enabling the bienal since 2016.
Entities
Artists
- Solange Farkas
- Ailton Krenak
- Raphael Fonseca
- Renée M’boya
- No Martins
- Danilo Miranda
- Ricardo Ohtake
- Dilma Rousseff
Institutions
- Associação Cultural Videobrasil
- Bienal Sesc_Videobrasil
- Sesc
- Sesc-SP
- arte!brasileiros
- Ilmin Museum of Art
Locations
- Brazil
- São Paulo
- Campinas
- Rio Preto
- Coreia do Sul
- Salvador
- Porto Feliz
- Mato Grosso
- Grão-Pará