Usina de Arte: A Century of Rupture and Reinvention in Pernambuco

Key facts

• Usina de Arte is an open-air museum in Água Preta, Pernambuco, Brazil, occupying 45 hectares of the former Usina Santa Terezinha sugar mill.
• The museum was founded in 2015 by Ricardo Pessôa de Queiroz and his wife, architect Bruna.
• The site features over 50 works by Brazilian and international artists.
• Arthur Lescher's sculpture 'Óculo' is one of the most recent installations.
• José Rufino, the first hired curator, created works like 'Scopulus' and 'Ligas' using remnants from the mill.
• Alfredo Jaar's neon piece 'Claro-Escuro' quotes Antonio Gramsci and is installed on the old distillery facade.
• The Usina Santa Terezinha was acquired in 1926 by José Pessoa de Queiroz, great-grandfather of Ricardo and nephew of President Epitácio Pessoa.
• The mill's production was halted in 1982 after an SNI intervention, and the family later reacquired parts of the property.
• André Komatsu's 'Autômatos' (2017/2025) and Rodrigo Sassi's 'Fractal' are installed inside the restored industrial spaces.
• Marina Abramović's 'Generator' is a 25-meter wall of quartz cushions.
• The Praça Leonardo da Vinci was inaugurated on June 18, featuring interactive sculptures by Narcélio Grud.
• The project O Pequeno Colecionador, created by Arthur Lescher and Marianne Klettenhofer, collaborated on the plaza.