Curatorial Practice
My curatorial practice began while pursuing my BFA at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, where I founded the artist collective GroupPy and organized five exhibitions between 2005 and 2008, featuring over 150 artists - from emerging graduates to internationally acclaimed practitioners. During this time, I also worked as first assistant to Ernesto Neto, traveling internationally and managing installations in museums and cultural institutions. Neto actively supported and participated in GroupPy exhibitions.
After completing my MFA at SMFA @Tufts, I continued curating in North America, serving as Arts Program Coordinator at Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, one of Boston’s largest Latin-led organizations, where I organized eight exhibitions. Currently, I work as an independent curator, developing exhibitions and calls for art in local galleries and museums, including Sanctuary City (2022) at the Somerville Museum and Speak Up (2020) at Piano Craft Gallery.
Sanctuary City September- November 2022
Somerville Museum Community Curator Project
This exhibition will feature artists speaking to themes of immigration, otherness, belonging, and building communities that aggregate diversity and inclusion. This exhibition will speak to Somerville's diverse population, addressing immigration in conversation with the Somerville Museums' history and collection. It will also initiate a broader conversation through the vision of contemporary artists exploring this theme. Originally from Brazil, Julia has curated many shows in the Boston area and has been a Somerville resident for ten years.
Featuring
Piano Craft Gallery, Boston, MA
Whether displaying, a call to action, denouncing social injustice, the fight against inequality, violence, racism, gender discrimination, sexual oppression, the climate crisis, personal traumas, but also; beauty, manifestations of happiness, utopias, and collaborative thinking, artists have been using their voices in the most inventive ways to facilitate difficult discussions. This show comes to life in a pivoting historical moment where the elections come to a close and the USA has chosen a democratic candidate as its leader. However the work is just beginning and we need to continue to organize, to come together, and fight for the world we want to see. To end structural racism, social inequality, and bigotry in our lifetime - we must continue to Speak Up.
Speak Up Call for Art November 2020
Speak Up 2020
Art installation featuring three life-sized silhouettes of people in a gallery. The figures are made of cut-out shapes and stand on wooden boxes, holding various objects such as a paint roller, megaphone, and megaphone with a megaphone attached. The background includes framed artwork on the walls and exposed concrete pillars.
Art gallery with white walls displaying photographs, including images of water and orange life jackets, with a sculpture of a human face, hanging fabric art, and small sculptures on white pedestals.
Multiple orange mannequins floating on inner tubes in a body of water near a city bridge with buildings and a red building in the background.
An art installation in a gallery featuring a small house made of fabric and textiles with various patterns and messages, surrounded by framed artworks on the white walls.
Mixed media art installation resembling a house with colorful fabric and paper textures, featuring a banner with the message 'HATE HAS NO HOME HERE' draped over the structure, set on a small patch of artificial grass.
Various pieces of clothing, including a blue shirt, a yellow striped shirt, a lace yellow top, and denim shorts, laid out on a flat surface.
A pair of colorful Nike sneakers and a black cap with a flower and gun patch on display on a white surface.
A small black model house with a chimney on a white pedestal in an art gallery.
Close-up of a New York City police officer's uniform with a badge and patch, wearing a helmet and radio.
A black baseball cap resting on a mannequin head covered with a face mask printed with a large photograph of an Asian person's face.
Miniature black house model with a chimney and window, made of small black bricks or tiles, on a plain background.
An art display featuring a black wooden post with nails, a sign reading 'FOR SALE' at the top, and a hanging banner with the message 'GOOD BONES NEEDS WORK GREAT POTENTIAL.' The setup is on a small patch of artificial grass, with a red painted circle at the base, in a spacious gallery with artwork on the walls and a large black silhouette of a person in the background.
An art installation with a black textured wall that has the phrase "HERE I AM" written on it. There is a woman with glasses looking at a mirror or reflective surface on the wall. The background shows an art gallery space with artworks on the walls.
Wooden heart with a dark square object on top, placed on a white surface.
Close-up of an apple with a black square in the center where the core is exposed.
A sculpture of a person with short black hair, wearing a light blue shirt and carrying a green backpack, holding a pink poster with a black and white photo of a crowd of women protesting, many wearing pink hats. In the background, there is a framed black and white photo of Martin Luther King Jr. leading a march.
Two framed photos of men standing in front of a blue door with a brick and ivy wall. The left man wears a blue shirt, a hat, and has hand tattoos, holding a small decorated lantern on a white stool. The right man wears a black sleeveless shirt, white pants, and has an arm tattoo, standing barefoot with a red fabric draped over the stool in front of him, laughing.
Colorful mural of a man with dreadlocks, glasses, and an exaggeratedly wide smile, pointing to his mouth. Surrounding him are vibrant, detailed butterflies and insects against a textured, collage-style background with layered text.
Painting of a woman with a yellow flower in her hair, earrings, and a necklace, with the words 'You can't stop me' written over her face.
Mixed media artwork featuring a woman speaking into a microphone with text on her body, butterflies, and the outline of a building, with a black cord hanging from the artwork to a wall socket.
A woman dressed in a professional outfit sitting at a desk, holding an apple in her right hand, with a clock on the wall behind her.
A charcoal sketch of a woman with a serious expression, surrounded by hummingbirds flying around her. Handwritten quotes are present on the drawing, including 'There were people who knew about it and did nothing. There were so many people who let us down' and 'Always speak your truth.'
A black and white drawing of a woman speaking at a microphone, with a serious expression on her face, and an eagle next to her. Text is written around the image, including a quote about honesty, dignity, and courage.
The image is a detailed black and white sketch of a woman with curly hair and a serious expression, sitting in an office chair. Behind her, a desk with a cephalothorax sculpture is visible. The drawing includes handwritten notes about memory sculpture, collective mourning, and testimonies. There is also a quote at the bottom about working through chaos and trauma, along with notes about victims and memory.
Close-up of various types of raw meat, eggs, and kitchen ingredients on a yellow checkered surface.
A mural of four individuals with animal masks on a boat, on a beach with trash scattered on the sand and a palm tree on the right.
A muscular man with a beard passionately shouting or roaring, with a superimposed American flag overlay and a bright blue background.
Photograph of a bed with a red, spiky-textured blanket inside a room with a window and cream-colored walls, seen through a fabric curtain or sheet.
Villa Victoria Center for the Arts 2017-2018
I created and implemented a visual arts program, resulting in eight multimedia exhibitions by Latinx Artists, working closely with established and emerging visual artists, curators, grantees, performers, and high-profile local art organizations. I also assisted with programming and daily operations of the lively Performing Arts Program which featured music, theater, and dance.
The Power that Voice Has: A story of Latino Space in the South End of Boston
Harvard Graduate School of Design
We are pleased to partner with the Harvard Graduate School of Design to commemorate the legacy of lBA as a paradigmatic example of Boricua activism and its success in defining its own Latino Space in Boston. In light of IBA’s 50th anniversary, this exhibit seeks to document this organizations’ development since its foundation in 1967; juxtaposing past and present and observing the spatial and social interplays with its immediate surroundings, in hopes of evoking newer subjectivities that can result in renewed perspectives for the future.
Estelas de Maria: Puerto Rico after the Storm
Jesse Costa and Símon Rios WBUR, Jessica Rinaldi Boston Globe
In September 2017, Puerto Rico was devastated by two hurricanes just two weeks apart: first Irma, then María. The cleanup began immediately, and soon individuals and organizations across the mainland United States were rallying to send aid to the island. WBUR reporter Simón Rios began reporting on these efforts in Massachusetts, and he and photographer Jesse Costa decided to travel to the island to look at how local fundraising efforts were affecting people in Puerto Rico. Their work details not only the destruction of Puerto Rico, but also the reconstruction that began in the immediate wake of Hurricane Maria. That reconstruction is expected to continue for years to come.
Joining WBUR is Boston Globe photographer Jessica Rinaldi. Rinaldi traveled to Puerto Rico on a reporting trip in the days after the storm.
The Power that Voice Has: A story of Latino Space in the South End of Boston
Two girls looking at a large map of Villa Victoria neighborhood on a wall.
Four people are posing around a large wall map labeled 'Villa Victoria.' They appear to be placing puzzle pieces or interacting with the map as part of an activity. There is a color-coded informational chart on the wall beside the map.
Gallery wall with various city maps, diagrams, and an index chart labeled 'The Just City Index' on a white wall.
A map of Boston with neighborhoods marked, including Allston, Cambridgeport, West End, Chinatown, Brookline, and South Boston, showing different colored areas in orange and teal.
An art exhibition room with black walls, wooden flooring, and overhead spotlights illustrating urban analysis with photographs, maps, and graphics.
Interior of a gallery displaying a map of Villa Victoria and a color-coded poster titled "The Just City Index" with categories such as Acceptance, Aspiration, Choice, Democracy, and others.
Inside a gallery, a large map labeled "Villa Victoria" on the left wall, and a colorful poster titled "The Just City Index" on the right wall.
An aerial map view of the Villa Victoria Center for the Arts with colored pins on the location.
Close-up of a colorful informational poster with text and dot patterns, displaying various sections in different colors.
Four people sitting on a tiered wooden platform in front of wall-mounted artwork and maps in a gallery or exhibition space.
Estelas de Maria: Puerto Rico after the Storm
A young boy helps install a door in a wooden house, with two construction workers on the outside assisting. The photo is taken from inside the house, looking up through the doorway at a bright blue sky with a few clouds.
A large screen displays an image of a destroyed area with fallen power poles, a damaged building, fallen debris, a petroleum station with the logo 'Total,' and a vehicle in the background, indicating aftermath of a storm or natural disaster.
A man wearing a black T-shirt, black shorts, and blue Crocs walking through debris of a collapsed metal structure under an overcast sky.
A man holding a young girl with closed eyes in a shrine decorated with flowers, religious images, and photographs.
A silver car has crashed into a concrete post, causing significant damage and the car to flip upside down. A large broken pipe is lying on the ground nearby.
Street scene showing extensive damage from a storm, including fallen power lines, broken poles, and debris around a Total gas station with a damaged canopy, under a partly cloudy sky.
Three people standing in an art gallery with photographs on the wall behind them.
Several dead cows lying on muddy ground, some with visible wounds and decompensation.
A man with a white beard and grey hair stands in a flooded room, attempting to fix or adjust a piece of furniture or equipment amid muddy water and debris. The room has green walls, a curtain, and an open doorway leading to a room with chairs and a ceiling fan.
Young girl standing outdoors at night, illuminated by the glow of a handheld electronic device.
Emergente April - Group show featuring local Latinx artists
This exhibition is a partnership between Villa Victoria Center for the Arts and A R E A Gallery, showcasing works by emerging artists of Latin American origin or heritage. The show draws a small sample of the diverse Latin identities present across the vast territories of the Americas. Culture is a construct, composed of myriad life experiences, some which can be chosen or controlled, others unpredictable and negotiated as they present themselves. Emergente does not propose a grouping by similarities, it recognizes a connective thread throughout Latin American cultures, however delicate or elusive - through shared experiences of cultural tradition, ethnic diversity, colonialism, authoritarianism, resistance, navigating ever expanding mega-cities, overcoming inequality, poverty, dislocation and misrepresentation. It acknowledges and welcomes the broad umbrella of Latinidad, especially when considering the cultural cross-pollination from the migration patterns between the Americas. Featuring the work of emerging contemporary artists based or working in New England, the exhibition reaffirms La Galería at Villa Victoria Center for the Arts as a space for fostering experimentation, representation and building a community for the Latin population in Boston.
Featured Artists: Andres Hidalgo, Benjamin Spalding, Ariel Baez, Alicia Rodriguez Alvisa, Maria Eugenia Moya, Gina Gwen Palacios, Maria Camila Escobar
Marca X - Call for Art
A partnership between Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, the Boston LGBTQIA Artists Alliance (BLAA), the Harvard Ed Portal Crossings Gallery (HEP), and the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS), this exhibition celebrates BLAA’s fourteenth exhibition. La Galería is proud to serve as a platform for the self-expression of LGBTQIA Latinx artists, a segment often marginalized even within their own communities by more ubiquitous cultures. VVCA welcomes BLAA, an artist collective based in Boston, organized around the desire to build safe spaces, and offer representation for LGBTQIA artists. This show celebrates the power of artist run organizations, as well as intersectional identities. Marca X provides a space for empowering the Latinx LGBTQIA community, increasing their representation and visibility in the culture at large, bringing together several unique, distinctive voices, both conceptually and aesthetically, into a larger collective conversation about contemporary intersectionality.
Emergente April - Group show featuring local Latinx artists
Three framed photographs hung on a white gallery wall showing women in intimate and private settings such as a bedroom and bathroom.
Deco art display with colorful abstract sculptures on white walls, some mounted on shelves, and a small elevated platform in a gallery space with wooden floors.
Art gallery interior with various artwork including illustrations of a gun, a pistol, a knife, and a spray bottle on the white wall, and mixed media pieces on the back wall and platform.
Colorful abstract wall sculptures mounted on a white wall in an art gallery, with a wooden floor.
Colorful abstract sculptures on a white wall shelf, one resembles an artist's palette, another appears as geometric shapes.
Contemporary art gallery with three mixed-media sculptures resembling abstract figures, displayed on a white wall and floor, illuminated by natural light from windows.
An abstract sculpture with a circular metal frame on top, intricate organic and textured materials, and long flowing strands, displayed in a gallery with white walls and a wooden floor.
Close-up of a traditional tribal costume or ceremonial attire made from various textured and colored fibras, beads, and natural materials.
An art installation featuring a large, tangled, and dried natural fiber sculpture with rings attached, next to a piece of fabric with fringe on a plain white wall.
Wooden art piece depicting three children and a sign reading "Friendliest Cotton Picking Town in Texas".
Wooden cutout artwork of three faceless women, with geometric patterned clothing, and one with her hand on her face. The figures are missing facial features and are made of layered wood pieces.
Four white panels mounted on a wall, each featuring a different image: a handgun flashlight, a small firearm and ammunition, a knife, and a small pistol.
A small black and silver toy pistol with a large black flashlight attached to its barrel.
A furry, cream-colored sculpture on a white wall with a wire hanging from it.
White ceramic sculpture of a faceless figure with a hood, placed on a wooden surface against a plain wall.
A series of ceramic busts of religious figures mounted on wooden shelves against a white wall.
Marca X
Five young women standing in a row against a white background, each with different pose and style.
Marca X - Call for Art
An art installation featuring a black flat-screen monitor with a blue-tinted display, a pair of blue headphones hanging below it, a small black shelf with tangled wires, and a framed newspaper article on a white pedestal against a white wall.
Graffiti-style artwork of a woman with dark hair, green eyes, and headphones on her head, with a lollipop in her mouth, wearing a white tank top, green shorts, and pink sneakers, hanging on a gallery wall with a chain.
A hanging art installation resembling a cluster of large, light-colored gourds with frilly paper or fabric decorations on top, displayed in an art gallery with paintings on the walls and wooden flooring.
Sculpture resembling a bunch of large vegetables like onions, but made of paper or similar material, hanging from the ceiling in an art gallery.
Hanging sculpture made of fabric and materials resembling human breasts and nose. It is suspended from the ceiling in a minimal gallery setting with white walls and wooden floor.
Mannequin dressed in a red and blue patterned dress with matching shawl, accessorized with a beaded necklace, displayed in a museum or gallery setting.
Close-up of a fabric with a pattern of illustrated faces in orange and purple, adorned with colorful gemstones along the edge.
A newspaper obituary section with a notice encouraging readers to share life stories and memories of loved ones by placing a death notice, in memoriam, or photo online or in print. The notice includes a website link and phone number for submissions. There is an image of a yellow fruit, possibly a lemon, with green leaves, and a partially visible section labeled 'Now and then.' To the right, there is a photo of Coco Lopez, described as a Cuban American girl who enjoyed dancing to EDM music.
An art gallery with three paintings on white walls, a window with a playground outside, a small table with magazines, and wooden flooring.
A painting of a woman sitting on a bed, surrounded by plants, viewing a detailed miniature church model with a steeple. The room is filled with various objects, including fish tanks, books, and a guitar, creating a cozy, cluttered atmosphere.
A Father's Lullaby and IN-sight Boston - Rashin Fahandej
The result of a community collaboration, this participatory exhibition brings together multitude of voices, personal accounts, sounds, and visual arts. Projects led by Boston Artist-in-Residence, Rashin Fahandej, generate social engagement and initiate dialogues to bring to focus the issues of “access” and “equality” informed by the critique of incarceration policies and its racial disparities. Projects utilized various media and celebrate the voices of collective as agents for change and creating new social memories.
A Father’s Lullaby highlights the role of men in raising children while underlines the absence of fathers due to racial disparities of mass incarceration. Policies have taken their tolls on young children, our next generations. This contributory project invites the community to record their voices, share their insights, and sing a lullaby to raise voice for this issue and to collectively imagine social policies based on support not criminalization.
A Father's Lullaby and IN-sight Boston - Rashin Fahandej
A digital art installation featuring nine portraits of African American men on a dark wall, with abstract textured patterns and a giant digital face rendering.
Display of glassware, a cream-colored tablecloth, and cookies on a table in front of photographs on a white wall, with a window on the left side.
An art exhibit with a map of Boston titled 'IN-SIGHT Boston' hanging on a white wall, illuminated by a spotlight. A laptop displaying the map is placed on a pedestal below the map. Two windows on either side reveal an outdoor scene with leafless trees and brick buildings.
Group of ten diverse people gathered together at an indoor art exhibition, posing for a photo in front of a wall with text that reads "IN-SIGHT Boston" and the name Rashin Fahandeh.
Tea and cookies set up on a table with a tea dispenser, cups, a teapot, a glass of tea, oatmeal cookies, and a bowl of wrapped candies.
A table set with tea, cookies, and sugar, featuring a traditional tea glass, glass cups, a metallic teapot, a tray, and a bowl of wrapped sugar, with a Samovar in the background.
Cubaneo - Mark Guglielmo
Guglielmo visited Cuba 3 times in one year to document the impact of such events as President Obama’s landmark trip and the country after the death of Fidel Castro. Returning to the states with thousands of photographs and dozens of interviews from locals, Guglielmo constructed large mosaics with his own two hands and combined the perspectives and voices into this visual and auditory exhibition. This work pays homage to the rich culture of this isolated island and serves as a conversation piece for this historic turning point.
This exhibition is open from October 6, 2017 - October 27, 2017. It is curated by David Guerra, Director of A R E A gallery.
La Tierra del Olvido - Stephanie Aguayo and Rebekak Vargas
Some paradises are lost and forgotten, others live only in dreams and postcards. Tropicalia moves through the airwaves, still its sounds collapse in the distance. Adiós to the sun and the eternal mountains, hello to the billboards and the perpetual mall. Everything that is forgotten is still here.*
The recent projects from the two artists in this exhibition address exoticism and tourism in the Caribbean. Stephanie Aguayo's (Miami, 1998) work engages with experimental collage and appropriation in the form of video, animated GIFs, and installations, to explore the ironies of contemporary colonial commercialization of places and communities. Rebekak Vargas (Miami, 1994) is interested in portraying both factual histories and alternative narratives related to her family's Nicaraguan heritage. Immigration, Latinidad, and themes of displacement are subjects that unite her photographs, videos, and poetry.
*Lucero is a curatorial platform founded in 2015 operating in Boston and beyond
Cubaneo - Mark Guglielmo
A collage of beach scenes with an elderly man holding a plastic bag of soda cans, centered amidst tropical and beach backgrounds.
A colorful outdoor cultural event or festival with musicians playing drums and dancers performing, surrounded by a crowd of spectators and vibrant murals on the walls under a partly cloudy sky.
Interior of a modern room with reflective mosaic walls and ceiling, featuring a woman lying on a bench, two women standing nearby, various plants, a white table with items, and scattered chairs.
People socializing at an art gallery, some in conversation, with artwork on the wall behind them.
A mosaic collage of photos showing young men with dark skin and light skin activities in an unfinished brick building, some shirtless, sitting, standing, and working near a fire.
A group of people inside a living room with large windows and patterned tile flooring. Some are sitting, some standing, with a piano, chairs, and framed pictures on the wall. Several individuals are engaged in different activities, including a woman raising her hand and a man in a wheelchair.
A woman standing in front of a rustic wooden house, holding a chicken. The image appears fragmented and mosaic-like with various pieces of the scene stitched together, including chickens, cooking pots, and outdoor surroundings.
A large group of school children in uniforms, standing in a courtyard of a school, with some standing on an elevated area and adults guiding them. The background shows a multi-story school building and a tall palm tree.
La Tierra del Olvido - Stephanie Aguayo and Rebekak Vargas
Three small digital photo frames on a white, wall-mounted shelf with yellow lighting, each displaying different images.
A person wearing headphones stands in front of a wall-mounted TV, watching a program. The person is facing the TV and appears to be listening attentively. On a small wooden table below the TV, there are six lit candles with labels that are difficult to read.
TV screen displaying an interview on CNN with a woman in a blue dress and a man with tattoos, discussing Candle Maker Daddy Yankee and his inspiration for the scent 'Island Suffering.'
Television screen showing news about flooding in an island community, with a man speaking about his inspiration for scented candles, and a colorful album cover of a man in sunglasses with the title 'Island Suffering' and the artist name 'Daddy Yankee'.
Several lit candles with labels featuring a woman wearing sunglasses, with the text 'Yankee Candle' and 'Island Suffering' visible.
An art installation featuring a vintage fan with streamers and a small television on a white pedestal, displayed in a room with a large window.
Two young women standing in front of a white wall with some text, one with curly short hair and the other with brown hair tied back, wearing dark clothing.
A woman standing indoors in front of a yellow sunset water scene projected on a wall. She is wearing a black jacket with red accents, a black skirt with a front slit, and colorful scarf. Behind her are three small framed digital screens on a white shelf, showing different images. The floor has scattered leaves and a chain hanging vertically to her right.
An art gallery room with a large digital screen displaying abstract artwork, a small framed photograph on the wall, and a window with closed curtains.
A woman with curly hair and hoop earrings smiling while standing in front of a projected image of abstract art involving floral and geometric designs.
Colorful ceramic vase with a painted scene of a village with red-roofed houses, a church, trees, and a pathway.
A white gallery wall with two white wall-mounted shelves holding small framed pictures, a colorful vase with a landscape painting in the center, and a white horizontal ledge below.
Display shelf with photo booklets showing colorful home decor and bedroom interior images, small tribute box in the center on a white wall.
Mis Raises - Pedro Cruz
As a teenager, living the “typical life of a city kid,” Cruz merely thought of PR as a vacation destination or a place his parents could refer to when reminding him of “how good [he] had it.” But, as he grew older, Cruz realized the influence that his culture had on his artistic work. With a passion for documentary photography, Cruz returned to his roots, to “stop time & save memories” in the best way he knew how. Tracing the footsteps of his parents, Cruz went on a journey that would reconnect him with his family, his culture, and his homeland.
Come and explore the streets of Puerto Rico through Cruz’s eyes, it will evoke feelings of nostalgia and maybe even inspire you to discover your own roots.There will also be live music from "Son De Altura," a two-man band consisting of Puerto Rican flutist, Tito Lugo, and Jose Aponte, a longtime Villa Victoria resident.
The Uncanny Home of our Imagination March 2016
Nave Gallery Annex, Somerville MA
This show is a fleeting exploration of the home as concept and lived material space in which taste, anxiety, and desire take shape. Playfully using the concepts of the uncanny and the “uncanny valley” as points of reference, selected objects and their placement within a house-turned gallery are meant to call attention to the act of attaching emotions to objects in domestic space and the ways that these are formed by the transformations of ourselves and occupied spaces. The home takes on a special role as site of origin and desired return – an (extra)ordinary domestic environment filled with art that may provoke empathy or aversion.
Each artwork experiments with common items such as silverware, clothing, and drinking vessels that simultaneously maintain their likeness to everyday things, while also marking a deviation from their original role or look. Each object plays with the frustrations that accompany our desires, our conflicting sensations of attainment and loss, of agency and impotence, of safety and fear through the representations of objects caught in the act of divergence.
The π group was envisioned in the beginning of 2005 by Julia Csekö, Daniel Murgel and Pedro Varela, during their BFA program at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ EBA. From this encounter was born the idea of an art collective that would function by maintaining core founding members, while remaining open to temporary collaborations. This art collective went on to organize five independent art exhibitions between 2005 and 2008. The group was named as a tribute to Brazilian artist and performer Márcia X, who passed away in the early 2000's. Inspired by the desire of continuity to Marcia's role as a cultural agitator in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Marcia X, organized and curated art exhibitions in unconventional venues. Her events started with the occupation of a vacant house at Jornalista Orlando Dantas St., and the events were thereafter named Orlandia. Following the same logic, Py was the name of the street where the first exhibition organized by GroupPy took place. Group Py’s first exhibition was titled π ≅ X Open Circuit. Four houses under construction on Py St. were occupied by 28 artists on February 2005. The group remained active until 2008, changing in size and configuration, gravitating around its core founding members the sisters, Julia Csekö and Joana Traub Csekö. The group and its events were received with support and great excitement by the local community including Brazilian sculptor Ernest Neto, who participated in and supported the collective’s exhibitions and served as a mentor and friend to the collective.
FebeaRIO 2008
Espaço Cultural Sérgio Porto, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Febeario or 'By the fruits you shall know the tree'
The dictatorship is gone, but the Febeapá* remains. If the early years of the military coup yielded material for volumes of the "Festival-de-Besteiras-que-Assola-o-país” “the-festival-of-nonsense-which-plagues-the-country ", our two decades of "democracy" have been equally lavish in barbarities perpetrated in the exercise of public power. The festival, my dear friends, has no end! Faced with the fountain of readymade jokes that reality offers us every day, it is almost irresistible to exercise our imagination, supposing: "What would Stanislaw say?" In honor of his memory, however, we will resist. It is impossible to reproduce his wit.
Speaking of this, the reflection on the cultural space that we are occupying today arises inescapable: will it still be a tribute to the memory of Sérgio Porto? Despite administrative ups and downs, the Sérgio Porto Cultural Space was notable as a sounding board for the Carioca* arts, constituting itself as a kind of laboratory. It was possible at the same time to be experimental and gain visibility, free from market pressures. Accredited for its public character, ECSP was the object of desire of young artists, recognized as the basis for launching internationally recognized careers. By the mid-2000s, however, the highs were steadily falling. From topophilia we passed, sadly, to topophobia.
One learns in geography that space is socially produced. To culture, a multifaceted concept, one can apply a, say, fashion metaphor: it is the needle and the thread with which the social fabric is sewn, but also the pattern by which the garment is cut. Thus, there is no natural law that prevents this space from going back to the condition of a warehouse, from which art has rescued it from. And losing it would represent a further step toward bad taste. A point of light would be lost for the sake of obscurity; A point of reference for the encounter, the clash and the irradiation of the flow of ideas. Ideas without which the social fabric becomes amorphous, revealing rags of indigence. Does anyone believe that Rio presents itself today in its best attire?
Aphoristic demolisher and sharp chronicler of the customs of Rio de Janeiro, Sergio Porto was ruthlessly targeting the powerful. He called federal deputies depufedes* and said, on one occasion, that "perfect mayor, only with a typo." He created priceless characters, such as Cousin Altamirando, "pioneer in planting marijuana in Brazil," and Tia Zulmira, the "macroso of Boca do Mato." To paraphrase it, we will say of certain public men who are very committed to the progress of our underdevelopment that their absence will fill vast gaps. After all, "for a frog the the swamp shall not mourn".
*Title of the seminal comedy written by Sérgio Porto, pseudonym Stanislaw Ponte Preta. This show was held at the Sérgio Porto Cultural Center, and its title is homage to the author.
*Carioca means the people from Rio de Janeiro
*Depufedes is translated literally "depustinky" in reference to deputies being filthy corrupt.
Rodrigo Morais
PyLar
Exhibition held at a private residency, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
πLAR The Homey Resistance
What is the relation between a slogan of the Movement of Landless Rural Workers (MST - Movimento dos Trabalhadores sem Terra) and an exhibition of visual arts whose main characteristic is taking place inside a home, and which takes as a starting point for artistic thinking this particularity? The appropriation of the motto "occupy, resist, produce" firstly gives PYLar exhibition an unequivocal political dimension. In the face of the ever-present risk of the degradation of art to the mere vehicle of ideologies, it is useful to recall Aristotle's celebrated phrase: "Man is by nature a political animal." Here we speak of the human need for association in view of a common good. Let us not therefore condescend to the debasement of politics.
The apparent contradiction between the public character of a broad political movement and the intimate, private sphere of the home, whose effect in this case touches the ironic, is resolved with some ease, I believe, if we consider the idea of micropolitics formulated by Felix Guattari: the necessary cross-linking of the molar (in reference to the macro level) and molecular (micro) vectors for the constitution of autonomous forces in the field of subjective economy - the field of the production of ideas, of art, of desire.
The diagnosis goes far beyond the novelty: to be an artist in Brazil is to navigate channels bounded by institutional indigence - a historical rule that the exceptions only confirm - and by the designs of the art market, with its own logic. The third bank of this river, in order to proceed in the fluvial metaphor, is neither isolation nor impotence.
The old struggle for hearts and minds, not for the purpose of capturing them, but for the possibility of surprising them, throwing them in unusual directions, on the flip side of the countercurrent. This is the political character that primarily interests us in art.
Curiously, the term economy derives from the Greek roots oikos (house) and nomos (administration). Nothing more appropriate. The orthopedics of subjectivity begins at home.
Welcome, stranger!
Rodrigo Morais
FebeaRIO 2008
A yellow A-frame sign with a blackboard displaying handwritten text in Portuguese, placed on a gray tiled floor.
Group of people sitting on blankets and standing inside an art gallery, with screens on the wall and a black flag with a circular design on it.
An art gallery with four people, some sitting on the floor, some standing and looking at artwork, with multiple TVs or screens on the wall displaying images and a large black art piece on the right side.
Two white balloons attached to a common pipe nozzle on a plain white background.
Close-up of a wall-mounted light fixture with an opaque white glass shade, a brass arm, and a white bulb, casting a shadow on a white wall.
A white wall with a modern, minimalist round light fixture on the left and a pattern of small, dark snowflakes on the right.
Wall with the word 'AMANHA' repeated in different orientations and fonts.
A newspaper, a peach, a golden beaded necklace, and a yellow satin cloth on a granite surface.
A red apple, a gold-colored decorative wreath, an orange cloth, and some papers on the floor in the corner of a room with gray tile flooring and beige walls.
Photograph of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, featuring Sugarloaf Mountain, bay, and cityscape, with a pink flamingo sculpture in the foreground and a label reading 'RIO MADE IN CHINA'.
Three vintage CRT televisions stacked vertically on white wall shelves, with some displaying static, one showing a city scene, and the top viewing trees and a sky, connected by black cables.
Yellow folding ruler measuring length against a white background
Close-up of a yellow carpenter's ruler measuring a piece of wood, with handwritten notes partially visible beneath the ruler on white paper.
A framed artwork with a large yellow measuring tape placed horizontally and vertically, displayed on a white wall.
A net bag filled with red apples hangs against a plain background, casting a shadow on the surface below.
Two sets of people standing against a white wall, each set in a separate Polaroid frame. In both frames, the people are positioned side by side, facing forward.
A person viewing a contemporary art installation in a white gallery with black and gray rectangular pieces and a wall of glass.
Empty art gallery with white walls, framed artworks, and spotlights. A single spotlight on a red box with a megaphone attached, labeled in Portuguese.
An art gallery featuring several framed photographs on white walls, with a small red pedestal in the center holding a megaphone. Track lighting illuminates the artwork, and a small monitor is mounted on the back wall.
Empty art gallery with a megaphone on a red pedestal in the center, artworks on the walls, and track lighting on the ceiling.
Art gallery with multiple small monitors displaying digital images, a pair of headphones hanging on the wall, and a corner made of orange bricks in the background.
Art gallery interior with hanging sculpture of spherical objects, framed artwork on white walls, and a red crate with a megaphone and a sign that reads 'TABLADINHO licenca provisória é só subir e mandar ver!'
A person standing on a red box with a sign that reads "TABLADINHO licenca provisória: é só subir e mandar ver!", holding a megaphone and a microphone, with a backpack on their shoulder, inside an art gallery or exhibition space.
Indigenous artwork installations on white gallery wall, including a neon light with hanging wires, framed drawings, and a wooden sculpture with tools.
A wall-mounted art installation resembling a computer circuit with wires connected to white electrical outlets, illuminated by a central rectangular light source.
A neon light installation portrays a human face behind horizontal blue lines, creating an abstract visual effect.
Installation art featuring a series of interconnected electronic devices with wires hanging down, illuminated by a bright white light at the top, mounted on a gallery wall.
A person's face peeking through horizontal blinds, with only the eyes and part of the nose visible.
A train approaching on the tracks with a display of various baseball caps in the foreground.
Two metal crosses hanging on chains mounted on a plain white wall.
A person is making a binoculars gesture with both hands around their eyes, forming circles with their fingers.
White relief sculpture of a person with a dog on a curved surface, with a crescent moon above.
Black and white photograph of a woman with eyes closed, holding her face gently with suntan lotion on her nose, displayed on a rectangular screen.
Yellow poster advertising the Feberio festival and celebration of the Rio de Janeiro carnival, with event dates, location, and list of performers.
A woman reading from paper on a stage with a red table, chairs, water bottle, and a banner that reads "FEBEARIO Festival de Besteira que Assola o Rio de Janeiro." In the background, a large screen displays the Samsung logo.
An indoor panel discussion or panel talk with five speakers seated at a table on stage, with an audience watching in dim lighting.
The image shows a panel discussion or conference with five people sitting at a long table covered with a red cloth and a yellow banner that reads 'FEBEARIO Festival de Bisteira Que Assola o Rio de Janeiro.' The panelists are engaged in conversation, some with microphones, and water bottles are on the table. The background is dark.
A woman with short reddish-brown hair and glasses holding a microphone, standing next to a table with bottled water and chairs in the background.
Six men seated at a table on a stage during a panel discussion, with microphones and water bottles in front of them.
A person is sitting on a stool, playing an acoustic guitar and singing into a microphone on a stage, with a plain background and a white plastic chair beside them.
A woman with curly red hair and glasses speaking into a microphone, sitting at a table with a man in a suit and glasses.
Three people sitting at a panel table with water bottles, microphones, and notebooks, participating in a discussion or conference.
A rustic metal birdcage mounted on a white wall, containing several black and silver metallic objects and a long string hanging from the bottom.
Black and white photo of glass doors with a partial view of a person walking outside. Handwritten text below the photo reads, 'como era gostoso o meu Sergio Porto'.
Black and white photo of a large, elongated, cone-shaped sculpture lying on a flat surface indoors, with a vertical ruler or measuring stick next to it for scale.
Framed artwork with cut-out pages resembling a text pattern, displayed on a white wall.
Open magazine spread featuring contemporary art installations. The left page shows the title 'installation art in the new millennium' with a photo of a white horse lying on the floor of an art space with curved white walls. The right page contains text and two images: the top image of an art installation with hanging clothes in a room and a wooden crate, and the bottom image of an empty room with a mural of a face on the wall and an art structure in the center.
A hanging abstract sculpture made of wooden geometric shapes against a white background.
Art installation with a hanging sculpture made of intertwined metal or wire and a rectangular framed piece on a white wall, featuring a pattern of orangish-red loops or chains.
A man standing on a red box labeled 'TABLADINHO' and talking on a cellphone, with a woman standing in the background gazing at him in an art gallery.
A red cardboard box with a white sign in Portuguese that says: 'Tabladiho licença provisória: é só subir e mandar ver!' and a small Pi symbol in the lower right corner of the sign.
Close-up of a red metal box with a black Roman numeral II painted on it, placed on a speckled gray floor, with chains attached on the right side.
An art installation of stacked bricks arranged in a corner, creating a vertical column extending from the floor to the ceiling.
A hand-drawn cartoon of two men having a conversation in speech bubbles. One man has glasses and a beard, and the other man is talking on a phone. The speech bubbles contain the text: 'as Vitalina precisaram de pândalas!' and 'imediatamente! Senhor!'
Framed comic sketches hanging on a white wall.
A hand-drawn sketch of a man in a military uniform with glasses, beard, and a cap, holding a smoking gun. He looks confused, with question marks above his head. There is a speech bubble in Portuguese that reads, "O QUE FAZ R DAR UM TIRO E ENCERRAR A COM VE RSAR?? VOCÊ FAL A R COM O CHEFE!" A small framed picture of a gun is also visible on the right side of the drawing.
Photo display of multiple framed pictures of a woman giving a speech and a panel of people in a formal setting, on white gallery wall.
Government officials and politicians in a formal meeting, some are hugging, smiling, and talking at a wooden desk with nameplates, microphones, and glasses of water.
Two men engaged in a serious conversation near a fireplace. One man, in a gray suit, leans in closely, while the other man, in a black suit with a red tie, sits with his hand on his chin, appearing to listen intently.
Two men in suits having a private conversation at a formal event, seated at a table with nameplates. One nameplate reads 'Lucia LFA,' and the other reads 'Pecis Fich INFP Se Casa Civil.'
Art installation with five large metal letters spelling 'CERRTO', each mounted on a long wooden stick. To the left, a photograph of a landscape with rolling green hills and a dirt path with metal hooks shaped like the letters spelling 'CERRTO' standing upright in the ground.
A man facing away standing on a beach with mountains and water in the background, another man taking a photo of him while standing on the beach.
A shirtless man wearing a mask with a woman's face printed on it, making a fist with the word 'GUARDOR' written on the knuckles. The background features graffiti on a brick wall.
PyLar
A turtle with a box on its back, connected to wires, is inside a room near an open door leading outside. There are two monitors and electronic equipment on a black crate against the wall.
A tortoise with a device on its shell that looks like a small camera is walking on a concrete surface outside a building. The device appears to be mounted on a box secured to the tortoise's shell.
A person holding a paintbrush, painting a shadow on a wall.
A tangled ball of multicolored electrical wires glowing with blue and white light, placed near a blank light-colored wall.
An artistic architectural illustration of a building, with handwritten names and phrases in Portuguese, including 'RESISTIR' at the top, as well as words like 'OCUPAR' and 'PRODUZIR' in different sections. The illustration features windows, balconies, and doors, with a color scheme of purple, black, and white.
A large bundle of newspapers and magazines tied with orange straps, with a wooden artist mannequin sitting on top in an indoor setting with brick and white wall and plants in the background.
A wooden mannequin sitting among a large pile of old magazines or newspapers near a window with green plants, against a white brick wall.
A wooden artist mannequin sitting on a stack of rolled and stacked newspapers and magazines.
An art installation featuring a large screen showing a close-up of lips, set inside a white rectangular frame with blue lighting.
Indoor space with a large roll of flattened cardboard and paper, a small turtle on the floor, green plants, and an open door leading outside.
Two red plastic dog bowls placed on a sidewalk near a concrete wall, one with water and the other with dog food.
Four puppies gathered around a green food bowl on a concrete floor, eating or drinking.
A home projector displaying an abstract orange and yellow image onto a blank wall, with a small black projector on a table in a dark room.
Projection of a city skyline at sunset or sunrise onto a wall, with a smaller image of a similar scene in the upper left corner.
Sequence of four photographs showing a slide projection of a cityscape on a white wall, with transitions from white to darker purple lighting conditions, reflected on a shiny floor.
Projection of a cityscape at dusk with mountains in the background, featuring illuminated buildings and a pink sky.
A cityscape at night with illuminated buildings and a mountain in the background, viewed through multiple overlapping projections on a dark wall.
A person with a sculpture of an octopus for a head, sitting on a vintage chair in a room with colorful artwork and a textile-covered table.
Indoor staircase with black handrails and dark wooden steps, leading up to a white, draped ceiling.
Wooden staircase with black spindled railing and white curtains hanging by a window at the top.
A white door slightly ajar inside a white tent or fabric structure.
Open window with a view of rooftops and a clear night sky.
Interior of a room with white textured walls, a window with closed blinds, and a ceiling hatch or door leading to an attic or upper space.
Ceiling with an attic-style skylight window and a slightly blurred person walking underneath.
A tablet mounted on a stand displaying an image of a tree, with an electronic device and wires in the background.
A white wall with exposed wires and electronic devices, including a white router, cables, and a wooden structure, in a room with a window.
An improvised electronic device setup with wires, a tablet, and various components in a white-walled room near a window.
A steaming bowl of soup on a table with green leaves in the background.
Miniature swimming pool with a ladder, surrounded by rocks, on a green artificial turf, with a small lounge chair nearby, within a natural outdoor setting with leaves and twigs.
Empty garden bed covered with dried leaves and soil, with a blue electrical junction box mounted on a piece of wood in the middle, surrounded by green plants and flowers.
A chef in a white uniform and hat preparing food on a cutting board in a kitchen with various ingredients and condiments on the counter.
A chef preparing a large plate of chopped raw meat in a kitchen with natural light, lemons, and condiment bottles in the background.
A person lying face down on the ground in a small empty swimming pool filled with leaves, branches, and debris, with three black cats nearby.
A wreath made of various stuffed toys and fabrics arranged to resemble animals and a hanging leather jacket in a room with white walls and a window showing greenery outside.
A postal mailbox attached to a wooden door, with a pile of scattered newspapers and mail on the floor below.
A mailbox with overflowing mail and papers sticking out.
Person sitting on a pink velvet couch with a large, multi-armed, plush octopus costume or prop covering their head and upper body, in a room with colorful artwork on the wall and an antique wooden cabinet.
A cluttered room with various furniture and decorative items stacked, including a coat rack, mannequin busts, chairs, boxes, a table, and lamps, with a window and clock in the background.
Empty moving truck with wooden floor parked on a cobblestone street at night, houses visible on the side.
Item storage inside a truck with chairs, wicker baskets, a box of miscellaneous items, and two people sorting through belongings.
Back of a truck filled with furniture including chairs, a sofa, a small table, and houseplants, with a shopping cart below.
A man is lifting a wooden chair with help from others, while another man watches nearby. The scene is outdoors on a cobblestone surface, and there is a traffic cone in the background.
People sitting on chairs and benches inside a rustic wooden room, gesturing towards an open doorway where a crowd is gathered outside at night.
A white wall with a colorful abstract painting on the left and a corner with white painted stone shelves on the right, featuring small Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse figurines.
An altar with a statue of a meditating figure, decorated with a necklace, and accompanied by two Mickey Mouse figurines, set against a yellow and multicolored fabric backdrop on a white stone platform.
Person walking past a large, colorful bird sculpture made of flowers on a patio with greenery and plants.
Pyrata
Exhibition held inside a operational Ferry Boat crossing the Guanabara Bay, Niterói and Rio, Brazil
PY = T.A.Z*
A guerilla operation that frees up an area of space, time or imagination. This is one of the possible definitions for the Temporary Autonomous Zone. Is PY a ZAT? The question becomes more interesting with the PYrata exhibition, for "pirate utopias," outlaw communities established on remote islands, are among the historical examples of ZATs, or proto-ZATs.
Taking the art to non-conventional places, to temporarily activated spaces is proposed by the PY. In this case, the boat Rio-Niterói. In the PYrata "operation", the targets of the release are the physical space of the boat, the time of travel and the very subjectivity of each passenger - transformed by the irruption of a festival that moves them from the normality of the day.
It is easy to notice that PY constitutes the social structure more favorable to the appearance of the ZAT. Unlike the family, closed in consanguinity bonds, the pack has as characteristics horizontality and the opening by ties of affinity. In this regard, I would say that PY is anti-famiglia.
The opening is visible in the porosity that marks the collective, in the way in which, at each event, different artists are added. And also in the way the group deals with this coming and going of others, accepting difference as part of themselves, to the point that their identity is constantly changing. "Metamorphic" and "chameleonic" informs PY about itself. And the metamorphosis, he points out, is the ace in the hole of a ZAT.
Rhizomatic structures, acting as non-hierarchical accentuated multiplicity, packs are metamorphoses of the war machine. Thus, PY, in addition to a ZAT, can be perceived as a war machine. But what kind of war? Not the one made with rifles and grenades, but the ones we fight armed by thouhts, fought around values.
The aim of the war machine is the establishment of creative escape routes, the composition of spaces of free flow. By exploring territories and constructing alternatives to the institutionalized circuit of the art system, with which it will not shut down communications, PY wages on its guerrilla war for a new reality.
*Reference to Temporary Autonomous Zones, Hakim Bey
Rodrigo Morais
Pyneo
Exhibition held in a private studio space, Niterói, Brazil
This was the third exhibition put togehter by the group, at one of the members’ studio space in Niteroi. The collective had it’s first three shows in Niteroi, situated on the opposite side of the Guanabara Bay to the city of Rio de Janeiro. The two cities are linked by ferryboats and the Rio-Niteroi bridge, currently the sixth longest bridge in the world and the longest pressed concrete bridge in the southern hemisphere. The fourth exhibition of the collective was titled Pyrata, and took place in a ferry boat, symbolizing the physical crossing of the collective from Niteroi where some of its members resided to Rio where it would host its following exhibitions.
Pyrata
Ferry boat named 'Itapuça' arriving at a dock with passengers onboard and on the deck, with cityscape and hills in the background.
A white ferry boat docked at a pier with a black flag that says "TERROR" with skull and crossbones on it. The boat has a sign with the name "ITAPUCA" on top. There are people on the dock and on the boat, with a lake and mountains in the background.
Group of young climate activists on a boat holding a black flag with a white circled cross symbol, standing behind a large black banner with white skull and crossbones symbols and the word 'TRI''.
A man with a beard wearing a striped cap, orange life jacket, and khaki pants, holding a saxophone, standing in front of a pink pig-shaped object in an indoor setting with several seated and standing people in the background.
A man with a beard playing a saxophone while sitting on a bench in a public space, wearing a red life jacket and casual clothing, with a can on the ground nearby.
People disembarking from a boat with a pirate-themed decoration and banner displaying the word 'Piratas' with skull and crossbones symbols.
A view through a framed cutout of a small black water faucet on a boat, overlooking a river with buildings, ship, and cranes in the background.
Woman dressed in a costume with a large white collar and hat, leaning over attached to a chair in an indoor setting.
A woman with short curly hair dressed in a black top, gray shorts, and brown boots, wearing a white collar-like accessory around her neck, walking through a ferry or ship interior with seated passengers.
Black and white photograph of a man crouching behind a dog, aiming a rifle, with a backdrop of a metal fence. The image includes text indicating the photo is by Edward Muybridge and has the title "OATIRADOR".
Sticker of a man squatting and drinking from a bottle on the back of a blue seat.
View of a scenic harbor with mountains in the background, taken from inside a building with window stickers of people aiming rifles.
A man wearing a mask with a spooky, ghost-like face, lying on the floor and holding a vintage CRT television with a blue screen. A woman wearing orange sandals and striped pants stands nearby.
An adult man and young boy looking at security camera footage on a white wall in a public space, with rows of empty blue seats in the background.
A young woman with dark brown hair, wearing a black tank top, is sitting in a blue seat, looking at a plastic water bottle she is holding.
Woman dressed in white with a large floral corsage, wearing a white net veil with ball decorations, smiling at the camera, in a room with people seated at tables.
A group of people standing together indoors, with a woman in a white dress and floral headband in the foreground, and three others, two women and one man, smiling and engaging in conversation.
A woman wearing a white dress and matching veil, holding a bouquet of white flowers with pink edges, appears to be surprised or expressing emotion. She is surrounded by several people, including a man in a dark shirt and glasses, and a young man in an orange shirt.
Woman dressed as a bride giving a flower bouquet to young girl on a boat.
People on a boat deck preparing to launch a large, partially unrolled silver and white paper boat, with others standing and sitting nearby, a bicycle and lounge chair visible in the background.
A group of people holding a large paper boat, with some individuals taking photos, in an indoor setting with wooden floors and bright natural light.
A paper boat floating on calm water with a cityscape and a bridge in the background under a cloudy sky.
Three people are launching a paper boat into the water from a stone dock.
Empty auditorium with black chairs, windows, and safety equipment including fire extinguishers and a flag, along with a skeleton model hanging from the ceiling for display.
Fire safety equipment including a fire extinguisher, fire alarm, and emergency instructions on a wall.
Emergency life support sign in Portuguese and English, with three instructions: inspire, expire, and stay above water line and wait; a red box containing colorful voice bubbles used for signaling emergencies.
A handmade flag with a smiling man's face, a crown emblem at the top, pink and purple beaded necklaces, and various jewelry pieces displayed at the bottom.
A red flag with a distorted image of a man wearing a white turban, a skeleton face, with a devil's tail and horns, and a pink heart and lips.
Two people standing on a boat deck, holding a red flag with a pirate-themed design, including a face with devil horns, a trident, bones, and pink hearts, with a body of water and buildings in the background.
A glass fish tank with fish, placed on a blue school chair. The fish appear to be goldfish, with one being orange and the other white and orange. The chair's armrests are wooden, and the floor is gray wood or concrete.
A goldfish inside a small glass aquarium with white gravel at the bottom, reflecting light and showing a faint mirror image of the fish.
Passengers seated in a waiting area of a ferry with large windows, black chairs, pink and white striped columns, and safety markings on overhead barriers.
A man with dark hair wearing a pale yellow shirt and carrying a black shoulder bag looks down while standing in a ferry or boat interior. Outside the windows, a cityscape with tall buildings and a white boat docked nearby is visible.
Interior of a crowded ferry with passengers seated and standing, colorful striped poles, and a man labeled 'Curador' standing at the front of the vessel.
A woman with curly hair and face makeup standing on a ferry, with passengers seated and standing, including a man with a shaved head and earring sitting in a chair labeled 'Curador' in Spanish, and a young girl with a backpack in the background.
A person sitting on a wooden chair on a boat, wearing a black jacket with 'CURADOR' written on the back, looking out over the water and a bridge in the distance.
A glass bowl filled with water, containing a tiny paper sailing ship and a small glass bottle with a cork, floating on the water.
Various glass containers including vials, bowls, and glasses filled with water, some containing small paper boat models, with cork stoppers on top.
A collection of glassware, including glasses and bowls, placed on the floor next to a circular porthole window on a boat or ship.
Two glass bottles with cork stoppers, one with a ship inside, partially submerged in water in a glass container, on a table with a gray surface.
A man with curly black hair wearing round sunglasses and a black t-shirt, crossing his arms, standing indoors near a staircase.
A man sitting alone in a mostly empty waiting area, wearing a gray blazer, a hat, sunglasses, and holding a cane.
A black square with a white stylized logo in the center consisting of a check mark with a slash through it, enclosed within parentheses.
People standing on a boat near a waterfront, with city buildings in the background, some holding drinks and looking out over the water.
A woman wearing headphones, a veil, and a black shirt with fake breasts and a pink nipple is in an airport terminal with seated travelers.
Six men standing on a boat or ferry, posing for a group photo, with some holding or touching each other, in an outdoor setting with water in the background.
Indoor waiting area decorated with blue balloons tied in clusters to pink and white striped poles. Several people, including young women, are seated or standing between the chairs, with one woman in a black and white polka dot top in the foreground and a woman in a red dress walking past. An exit sign is visible in the background.
Indoor waiting area with black chairs, large windows, ceiling decorations of blue balloons hanging from strings, and a woman sitting on a chair.
Multiple images of a cityscape with buildings and mountains at dusk, showing different lighting and sky conditions.
People sitting on orange and black seats inside a ferry, looking out the windows, with some engaged in reading or resting.
Close-up of a rusted metal surface near water with a cluster of black fishing arrows stuck into it, casting shadows on the surface.
A large, plush elephant statue with oversized, curved legs, and large ears, holding a mannequin dressed in a short-sleeve plaid shirt in a public indoor space.
A window with a view of a city skyline and mountains at dusk, with a phrase in Portuguese on the window that reads 'amar é a maré'.
People seated in a waiting area with black chairs and a person in a costume resembling a colorful animal, possibly a giraffe or dragon, sitting among them.
People seated on chairs inside a ferry with windows on the sides, some looking out. Overhead lights and exposed ceiling pipes visible. Bright open doorway at the end.
A person is sitting in a theater seat wearing a large, colorful dragon costume that covers their entire body, with the costume's head functioning as a hood.
View of Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with a harbor in the foreground where two people are paddling a kayak and boats anchored nearby. Buildings and greenery are visible at the base of the mountain.
Two people in a kayak paddling on the water with a fortress or castle in the background.
View from inside a boat with a window showing water and a dock outside. There is a sign in Portuguese on the top of the window and a safety instruction poster with illustrations for life vest placement.
A man with curly hair sitting on a striped beach chair in front of a large black and white photograph of a pier with a bird flying overhead, inside a busy ferry or ferry terminal with people seated in the background.
Posters displaying various black and white technical diagrams of different tools and equipment, including a billhook, a chisel, and other garden or mechanical tools, mounted on a white wall.
A potted snake plant with variegated green and yellow leaves placed on a dark grey floor against a white wall.
A person in a white shirt and white shorts holding a string with a paper boat attached, while a girl with a tank top looks on in the background.
A rope and fender on the deck of a boat near a window with water outside, with a large coiled flexible hose hanging from the ceiling.
A man with long hair and a beard drawing on a glass window with a marker, creating a cityscape outline with a bridge, sailboat, and skyline, while a woman with curly hair sits in front of him facing the water.
Two people with dreadlocks on a boat looking at a city's skyline, with a doodle of landmarks and buildings on a glass window in front of them.
Pyneo
Py=xX2 Small Formats
Espaço Cultural, Niterói, Brazil
This was a small format exhibition, the first three exhibitions of the group where in Niteroi. , on the opposite side of the Guanabara Bay to the city of Rio de Janeiro. The two cities are linked by ferryboats and the Rio-Niteroi bridge, currently the sixth longest bridge in the world and the longest pressed concrete bridge in the southern hemisphere. The fourth exhibition of the collective was titled Pyrata, and took place in a ferry boat, symbolizing the physical crossing of the collective from Niterói where some of its members resided to Rio where it would host its following exhibitions.
Py=X Open Circuit
Houses under construction, Niterói, Brazil
Four Houses under construction were occupied by artists. This was the first exhibition of the GrupoPy Collective.
Py=x2 Small Formats
Py=x2 Small Formats
Py = X Circuito Aberto
Py = X Circuito Aberto
Py = X Circuito Aberto
Py action
Culture is what changes the world. Large demonstrations such as Bossa Nova, the Nouvelle Vague or Arte Povera, are some examples. When they reach the general public, transforming the world, they come with a grandeur that impresses. But in this this particular circumstance, a small group of people with common political, aesthetic and cultural interests, eager to act and create a context for what they believe in. Often even without knowing exactly what they believe in, but aware of the potential of intuition, will and strength.
In early 2005, I was invited by two young artists who had worked in my studio for an unusual exhibition that they and others were organizing in a place far from my everyday Rio, in Itaipu, Niterói, ... oh well, so I went! We set out to a remote beach in Itacoatiara. After the beach we finally arrived at the end of the day, getting lost a little bit here and there. Worth it! Suddenly we were in a group of four houses that rhythmically occupied the same plot of land.
These newly built homes were still in transit state, clean, in the "bone", that is, without flooring, tiling, painting. Its walls were pure plaster on gray cement color. Amazing! And there was a show going on with ups and downs as in any collective but with an amazing average.
It seemed to be an unexpected museum going from one room to the other. It was an exhibition / event that lasted a day or two. Right there was born the Py group.
Other Py shows were succeeding, as π = X², πyneo, all in Niteroi.
Formed by young people of Rio and Niterói, Rio being the metropolis, it is clear that the natural destiny of Py would cross the bridge to take place in Rio. But how? Again the improbable, make an event inside a ferry boat.
During a Saturday, the event/manifestation / Py took place. Displayed inside one of the Cantareira ferry boats. This was called πrata (Pyrate). One of the boats was taken by a flag and a legion of artists, myself included, works with performances, dance ... finally a plurality of artistic expressions, crossing several times Rio-Niterói-Rio, leaving the common public, transiting through Guanabara Bay, perplexed by the unexpected, as well as the slightly stunned artistic community with the unpredictability of the group, its event production capacity and artistic quality of the displayed material.
The Py manifests as an accumulation of other groups. Like myself, many artists outside the mainstream, of different ages and cultural backgrounds in the Rio, were also invited to attend this event. Definitely, the activity of Py has been a major vibration in the arts in Rio de Janeiro. Its most striking quality is to believe that art can happen all over the place, as well as in museums, institutions and galleries. I do not believe that this is a review of these classic places, but the demonstration of a will that overflows the conventional boundaries of artistic routine, showing that all stages of the artistic event, creation, production, and delivery can happen at the same time under the same skin!
I do not know exactly what the next action of Py will be, but it will definitely surprise, and I want to be around it, either within or beside it.
To the living,
Ernesto Neto