Pride and Heritage: The Afro-Brazil Museum in São Paulo, Brazil
Afro-Brazil Museum Overview:
The Afro-Brazil Museum - Museu Afro Brasil - in São Paulo features over 3,000 works which highlight the importance of black Brazilians in the creation of national culture, heritage and identity.
The museum, which opened in 2004 thanks to a partnership between public and private initiatives, displays part of a collection amassed over the course of 20 years and loaned on a permanent basis to the institution by Bahia-born artist, curator and museum director Emanuel Araújo, now the Afro-Brazil Museum head curator.
On Nov.20, in celebration of Black Awareness Day 2011, the museum inaugurated a 2.2-meter statue of Zumbi, the warrior leader of Quilombo dos Palmares, the most important escaped slave community in Brazil history.
The Collection:
The collection at Museu Afro Brasil represents six great themes: Africa, Work and Slavery, Sacred and Profane, Afro-Brazilian Religions, History and Memory, and Art.
One of the most stunning permanent exhibits is the Slave Ship (Navio Negreiro) Room, where the skeleton of a slave ship, an audiovisul installation, photos and objects help honor the memory of the Africans brought to Brazil and evoke their journey across the Atlantic.
The rich museum collection features from African tribal icons to contemporary art. Early photographs of black Brazilians and a memorial to black luminaries in Brazil history are a must-see.
Temporary Exhibits & Programs:
To the general public, the temporary exhibits at the Afro-Brazil Museum are one of the most visible fruits of the intense work carried out at this dynamic institution.
Several exhibits may be held at the museum at a time.
The Afro-Brazil museum develops a wide range of activities which impact the community in a positive way, including courses, seminars, debates, workshops and guidede visits for schools.
Two of the mainstays in the research and museology area are the growing Carolina Maria de Jesus Library, with over 5,000 items, named for the author of Child of the Dark; and the Oral History Nucleus, which, as the museum puts it, brings black Brazilians forward as griots and domas - storytellers and subjects of their own history.
The Building:
The spacious Manoel da Nóbrega Pavilion, part of the architectural complex created by Oscar Niemeyer and a team of other architects at Ibirapuera Park, is a location up to par with the quality of the Afro-Brazil Museum.
Opened in late 1953, just in time for the celebrations of São Paulo's 400th anniversary in 1954, the pavilion has 11,000 square meters devoted to the Afro-Brazil Museum.
The building's design interacts in a impressive way with the artworks and the verdant Ibirapuera, which can be seen through the immense windows that flood the exhibits with natural light.
Address & Contact Information:
Rua Pedro Álvares Cabral, s/nº (no number)
Pavilhão Manoel da Nóbrega
Parque do Ibirapuera, Gate 10
04094-050
São Paulo, SP
Phones: 55-11-5579-8542 / 5579-7716 / 5579-6399
Website: www.museuafrobrasil.org.br
E-mail: agendamento@museuafrobrasil.com.br
Hours:
Tue-Sun, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Admission:
Free
The Afro-Brazil Museum - Museu Afro Brasil - in São Paulo features over 3,000 works which highlight the importance of black Brazilians in the creation of national culture, heritage and identity.
The museum, which opened in 2004 thanks to a partnership between public and private initiatives, displays part of a collection amassed over the course of 20 years and loaned on a permanent basis to the institution by Bahia-born artist, curator and museum director Emanuel Araújo, now the Afro-Brazil Museum head curator.
On Nov.20, in celebration of Black Awareness Day 2011, the museum inaugurated a 2.2-meter statue of Zumbi, the warrior leader of Quilombo dos Palmares, the most important escaped slave community in Brazil history.
The Collection:
The collection at Museu Afro Brasil represents six great themes: Africa, Work and Slavery, Sacred and Profane, Afro-Brazilian Religions, History and Memory, and Art.
One of the most stunning permanent exhibits is the Slave Ship (Navio Negreiro) Room, where the skeleton of a slave ship, an audiovisul installation, photos and objects help honor the memory of the Africans brought to Brazil and evoke their journey across the Atlantic.
The rich museum collection features from African tribal icons to contemporary art. Early photographs of black Brazilians and a memorial to black luminaries in Brazil history are a must-see.
Temporary Exhibits & Programs:
To the general public, the temporary exhibits at the Afro-Brazil Museum are one of the most visible fruits of the intense work carried out at this dynamic institution.
Several exhibits may be held at the museum at a time.
The Afro-Brazil museum develops a wide range of activities which impact the community in a positive way, including courses, seminars, debates, workshops and guidede visits for schools.
Two of the mainstays in the research and museology area are the growing Carolina Maria de Jesus Library, with over 5,000 items, named for the author of Child of the Dark; and the Oral History Nucleus, which, as the museum puts it, brings black Brazilians forward as griots and domas - storytellers and subjects of their own history.
The Building:
The spacious Manoel da Nóbrega Pavilion, part of the architectural complex created by Oscar Niemeyer and a team of other architects at Ibirapuera Park, is a location up to par with the quality of the Afro-Brazil Museum.
Opened in late 1953, just in time for the celebrations of São Paulo's 400th anniversary in 1954, the pavilion has 11,000 square meters devoted to the Afro-Brazil Museum.
The building's design interacts in a impressive way with the artworks and the verdant Ibirapuera, which can be seen through the immense windows that flood the exhibits with natural light.
Address & Contact Information:
Rua Pedro Álvares Cabral, s/nº (no number)
Pavilhão Manoel da Nóbrega
Parque do Ibirapuera, Gate 10
04094-050
São Paulo, SP
Phones: 55-11-5579-8542 / 5579-7716 / 5579-6399
Website: www.museuafrobrasil.org.br
E-mail: agendamento@museuafrobrasil.com.br
Hours:
Tue-Sun, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Admission:
Free
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