Museu Afro Brasil is a history, artistic and ethnographic museum dedicated to the research, preservation, and exhibition of objects and works related to the cultural sphere of black people in Brazil. It is a public institution held by the Secretariat for Culture of the

São Paulo State SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...

and managed by the Museu Afro Brasil Association. The museum is located in

Ibirapuera Park Ibirapuera Park ( pt, Parque Ibirapuera) is an urban park in São Paulo. It comprises 158 hectares between Av. República do Líbano, Av. Pedro Alvares Cabral, and Av. IV Centenário, and is the most visited park in South America, with 14.4 milli ...

, a major urban park in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

. The Manoel da Nóbrega Pavilion, designed by

Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was ...

in 1959, houses the Museum. It holds around 6 thousands items and pieces including paintings, sculptures, photos, documents, and archives created between the 15th Century and the present day. The aggregation of pieces includes many works of the African and

Afro-Brazilian Afro-Brazilians ( pt, afro-brasileiros; ) are Brazilians who have predominantly African ancestry (see " preto"). Most members of another group of people, multiracial Brazilians or ''pardos'', may also have a range of degree of African ancestry. ...

cultural spheres, ranging from subjects and topics such as religion, labor, and art to the African Diaspora and

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, whilst registering and affirming the historical trajectory and the African influences in the construction of the

Brazilian society Brazil had an official resident population of 214,000,000 in 2022, according to IBGE. Brazil is the seventh most populous country in the world, and the second most populous in the Americas and Western Hemisphere. Brazilians are mainly concentra ...

. The Museum also offers a diverse range of cultural and didactic activities, temporary expositions, and contains a theater and a specialized library.

History

Museu Afro Brasil was established in 2004 by Emanoel Araújo, former director and

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

of the

Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo The ''Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo'' (Portuguese for "pinacotheca (picture gallery) of the state of São Paulo") is one of the most important art museums in Brazil. History The museum is housed in a 1900 building in Jardim da Luz, Downto ...

, artist from

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...

. Araújo, since 2004 has been director of the museum.

Organization

Museu_Afro_Brasil_-_interior_gallery_2018

The museum's collection is divided into several sections with different areas: Africa, labor, slavery, sacred and profane, Afro-Brazilian religions, history and memory, and the arts. In the 20th century art section, there are important works made by

artists such as Benedito José Tobias,

Rubem Valentim Rubem Valentim (9 November 1922 - 30 November 1991) was born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. A self-taught artist, he started to paint as a child, doing figure and landscapes for Christmas crèches. Valentim graduated in dentistry in 1946, and pra ...

, Heitor dos Prazeres, Ronaldo Rego, Octavio Araujo, Manuel Messiah, Caetano Dias, José Hyginus, Tiberius, Jorge Luis dos Anjos as well works by Master Didi. Other parts of the collection include works by Madalena Schwartz, Sergio Valle Duarte, Alfred Weidinger, Joseph Pace, André Vilaron, Eustaquio Neves, and Walter Firmo. Museu Afro Brasil has the largest

Afro-descendant The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the West and Central Africans who were e ...

art collection in the Americas, with more than 5,000 objects, including paintings, sculpture,

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

, photographs, documents, and

ethnological Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). ...

objects. The museum offers many different aspects of

culture such as

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

, work, art, African diaspora and

slavery in Brazil Slavery in Brazil began long before the first Portuguese settlement was established in 1516, with members of one tribe enslaving captured members of another. Later, colonists were heavily dependent on indigenous labor during the initial phases ...

. The museum also exhibits the African influences on Brazilian society and culture.

Events

In 2014, for the tenth anniversary of the museum and concurrent with the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Museu Afro Brasil created an exhibit entitled ''O Negro no Futebol Brasileiro – A arte e os Artistas'' (The black man in Brazilian soccer - The art and its artists). This exhibit highlighted the presence of soccer players of African ancestry, such as Pelé,

Garrincha Manuel Francisco dos Santos (28 October 1933 – 20 January 1983), nicknamed Mané Garrincha, best known as simply Garrincha (, "little bird"), was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a right winger. He is widely regarded as one o ...

Didi Didi may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Didi" (song), a song by Khaled * Didi, the principal character in ''Didi's Comedy Show'', a German comedy television show * Didi Pickles, mother of Tommy and Dil in the cartoons ''Rugrats'' and ''All ...

Djalma Santos Djalma Pereira Dias dos Santos known simply as Djalma Santos (; also spelled Dejalma Santos), (27 February 192923 July 2013) was a Brazilian footballer who started for the Brazil national team in four World Cups, winning two, in 1958 and 1962. ...

, Barbosa,

Zizinho Thomaz Soares da Silva, also known as Zizinho (; 14 September 1921 – 8 February 2002), was a Brazilian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder for the Brazil national football team. He came to international prominence at the 19 ...

, and

Jairzinho Jair Ventura Filho (born 25 December 1944), better known as Jairzinho (), is a Brazilian former footballer. A quick, skillful, and powerful right winger known for his finishing ability and eye for goal, he was a key member and top scorer of th ...

and their importance in Brazilian history and in constructing of the Brazilian national identity. Besides the photos and caricatures of notorious Brazilian soccer players, a part of the exposition was the establishment of the ''Stadium'', the ''Football Votive Masks'' by two artists from Benin: Aston and Kifouli and ''Mundial Brasileiro'', the rotating

costume jewelry Costume or fashion jewelry includes a range of decorative items worn for personal adornment that are manufactured as less expensive ornamentation to complement a particular fashionable outfit or garmentBaker, Lillian. Fifty Years of Collectabl ...

sculpture portraying a large

soccer ball A football (also known as football ball, soccer ball, or association football ball specifically in the United Kingdom) is the ball used in the sport of association football. The name of the ball varies according to whether the sport is called " ...

by the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

artist Joseph Pace, and the work ''Diamante Negro - Inventor da Bicicleta (2014)'', an acrylic spray on canvas, by Brazilian

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

artist, Speto.Cultura Futebol Worldexpress
"O Negro no Futebol Brasileiro – Arte e Os Artistas (Homenagem a Mário Filho)"

Gallery

Artur Timóteo da Costa - Estudo de Cabeças.jpg, Artur Timóteo da Costa
''Study of the Craniums'' Joaquim José da Natividade - Bandeiras da Procissão de Cristo.jpg, Joaquim José da Natividade
''Bandeiras da Procissão de Cristo'' Santa Ifigênia - MG, séc. XVIII.jpg, Santa Ifigênia Jacques Etienne Arago - Castigo de Escravos, 1839.jpg, Jacques Etienne Arago
''Punishment of slaves'' Deusa Attie - Costa do Marfim.jpg, African Goddess Attie

References

External links