Mãe Preta (Black Mother) Exhibition Opens in Rio de Janeiro

By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A new art exhibition, “Mãe Preta” (Black Mother) opened on Saturday, July 23rd at the Galeira Pretos Novos de Arte Contemporânea in Gamboa. Continuing through September 25th the works of the exhibition by artists and researchers Isabel Löfgren and Patricia Gouvêa explore issues faced by black women in Brazil from the times of slavery through present day.

Löfgren and Gouvêa have worked together for over a decade, combining photographs, videos, collages, personal experiences, and site-specific interventions to highlight and connect historical and modern issues.

It took the two over a year and a half to create the “Mãe Preta” exhibition. Inspired by images of black wet nurses from the the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, the two used further research to combine historical places and images in order to bring focus to the issues faced by Black women in Brazil.

With the issues raging from motherhood to racism to sexism to social exclusion, the exhibition was created especially for the Galeira Pretos Novos de Arte Contemporânea, which is housed in the Instituto de Pesquisa e Memória dos Pretos Novos /IPN (Institute for Research and Memory New Black) and located in the neighborhood of Gamboa in Rio’s Zona Portuária (Port Zone)

The IPN is the location of the archaeological site for the Cemetery of New Blacks, were thousands of enslaved Africans were buried durng the first half of the 1800s.

Since 2011, the Galeria Pretos Novos de Arte Contemporânea, under the creative direction o Marco Antonio Teobaldo, has been hosting exhibitions and events that honor and bring attention to African heritage and its influence on Brazilian culture .

The “Mãe Preta” exhibition will remain on display in the gallery through Septemeber 25th with operating hours 1PM to 7PM on Tuesdays through Fridays and 1OAM to 1PM on Saturdays. Admission is free.

What: “Mãe Preta” Exhibtion
When: July 23rd through Septemeber 25th. Tuesdays through Fridays 1PM to 7PM and Saturdays 10AM to 1PM.
Where: Galeira Pretos Novos de Arte Contemporânea, Instituto de Pesquisa e Memória dos Pretos Novos, Rua Pedro Ernesto, 32/34 – Gamboa
Entrance: FREE