São Paulo Biennial Reaches Brazil’s Northeast for First Time
BRAZIL · ART
Key Facts
—The first. The 36th São Paulo Biennial’s touring programme reached a Northeastern state capital for the first time, opening at the Pinacoteca do Ceará in Fortaleza on May 23.
—The show. The exhibition is titled “Not every traveller walks roads – On humanity as practice,” running through August 16.
—The themes. Photography, video, installation, painting and sound works explore migration, collective memory, resistance and identity in shifting territories.
—The curation. The Fortaleza edition is curated by Thiago de Paula Souza, a co-curator of the main Biennial, in the first partnership between the Biennial and the Pinacoteca.
—The reach. The touring programme is expected to cover more than ten cities in Brazil and abroad, including Curitiba, Brasília and Santos.
The São Paulo Biennial Northeast debut has arrived: the 36th edition’s touring programme opened at the Pinacoteca do Ceará in Fortaleza on May 23, the first time the showcase has reached a Northeastern state capital. The free exhibition, themed on migration and belonging, runs through August 16 in the first partnership between the Biennial Foundation and the Ceará museum.
Why the São Paulo Biennial Northeast stop matters
Fortaleza became the first Northeastern capital to host the touring programme of the 36th edition, widening the geographic reach of a project historically centred in the Southeast. The opening took place on Saturday, May 23, at the museum’s exhibition pavilion, with free admission and accessibility provisions.
The touring programme functions as an extension of the Biennial, letting works and debates first presented at the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion in São Paulo reach new audiences and take on a new configuration in dialogue with local contexts.
What the São Paulo Biennial Northeast show presents
The Fortaleza selection, curated by Thiago de Paula Souza, brings together photography, video, installation, painting and sound works that investigate processes of migration, collective memory, resistance and the construction of identities in territories undergoing transformation.
The opening weekend included a mediated visit for teachers and education professionals, and a conversation with artist Manauara Clandestina alongside a screening of her film, a work commissioned for the main Biennial. The programme leans into the show’s themes of territory, displacement and belonging.
The concept behind the 36th edition
The 36th São Paulo Biennial, conceived by general curator Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung with a team of co-curators, draws its title and spirit from a poem by the writer Conceição Evaristo. One of its core foundations is an active listening to humanity in constant movement, encounter and negotiation.
That framing makes the Northeast, a region shaped by internal migration within Brazil, a resonant setting for the touring edition, allowing the curatorial themes to meet a local history of displacement and resilience.
A young museum with a growing role
The Pinacoteca do Ceará, inaugurated by the Ceará state government in December 2022, is a public museum within the state’s cultural-facilities network, managed in partnership with a cultural institute. Hosting the Biennial marks a significant step in its short but ambitious history.
The museum offers accessibility resources including audio description, sign-language video guides and tactile pieces, underlining a mission to widen public access to contemporary art in the region.
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The wider touring map
The Fortaleza opening is one stop in a programme expected to take in more than ten cities in Brazil and abroad. Santos hosted its own touring show this year, its third time in the programme, while Curitiba and Brasília also feature on the itinerary.
The Biennial Foundation has said it will announce further stages in the coming months, extending the territorial and institutional reach of the 36th edition well beyond São Paulo.
Where and when is the exhibition?
At the Pinacoteca do Ceará in Fortaleza, open since May 23 and running through August 16, 2026, with free admission.
Why is this stop historic?
It is the first time the São Paulo Biennial’s touring programme has reached a Northeastern state capital, and the first partnership between the Biennial and the Pinacoteca.
What is the exhibition about?
Migration, collective memory, resistance and identity, explored through photography, video, installation, painting and sound works.
How many cities will the tour reach?
More than ten in Brazil and abroad, including Curitiba, Brasília, Santos and Fortaleza, with further stops to be announced.
For more on Brazil’s contemporary art scene, see our arts and culture coverage.
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