São Paulo’s Museu de Arte Moderna reopens after two-year renovation
Two years after shutting its doors, MAM São Paulo returns to the same pavilion with an exhibition built to push Brazilian art past representation
On 12 September, São Paulo's Museu de Arte Moderna (Mam) reopened after a two-year renovation, debuting the 39th Panorama of Brazilian Art, Depois Que Tudo Foi Dito, until 24 January 2027. The museum chose to debut this exhibition, originally held in the same Oscar Niemeyer-designed pavilion in Ibirapuera Park, to symbolize their return. Chief curator Cauê Alves explained the significance of this choice.
The Panorama series has been a reflection of Brazilian contemporary art, with 39 editions since its inception in 1969. It served as an annual exhibition until 1991 and became a biennial event after that. Mam, founded in 1948, moved to its current location in Ibirapuera Park in 1961 and operated there until the closure for renovations. During the closures, the museum held over a dozen exhibitions in other venues, exhibiting a large portion of its collection.
Diane Lima, the curator for this year's Panorama, chose the title from the work of Brazilian visual artist and philosopher Denise Ferreira da Silva. The title sparks conversations about representation and artistic practices expanding the limits of representation. This year's edition features 33 artists, all new to the series, and aims to push boundaries of representation.
The Panorama's history has long grappled with questions of originality in Brazilian art, often compared to Euro-American art. This year's exhibition, curated by Lima, invites artists and audiences to question established frameworks of representation, marking Mam's reopening as an institution defined by who it invites in, rather than what it holds.
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