Democratizing memories of the Brazilian dictatorship? Permanent and temporary exhibitions in the Memorial da Resistência de São Paulo

Bibliographic Data

ID3878041
AuthorsKaya De Wolff (Goethe University Frankfurt), Rebeca Lopes Cabral (0000-0001-6359-3921, Universidade de São Paulo)
Year2025
Volume37
Issue1-2
Pages14-32
Publication date2025-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCultural Dynamics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0921-3740 • E-ISSN: 1461-7048
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/09213740251323353
OpenAlexW4408479267
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited17

This article explores representations of political violence in the Memorial da Resistência de São Paulo , a former detention and torture centre that became Brazil's first official museological space dedicated to preserving the memory of repression and resistance during the Estado Novo (1937-1945) and the Brazilian civil-military dictatorship (1964-1985). The Brazilian transitional process from the civil-military dictatorship to democracy has been characterized as fragile and ineffective regarding justice, truth, and memory. This situation led to a tendency to silence memories of subordinate groups, especially concerning the systematic violence committed against Afro-Brazilians and Indigenous people, which goes back to colonial times and continues amid democracy. Considering the contemporary Brazilian context, where the issue of racism has gained visibility within cultural institutions, our case study explores how the Memorial da Resistência de São Paulo responds to the present demands for redress. To this end, we analyze the institution's permanent and the temporary exhibition called "Memories of the Future: Black Citizenship, Anti-Racism, and Resistance" (2022-2023), curated by writer and sociologist Mário Augusto Medeiros da Silva. We highlight that while the permanent exhibition sought to "preserve" the memory of repression and resistance during the dictatorship years, the temporary exhibition approaches the ongoing black movements' demands for dignity and equality, aspects of its identity and cultural formation that shine a light on the powerful struggles over the right to memory and visibility within São Paulo's public spaces

Art · Art history · Democracy · Dictatorship · Exhibition · Humanities · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Resist · Sociology · Brazilian cultural history and politics · Gender Studies · Italian Fascism and Post-war Society · Law · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration

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