Carnival invades the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro
22 January, 2025 by Giselly Brasil | 0 comments

The article presents episodes that took place at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro between 1960 and 1970 and that broaden the understanding of the art phenomenon.
The purpose of this article is to present episodes that indicate relationships between the museum and carnivalesque events in a period that coincides with the military dictatorship in Brazil. These events took place at the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro (MAM-Rio) between 1960 and 1970, and featured Helio Oiticica and Frederico Morais as central figures.
The MAM-Rio, a modernist project created in 1952, is a glass structure that invites visitors to interact with its surroundings, the sea, the mountains and the city. The idea was to replace the confined space with a fluid environment that could stimulate new ways of seeing. And it is in this context that the episodes in which carnival seems to invade the museum will be addressed.
Helio Oiticica, a Brazilian artist, created the work entitled Parangolé in 1964. The art work involves the participation of the community of a samba school, music, dance and the displacement from the city to the museum. The first Parangolé was to be presented at the Opinião 65 exhibition (1965) at MAM-Rio. However, the artist and members of the Mangueira community were prohibited from entering the museum and the performance took place in the garden, outside the institution.
Frederico Morais, artist, critic and curator, worked as a course coordinator at MAM-Rio between 1969 and 1973. On this occasion, he created the Domingos da Criação (Creation Sundays), participatory events that took place amidst profound political and social changes in Brazil. The events were held in the MAM gardens in 1971.
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