Igor Simões
PhD in History, Theory and Criticism of Art (PPGAV-UFRGS). Professor of History, Theory and Criticism of art and Methodology and Practice of art teaching (UERGS). He works with the articulations between exhibition, film editing, art histories and racialization in Brazilian art and visibility of black people in visual arts. He was Assistant Curator of the 12th Bienal do Mercosul, and Member of the curatorial committee of the National Association of Researchers in Visual Arts-ANPAP. Author of the dissertation: Black Voices in the White Cube of Brazilian Art. Member of the curatorial committee of the Museum of Contemporary Art at the University of São Paulo/USP. He was curator of the exhibition “Presença Negra no Museu de Arte do Rio Grande do Sul”, and member of the curatorial board of the exhibitions: “Social Fabric" (Houston-USA), and “Enpowerment” (Volfsburg- Germany). Board member of AWARE - Archives of Women Artists, Research and Exhibitions (France-USA), Tempos Fraturados (MAC-USP-Brazil)). In 2023 he was the general curator of “Dos Brasis: Arte e Pense Negro”, the most comprehensive exhibition of black Brazilian artists (Brazil-São Paulo). In the same year he was guest curator at the Inhotim Institute for the 2023 season, curating the exhibitions of Mestre Didi and Rubem Valentim. In 2024, he will curate the Exhibition Rosana Paulino: Atlântica e Amefricana, at MALBA (Buenos Aires Argentina). He is currently a post-doctoral student in Art History, at MAC-USP, with research on the absence of black Brazilian artists in the international debate on art and the African diaspora. Igor is a fellow at the Clark Institut, (2024) and a member of the editorial board of the National Gallery of Washington.
Research project
Exhibition Nós, Caixa Cultural, 2016. Photo: Rafael Adorján.
Title
Where are black Brazilian artists in the history of Afro-diasporic art?
Area of Inquiry and Research
Art and Otherness
Description
The project explores the absence of black Brazilian artists in the context of the international debate on art and the history of Afro-diasporic art, speculating on the American context that is projected as if it occupied the leading role in this production in the Americas. The question that drives the research seeks to understand elements that contribute to this absence. It is worth noting that Brazil was the largest destination for the African diaspora and has the largest contingent of black people outside the African continent. How, then, can we understand the absence that has been proven through the analysis of publications, exhibitions and institutional collections dedicated to the topic? The aim is to contribute to the understanding of the problem and possible strategies that help to change this situation. The contribution to the development of conceptual tools that allow us to think about the art produced by black Brazilians from the perspectives of the Black Atlantic is also highlighted. The procedure involves conducting interviews with national and international agents (curators, artists, historians and art market agents) studying collections and exhibitions on the topic. The aim is to hold an event of international scope on the proposed debate as well as the publication of a book that deals with the topic.