{"id":80958,"date":"2025-06-05T15:45:36","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T18:45:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=80958"},"modified":"2025-06-16T16:32:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T19:32:00","slug":"a-museology-that-doesnt-serve-life-serves-no-purpose-unconventional-favela-museums-lead-first-seminar-of-rio-de-janeiros-social-museology-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=80958","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A Museology That Doesn’t Serve Life Serves No Purpose\u2019: ‘Unconventional’ Favela Museums Lead First Seminar of Rio de Janeiro’s Social Museology Network"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The seminar\u2019s audience and participants close out the event alongside the Bongaba Quilombo\u2019s jongo circle. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Nascimento<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

On Saturday, May 16, Rio de Janeiro’s renowned Banco do Brasil Cultural Center (CCBB) hosted several institutions involved with museology\u2014including community museums, memory collectives, and projects focused on social memory\u2014alongside researchers, for the 1st Social Museology Seminar of the Rio de Janeiro Social Museology Network (REMUS-RJ<\/a>). The event\u2019s primary objective was to foster discussions around \u201cunconventional” museums.<\/p>\n

This first-of-its-kind event was guided by the theme: \u201cSolidarity and Affection Aligned with Life \u2013 A Meeting of Communities and Museums: Democracy and Museology that Serve Life Transform the World.\u201d It was part of the Brazilian Institute of Museums’ (IBRAM) 23rd National Museum Week<\/a>, held from May 12 to 18, whose overarching theme was \u201cThe Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah Braga, vice-president of the International Movement for a New Museology (MINOM<\/a>), coordinator of REMUS-RJ, and museologist at CCBB-RJ, opened the seminar by outlining the goals of the Social Museology Network and the intentions behind the gathering, shaped by extensive discussions among member institutions about the themes to be presented.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe State of Rio de Janeiro\u2019s Social Museology Network aims to connect and promote the exchange of experiences and knowledge, cooperation, and collective actions among the various initiatives<\/a> included within the range of social museology and spread throughout the state. By amplifying the voice and strength of each initiative within it, we share in the understanding that strengthening others is also a way of strengthening ourselves, and believe in memory and resistance as forms of liberation, change, and transformation of reality.\u201d \u2014 Sarah Braga, International Movement for a New Museology<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Next, the opening panel \u201cSocial Museology: The Ancestral Future of Museums\u201d brought together influential voices in the field: M\u00e1rio Chagas, professor at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), and the Lus\u00f3fona University of Lisbon<\/a>, former director of Rio’s Museum of the Republic<\/a>, and coordinator of REMUS-RJ; Cl\u00e1udia Rose, coordinator of the Mar\u00e9 Museum<\/a>, member of the REMUS-RJ coordination group and the Advisory Board of Casa de Oswaldo Cruz (part of Brazil’s national public health foundation, Fiocruz); and Sandra Teixeira, co-founder and co-manager of the Evictions Museum<\/a> in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/a>, in Rio\u2019s West Zone. Together, they presented an overview of the development of Brazil\u2019s national museum policy, the role of social museums within it, and the relationship between political discourse and current practices in the field of social museology<\/a>, based on the actions and experiences of individuals working in spaces dedicated to memory preservation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe archive is the soul of the Mar\u00e9 Museum<\/a>, and the exhibition is its heart. The entire museum is a living body\u2014that beats and has its own will. We often want one thing, and the museum wants another. The soul of the museum is ancestral: it\u2019s the archive of Dona Orosina, a Black woman, a migrant, who arrived poor at Rio\u2019s Central [train] Station\u2026 She started going to Mar\u00e9 in the 1940s, taking her husband there to breathe fresh air. She fell in love with the place and built a shack using scraps of wood she found nearby. She was one of Mar\u00e9\u2019s first residents. That is why the Dona Orosina Archive is soul, ancestrality. We welcome each new activity, each group of visitors with open arms and with the vigor of a future rooted in ancestral knowledge<\/a>.\u201d \u2014 Cl\u00e1udia Rose, Mar\u00e9 Museum<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"M\u00e1rio<\/a>
M\u00e1rio Chagas, Cl\u00e1udia Rose, Sandra Teixeira, and Sarah Braga opened the event calling for greater inclusion and centering the leadership of social museums in public policy. Photo: Marcello Deodoro\/MEMOCIT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhen we thought about creating the Evictions Museum, we understood that this wasn\u2019t the kind of museology we were used to. This is a museology of struggle\u2014a museum that speaks of life and social change. It\u2019s a museology rooted in resistance. A museology rooted in life.\u201d \u2014 Sandra Teixeira, Evictions Museum<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Lunch was followed by the first panel, \u201cDiscursive Democracy, Racism, and LGBTphobia: The New Face of Brazil’s National Museum Policy.\u201d Once again, the discussion featured museums that are part of REMUS-RJ: Antonia Ferreira Soares, general director of the Favela Museum<\/a> in the Pav\u00e3o-Pav\u00e3ozinho<\/a> and Cantagalo<\/a> favelas; Ant\u00f4nio Carlos Vieira, director of the Mar\u00e9 Museum in Complexo da Mar\u00e9<\/a>; Em\u00edlia Maria de Souza, director and co-founder of the Horto Museum<\/a> in the Horto<\/a> community; Marco Ant\u00f4nio Teobaldo, curator of the Iy\u00e1 Davina Memorial Museum<\/a> in S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o de Meriti<\/a>, which is dedicated to the history of the Afro-Brazilian religion of Candombl\u00e9<\/a>; Marlucia Santos de Souza, director of the S\u00e3o Bento Living Museum<\/a> in Duque de Caxias<\/a>; and Master Paul\u00e3o Kikongo, a doctoral student in Social Memory at UNIRIO and director of the I\u00ea Living Museum of Capoeira Art and Culture<\/a> in Guapimirim<\/a>. The last three museums are located in Greater Rio’s Baixada Fluminense<\/a> region.<\/p>\n

\"During<\/a>
During the panel, Marco Ant\u00f4nio Teobaldo spoke about the ancestral importance of memory for the Iy\u00e1 Davina Memorial Museum. Photo: Marcello Deodoro\/MEMOCIT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The panelists, all from community museums across the state’s favelas and peripheries, discussed the challenges of acquiring and maintaining the properties where these museums are located, the lack of support and investment from the City of Rio for cultural spaces in peripheral areas, and the violence present in some regions. They also addressed the impact of real estate speculation<\/a>, which threatens memory and cultural centers. Lastly, they pointed to the need for a legal instrument that guarantees the right to preserve memory<\/a> and sustain cultural initiatives developed by these museums, so they are not undermined by real estate interests or arbitrary policies.<\/p>\n

\u201cPublic policies are defined by public officials inside offices and don’t consult those they like to call ‘needy.\u2019 They implement policies without understanding the work the community is already doing for local development. We are a favela museum. Our collection is the people. So we need to take care of our people. We do not have the resources to carry out our activities. Everything we do comes at great sacrifice.\u201d \u2014 Antonia Ferreira Soares, Favela Museum<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Master Paul\u00e3o Kikongo also emphasized the need for individuals involved in social museology to be included in discussions around public policy and decision-making. \u201cWe do everything in a circle: samba, capoeira, gira<\/em><\/a>\u2026 The only thing that doesn\u2019t circulate among us is money,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The second panel, \u201cSocial Museology in Movement: Grassroots Communities, Knowledge, and Ancestral Technologies in Confronting Contemporary Emergencies,\u201d featured: Alexandre de Nadal Arantes, communications director at the Pretos Novos Institute<\/a>, in Gamboa<\/a>; Magali Cunha, professor and journalist; Candombl\u00e9 Priestess Fl\u00e1via da Silva Pinto, religious minister of Umbanda<\/a> and Candombl\u00e9 Ketu<\/a> and founder of the Olga do Alaketu Living Museum<\/a> in Greater Rio’s Serop\u00e9dica<\/a>; Jandira Rocha de Oliveira, coordinator of the Agroecology Living Museum<\/a>; and Candombl\u00e9 Priest Paulo Jos\u00e9 dos Reis, from the Bongaba Quilombo<\/a>. The last two panelists are from Mag\u00e9<\/a>, in the Baixada Fluminense.<\/p>\n

During this session, participants reflected on the role of social museology and its various expressions in combating misinformation and promoting what was referred to as \u201ccognitive freedom.\u201d These museum spaces work to preserve the areas and cultures of people who have long been excluded from hegemonic narratives<\/a>\u2014especially Black and indigenous populations. Magali Cunha described this as a form of cognitive shielding that misinforms, stigmatizes, and devalues<\/a> expressions of grassroots and peripheral culture, preventing broader recognition of the importance of preserving these practices. Mother Fl\u00e1via called for greater dialogue between social museology and conventional museums as a way to dismantle the colonization of knowledge and memory. Father Paulo emphasized the agency of traditional communities, which develop strategies to confront structural racism<\/a> while safeguarding their memory.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraditional communities\u2014both quilombola<\/em> [settlements that can trace their occupation by Black Brazilians dating back to slavery] and of African religious origin\u2014carry an added burden on top of what we call prejudice and structural racism. To combat this prejudice and racism, we have built the deconstruction of the hegemonic and negative view of our deities and of the quilombola<\/em> system. To do this, we break through the cognitive shielding that once determined where we would be and who we would be\u2014so that we can instead embrace cognitive freedom, which tells us that our place is wherever we want to be.\u201d \u2014 Father Paulo, Bongaba Quilombo<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"From<\/a>
From left to right, Alexandre Nadal, Mother Fl\u00e1via da Silva Pinto, Father Paulo Jos\u00e9 dos Reis, Jandira Rocha, Magali Cunha, and Monica Souza make up the second panel of the seminar. Photo: Marcello Deodoro\/MEMOCIT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Several statements took a stand on the importance of social museology in tackling issues such as food insecurity<\/a>, gender violence<\/a>, racism and environmental disasters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people who seek out the terreiros<\/em> [Afro-Brazilian places of religious worship] are women. Most people who seek out religion are women. I belong to one of the few religions in the world where women are the authority. It was one of the few that preserved this sacred, ancestral feminine. Today, people speak of ancestrality as something mythical, but ancestrality used to be political. It was matriarchal leadership<\/a> that decided questions of justice, food distribution, food security. By keeping this vision of matriarchy alive, the museum will tell many stories: it will speak of the genocide of the Black population, of food sovereignty<\/a>, and of the orix\u00e1s<\/em>\u2019 [Candombl\u00e9 deities] worldview<\/a> as a process of healing. It will also tell how the creation of the terreiros<\/em> is what ensured the survival of the Black population. It is what made it possible for us to be here today, speaking.\u201d \u2014 Mother Fl\u00e1via, Olga do Alaketu Living Museum<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Participants<\/a>
Participants joined the artistic procession that kicked off the seminar\u2019s closing. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Nascimento<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The seminar came to a poetic close. Carrying banners with slogans like \u201cOnly Poetry Can Save Us,\u201d members of the State of Rio de Janeiro\u2019s Social Museology Network and audience members descended the steps of the CCBB singing one of singer-songwriter Gonzaguinha\u2019s most iconic songs<\/a>. M\u00e1rio Chagas led the chorus:<\/p>\n

\u201cTo live and not be ashamed of being happy,
\nTo sing and sing and sing about the beauty of being an eternal learner,
\nI know that life should be much better\u2026 and it will be!
\nBut that doesn\u2019t stop me from repeating:
\nLife is beautiful, it is beautiful, it’s beautiful!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The singing and banners caught the attention of those at the CCBB, a key cultural space in Rio\u2019s downtown. From time to time, the chorus was interrupted by powerful slogans. And then, the phrase heard again and again throughout the seminar finally echoed through the entire Banco do Brasil Cultural Center: \u201cA Museology That Doesn\u2019t Serve Life Serves No Purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the ground floor, a jongo<\/a> <\/em>circle led by the Bongaba Quilombo awaited the procession. The event ended with a shared sense among those present: that social museology serves the lives of those who defend memory, grounded in the certainty of a better future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI represented the Indiana<\/a> favela in Tijuca<\/a> and the Memories Museum of the Indiana Favela of Tijuca (MEMOCIT<\/a>). I had a very good experience at the seminar because it dealt with social museums. We don\u2019t have full access to museums that have an official seal and all that structure. So, by holding this seminar, REMUS-RJ gave social museology the opportunity to be inside a renowned space, the Banco do Brasil Cultural Center. We were treated well and felt welcomed. We were able to talk about our anxieties, victories, and outlooks regarding the future of our projects. It was great! I felt invigorated\u2014and I say that with confidence. If I had any difficulty trying to move MEMOCIT forward, I don\u2019t anymore. Because now I know it\u2019s possible for us to occupy these spaces and have a voice, our turn, and participation.\u201d
\n\u2014 Marcello Deodoro, Memories Museum of the Indiana Favela of Tijuca<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

About the author: B\u00e1rbara Nascimento was born and raised in Vidigal. A Portuguese teacher in the Rio de Janeiro city and state public school systems, she holds an undergraduate degree in Modern Languages (from UFRJ in 2002) and a Master\u2019s in Social Memory (from UNIRIO in 2019). She founded and directs the Vidigal Memories Nucleus, archiving and recording the collective memory of Vidigal.<\/i><\/p>\n

\n

Support\u00a0<\/b>RioOnWatch<\/i><\/b>\u2019s tireless, critical and cutting-edge hyperlocal journalism, online community organizing meetings, and direct support to favelas\u00a0<\/b>by clicking here.<\/a><\/b><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas On Saturday, May 16, Rio de Janeiro’s renowned Banco do Brasil Cultural Center (CCBB) hosted several institutions involved with museology\u2014including community museums, memory collectives, and projects focused on social memory\u2014alongside researchers, […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":245,"featured_media":80959,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1288,1328,1290,1333,1271,3527,329],"tags":[662,460,1500,112,168,2109,694,2032,221,674,2329,738,436,1197,1707,884,883,2433,1360,1900,1160,1349,1346,716,2426,37,155,1347,1699,1631,2463,156,1079,4,21],"writer":[3535],"translator":[3485],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[3792,3791],"class_list":{"0":"post-80958","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-highlight","8":"category-by-community-contributors","9":"category-civilsociety","10":"category-event-reports","11":"category-favelaqualities","12":"category-representation","13":"category-solutions","14":"tag-afro-brazilian-culture","15":"tag-baixada-fluminense","16":"tag-candomble","17":"tag-cantagalo","18":"tag-centro","19":"tag-community-museum","20":"tag-duque-de-caxias","21":"tag-evictions-museum","22":"tag-favela-culture","23":"tag-memory","24":"tag-fiocruz","25":"tag-gamboa","26":"tag-gender","27":"tag-greater-rio","28":"tag-guapimirim","29":"tag-horto","30":"tag-indiana","31":"tag-living-museum-of-sao-bento","32":"tag-mage","33":"tag-media-narrative","34":"tag-museu-da-mare","35":"tag-museu-de-favela","36":"tag-museu-do-horto","37":"tag-museum","38":"tag-museum-week","39":"tag-north-zone","40":"tag-pavao-pavaozinho","41":"tag-pretos-novos","42":"tag-sao-joao-de-meriti","43":"tag-seropedica","44":"tag-social-museology","45":"tag-south-zone","46":"tag-umbanda","47":"tag-vila-autodromo","48":"tag-west-zone","49":"writer-barbara-nascimento","50":"translator-ujwala-murthy","51":"photographer-barbara-nascimento","52":"photographer-marcello-deodoro"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/245"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80958"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81066,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80958\/revisions\/81066"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/80959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80958"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=80958"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=80958"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=80958"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=80958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}