Intertwining different languages, the exhibition Carolina Maria de Jesus: Brazil for Brazilians presents the writer’s trajectory and output, highlighting little-known aspects of her life and work, underscoring the importance of her literary project and her legacy as an interpreter of Brazil.
The selection rounds up nearly 300 items, among photographs, press pieces, videos, and other documents. It also includes pieces by 60 artists, some of which were commissioned, in conversation with themes investigated by Carolina. The exhibition was curated by anthropologist Hélio Menezes and historian Raquel Barreto, assisted by art historian Luciara Ribeiro. It has also been made possible by the research work of literary critic and literature scholar Dr. Fernanda Miranda.
Divided into 13 thematic areas, the exhibition takes up two floors of the IMS Paulista building, plus some pieces on the 5th floor, on the ground floor and on Paulista Avenue. The exhibition presents the reflections of Carolina de Jesus (1914-1977) during her lifetime, from her childhood in the town of Sacramento (MG), in the wake of the abolition of human enslavement in Brazil, through her arrival at the capital of São Paulo, the publication and repercussion of her books, down to the end of her life in Parelheiros, São Paulo.
The exhibition invites the visitors to observe Carolina’s interpretation of the contradictions, the politics, and the inequality in Brazil over her lifetime. It also highlights the author’s historical importance in the fight against racism, the fights for literacy and housing for all, among others.
Open until January 2022, Carolina Maria de Jesus: Brazil for Brazilians will include a wide-ranging program of tie-in activities. There will be a film festival idealized by curator and researcher Bruno Galindo, among other events. An exhibition catalog with critical essays will also be published.
Carolina Maria de Jesus became known in 1960 with her first book, Quarto de despejo: diário de uma favelada (Child of the Dark: The Diary of Carolina Maria de Jesus), in which she recounted daily life in the Canindé favela (slum), in São Paulo. At the time she supported her family as a scrap collector. Critical and commercial success allowed her to move out from the favela and, at the same time, inspired the hostility of residents of that community, who felt themselves exposed in her work. After her second book, Casa de Alvenaria, she returned to ostracism. She died on February 13th, 1977.