Paper short abstract:

This paper investigates curatorial practice as an anthropological practice, in an expanded concept. I analyze two exhibitions about race in Brazil, curated by the anthropologist Lilia Schwarcz, aiming to explore the consequences in the Brazilian cultural system after these exhibitions.

Paper long abstract:

This paper analyzes two exhibitions curated by the anthropologist Lilia Schwarcz, understanding curatorial practice here as an anthropological practice in an expanded concept (Nakamura, 2013). By looking at these two exhibitions, whose themes involve debates on race in the Afro-Brazilian context, the aim is to investigate the consequences and developments in the Brazilian arts system after these exhibitions and the consequent dispute of narratives generated by these curatorships. More than just a way of instrumentalizing power, curatorship, if linked to and built alongside anthropology, can be a paradigm shift in systems dominated by market logic. (Sansi, 2015). Does the existence of exhibitions curated by anthropologists promote the inclusion of more non-white, queer, LGBTIQIAP+, indigenous and women artists and arts professionals? How the exhibitions curated by anthropologists addressed to contemporary debates and demands? (Cocotle, 2019; Clifford, 1997). How have these two exhibitions changed the panorama of Brazilian arts in the last ten years? To answer these questions, I propose an ethnography of these two exhibitions and an analysis of their curatorship, including the selection of works and artists, the participating institutions, their catalog, and anthology of texts, expography and public program.