bauhaus
imaginista
Exhibition Opening Program

bauhaus imaginista

Learning From / Aprendizados Recíprocos

As part of the exhibition bauhaus imaginista: Learning From, at Sesc Pompeia (October 25 to January 6th) a public discussion at the Goethe Institute, Sao Paulo, will explore questions of cultural appropriation, representation and ‘learning from’ handicrafts in the work of Bauhaus emigres their students as well as important modernist figures in Brazil; who studied and collected a wide range of cultures from outside the modernist main stream. They looked to sources including popular, indigenous, and non-western sources, to energize their work. 

Today we return to these historical examples of artistic appropriation, ethnographic scholarship, and private and institutional collecting, through a consideration how these narratives have been disrupted by decolonizing and indigenous movements, including the demand for a restitution and institutional restructuring. The discussion will introduce questions posed by the exhibition with a focus on Brazil, consider the dissemination of Bauhaus ideas through a number of educational initiatives, explore the appreciation and collecting of popular, indigenous and Afro Brazilian cultural artefacts, and consider the historical circumstance of the groups involved at the time these collections were being made.

Structured as a series of conversations between artists, indigenous scholars and activists, curators, theorists, and art historians, this event seeks to foster a dialogue between different perspectives on historical as well as contemporary questions.

Opening Program of bauhaus imaginista: Learning From

October 24, Wednesday, opening at SESC Pompéia

7:30 pm – guided visit for partners (tour with curators Marion von Osten and Grant Watson)

8pm – doors open for public

8:15 pm – Opening Cermemony

greetings by SESC Pompéia
Georg Witschel, German Ambassador
Regina Bittner, Deputy Director Bauhaus Dessau

8:30 pm – guided visit for the general public (tours with researchers Maud Houssais (Rabat), Luiza Proença (São Paulo) and curators Marion von Osten and Grant Watson)

October 25, Thursday, Goethe São Paulo (rua Lisboa, 974, Pinheiros)

2 pm

Welcome by Katharina von Ruckteschell (Goethe Institut São Paulo) and Regina Bittner (Bauhaus Dessau)

Introduction by Grant Watson, Luiza Proença, and Marion von Osten (bauhaus imaginista)

2:45

The Bauhaus in Brazil: Pedagogy and Practice

Adele Nelson (art historian, University of Texas, Usa) and Ethel Leon (journalist, design historian and professor)

Moderation: Marion von Osten


3:30

Des-habitat: Indigenous Material Culture and Displacement

Ailton Krenak (writer, graphic designer, and activist) and Paulo Tavares (architect and researcher)

Moderation: Luiza Proença

4:15 break

4:45

Teko Porã and Anthropophagic Subjectivity

Cristine Takuá (philosopher and educator) and Suely Rolnik (philosopher and psychoanalyst )

Moderation: Grant Watson


5:30

The Other of the Other: Modern Comprehensions

Laymert Garcia dos Santos (sociologist)

Moderation: Katharina von Ruckteschell

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