When pro-Bolsonaro rioters invaded the National Congress building, the seat of the Supreme Court and the Palácio do Planalto in Brasilia on January 8, 2023, they damaged many national art treasures. The famous painting “As mulatas” by Emiliano Di Cavalcanti from 1962 has been perforated seven times. “O flautista” (c. 1960) by sculptor Bruno Giorgi has been knocked down and broken in three places. Jorge Eduardo’s 1995 painting of a floating Brazilian flag, which reads ‘Order and Progress’, was found covered in footprints, according to the National Institute of Historical Artistic Heritage (IPHAN), which published A 72 page magazine vandalism and restoration recommendations.
Now, in addition to these plans, the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is collaborating with the Ministry of Culture to organize a response to the riot: a multi-faceted public monument tentatively called the “Museum of Democracy”.
Hyperallergic spoke with Cecília Sá, Undersecretary for Spaces and Cultural Equipment of the Ministry of Culture and main coordinator of the initiative, about its objectives and expected impact.
“The project was born out of the idea that we need to reaffirm how fragile our democracy is,” Sá said. “We need a space for the public to remember that Brazilian democracy is very recent.”
Brazil completed its transition to democracy just over 30 years ago, after a 21-year military dictatorship. In 1964, a US-backed coup set the stage for two decades of persecution and censorship. Since the fall of the Brazilian dictatorship, only seven presidential terms have passed and two sitting presidents have been impeached. The most recent impeachment came in 2016, when Dilma Rouseff was ousted on charges of violating tax and budget laws. Rouseff succeeded Lula da Silva’s first two terms; many of their supporters still view his removal as a second national coup. The museum’s goal, Sá explained, is “to remember those moments of rupture in our democracy, while also remembering the moments of resistance and hope.”
Sá noted that the project is still evolving and needs “social dialogue” to fully take shape. As part of the Ministry of Culture, Sá is organizing an open seminar on memory and democracy in April, which will probably take place in one of the three palaces invaded on January 8. Part of the seminar will be devoted to a community conversation about the memorial project, including representatives from IPHAN, UNESCO and the Brazilian Institute of Museums, or IBRAM.
Whether the project will be “a memorial, a museum or an exhibition gallery, whether it will be more about art or history” is still up for debate, Sá said. “We want to hear the response from our company and our specialists before moving this project forward.”
Some plans, however, have already been established. On September 15, which is Democracy Day in Brazil, an exhibition will open in Brasilia that will officially present the proposal of the Museum of Democracy to the public. Sá says they plan to display a police video of the destroyed art and architecture from that day, as well as some of the damaged artwork, while letting contemporary artists address the destruction” according to their own view.
“Art is essential to a democratic culture,” Sá said. “THE [first] the exhibition will be more artistic than historical.
Hyperallergic also spoke to Fernanda Castro, President of IBRAM, about the broader goals of the Museum of Democracy project. She stressed that the final version will not focus exclusively on the events of January 8, but will address more broadly the history and state of democracy in Brazil.
“It will function as a center for the promotion of democracy, with educational activities, cultural programming, exhibitions and hosting groups working to build democracy in Brazil,” Castro said. “It will include various participatory curatorships that take artistic and historical approaches to the concept of democracy.”
Although Lula da Silva won the Brazilian elections by a tiny margin in October, Sá believes the memorial will speak to all Brazilians, regardless of political affiliation.
“Even though the elections were very fierce, polls showed that the majority of the Brazilian population was against [the attacks],” she said. “It’s terrible for right-wingers to see their heritage destroyed… It was very shocking for all of society.”
Sá believes the Democracy Museum project will provide a much-needed corrective to what she calls the Brazilian tendency to forget difficult times.
“We have to keep the wound open,” Sá said. “And in this way, stay open to a place of hope and transformation. The museum will show these two moments: the power of destruction, but also the reaffirmation of democracy.
