Rethinking the museum from a decolonial perspective: the role of architecture in Amerindian art exhibitions

Abstract

The text examines the intersection between Amerindian thought and Indigenous artistic creation in recent museological and curatorial practices in Brazil. It analyzes two exhibitions curated by Amerindian women: Véxoa: Nós sabemos, held at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo in 2020 and curated by Sandra Benítez, and Viva Viva Escola Viva, presented at the Casa França-Brasil Museum in Rio de Janeiro in 2024 and curated by Cristiane Takuá. The central objective of this research is to explore the design approaches developed in both cases, with particular attention to the forms of reconnection between body and territory in the processes of self-representation of Amerindian voices within the museological context. The study concludes that both exhibitions embody architectural and design strategies in which different logics converge—one of them being a historical reassessment of the museological relationship between body and object. These exhibitions actively engage in presenting narratives that foster a reparative movement of self-representation, where the spatial and relational experience between bodies and objects encourages reflection on Indigenous approaches to interspecies alliances. These alliances have long governed Indigenous histories and continue to shape contemporary society, offering valuable insights into alternative design possibilities.