Two of the artworks featured in Brazil Queermuseu. | Photo: Twitter
A LGBTI museum has reopened in Brazil in an iconic new location almost a year after conservatives forced it to close.
The Queermuseu opened in the southern city of Porto Alegre in August last year. It was the first large-scale exhibition dedicated to queer topics in Brazil and only one of a few in South America. But conservatives forced it close saying it promoted ‘pedophilia’, ‘bestiality’ and ‘blasphemy’.
Queermuseu reponed to its former glory in Rio di Janeiro under the shadows of the world famous Christ the Reedemer statue. The new exhibition opened on Saturday (18 August) at Parque Lagos’ School of Visual Arts (EAV). Eager crowds of people lined up to see the exhibition on it first weekend.
No Parque Lage na inauguração do Queer Museu com Gaudêncio Fidelis. 14 do MBL foram xingar. Inexpressivos. Discurso de Gaudêncio foi histórico, denso, digno: um libelo contra o Obscurantismo e pela Liberdade de expressão! + de 1500 pessoas na 1a hora da exposição ! pic.twitter.com/AoJxrpHjkh
— Carlos Minc (@minc_rj) August 18, 2018
Queermuseu
The free exhibition called Queermuseu: Cartographies of Difference in Brazilian Art will run for one month. It features 223 works by 83 artists from around the world.
Its forced closure last year sparked a fierce debate in Brazil about art and censorship.
But thanks to the country’s biggest ever crowdfunding campaign, organizers managed to raise one million reais (US$275,000) to reopen the museum.
‘It is a very important moment for Brazilian democracy, a convincing demonstration that the most progressive sectors of society will not accept censorship,’ curator Gaudencio Fidelis told AFP.
‘We haven’t seen an act of censorship of this size and severity since the dictatorship.’
So happy to see the crowd at the opening of #queermuseu exhibition in Rio—folks crowdfunded more than 1 million BRL to bring it here! The exhibition was cancelled in Porto Alegre after a ridiculous rightwing campaign a couple of months ago. Gotta love this city! 💜 pic.twitter.com/VozYtWT0CI
— Jhessica Reia (@jhereia) August 18, 2018
Increased security
The exhibition also has increased security measures from last year and is only open to people older than 14.
Curators hired 20 security guards and installed extra security cameras to protect people from right-wing protestors.
‘We hope for an enormous number of visitors, but not because of all the controversy. People will see that it was a false premise, a fabricated polemic. Society will be able to see the true nature of the exhibition,’ Fidelis said.
Last year the exhibition only ran for 25 days last year after an online campaign by protesters who said it was ‘perverting the notions of family’.