“Culture and Aesthetics at the Museum of Black Art”

Abstract

The text ‘Culture and Aesthetics at the Museum of Black Art’ explores the creation of the Museu de Arte Negra (MAN) by its founder, Abdias do Nascimento. In its introduction, Nascimento briefly contextualizes the Black arts field, emphasizing the lack of interest in acknowledging the contribution of Black people to Brazilian cultural formations. By highlighting the role of the Teatro Experimental do Negro (TEN) in rescuing “the true image of the Afro-Brazilian,” Nascimento introduces the MAN, an offshoot of the TEN. The Museum is related to the theory of Négritude and brings together works that evoke “Black values” by artists of different ethnicities and nationalities. Finally, Nascimento explains how the Museum’s collection was created despite the lack of support from public authorities and celebrates the organization of an exhibition with 140 works from the MAN held by Museu da Imagem e do Som in 1968, the eightieth anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Brazil.

Keywords:

• Museu de Arte Negra
• Teatro Experimental do Negro
• Afro-Brazilian Art
• Black art
• Afro-Brazilian culture
• museums
• Black artists
• Black activism
• Négritude

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 From the State of Minas Gerais, central Brazil.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Abdias do Nascimento

Translated from Portuguese by Alban Mills and Rosane Carneiro Ramos

Originally published as “Cultura e estética no Museu de Arte Negra,” in Revista Galeria de Arte Moderna, 14 (Rio de Janeiro, 1968).