Starting from a new scenario for an exhibition of the Portuguese Contemporary Art Collection at the National Museum of Ethnology, we seek to present latent narratives and to begin a reflection on the politics of representation and processes of under-representation, with an eye to the change in museums and collections towards greater openness to critical dialogue about the colonial past. It’s about imagining what a ‘post-museum’ might look like, in the words of Françoise Vergès, who in her book Decolonising the Museum refers to the need to create a space that takes into account critical analyses of the so-called universal Western museum, which even questions the inclusivity and diversity of the multiculturalist strategy.
We know that building a collection involves mechanisms of exclusion and selection, appreciation, acquisition, incorporation of works of art and exercises in representation, but we are also aware that our practice could trigger investigations and exercises in interpretation that could contribute to understanding a diverse history and a different world.
This is a kaleidoscopic exhibition that explores how artists portray singular and collective experiences of cultural identity, using multiple forms of representation and various geographical, generational and conceptual contexts, both close and more distant. Taking certain aesthetic and historical references as a starting point, we are interested in understanding how artists have reflected on the political and social burden of identity in contemporary society, in an effort to counter the effects of both contemporary nationalisms and abstract universalist discourse.
The exhibition includes works by: Ana Silva, Ângelo de Sousa, António Olaio, Carlos Bunga, Catarina Simão, Daniel Barroca, Eugénia Mussa, Filipa César, Grada Kilomba, Gustavo Sumpta, Joaquim Rodrigo, João Pedro Vale, José de Guimarães, Luciana Fina, Manuel Santos Maia, Mónica de Miranda, Nikias Skapinakis, Pedro A.H. Paixão, Pedro Barateiro, René Tavares, Rigo 23, Vasco Araújo, William Kentridge, Yonamine.
Source: National Museum of Ethnology
