Memories of the Future is an initiative of the Cultural Institute Vale / Vale Museum (Instituto Cultural Vale / Museu Vale), in partnership with the Government of the State of Espírito Santo, sponsored by Vale through the Federal Cultural Incentive Law (Lei Federal de Incentivo à Cultura).

How do we think about what we want for the future based on what we have experienced? Memories of the Future – A Glimpse into the Collection of the Brazilian Historical and Geographic Institute (Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro – IHGB) presents items from the IHGB collection to the people of Espírito Santo. Curated by Marco Lucchesi, it is an original exhibition that, in eleven areas, displays an extensive panorama of the country’s history through maps, documents, and historical objects—some never before exhibited—encouraging visitors to recognize themselves through their own memories and discoveries. In the set-up, the collection will engage with the contemporary art of four artists from Espírito Santo who have created new works for the exhibition. The exhibition occupies the “Espaço Expositivo do Palácio Anchieta” from April 13 to June 18, with free admission.

“The structure of the exhibition rests on the invention of Brazil. To invent it, in the ancient and modern sense: to walk ‘towards’ Brazil; or to project it into the future dimension. First: the IHGB, balancing tradition and rupture, a certain inheritance from the past and the restless engines of the present. Second: the projection, the imaginary, the conjunction of times, the redesign of the country… Within this dual invention—of those who encounter and subvert, of those who gather and transform—the non-negotiable presence of contemporary art emerges. Incisive in its questions. Urgent in its demands. Various languages and supports, in a multicentric posture”, explains Marco Lucchesi.

“This is an exhibition that highlights the importance of revisiting our history, recreating memories through contact with art, and arrives in Vitória as a unique experience, enriched by the collaboration of Capixaba (native people from the state of Espirito Santo) artists in the construction of new narratives. Allowing children, young people, and audiences of all ages to come into contact with these historical records and build new perspectives and reflections on them, reinforces the museum’s role in education”, says Hugo Barreto, CEO of the Cultural Institute Vale.

The works of four contemporary Capixaba artists represent a dialogue between past and future. Andreia Falqueto, Jocimar Nalesso, Juliana Pessoa, and Luciano Feijão (biographies and more about the works below) were invited by Ronaldo Barbosa, director of the Vale Museum and curator of contemporary art, to produce new works for the exhibition.

“To bring four contemporary Capixaba artists to immerse themselves and produce their works in parallel with the preparation of the exhibition spaces, amidst the sounds of everyday life, executive work, and the palatial silence at night, was a rich and interesting experience from a creative standpoint. In this collaborative work process, four new and intriguing works with different themes and techniques emerged, creating a current dialogue with the items from the IHGB collection”, says Ronaldo Barbosa.

Themes of the Exhibition

The exhibition is divided into 11 pieces – which are constructed on a general principle rather than a historical succession and cause, following an aesthetic spatial distribution: The Mother Earth; The Baptism of Things; The Invention of Brazil; The Book of Memory; Nation Made of Nations; Black Freedom; Republic of Ethnicities; Conflict: Engine of History; Democracy and Its Enemies; Hope is a Subject of History; and Diversity will Save Brazil.

Paulo Knauss, vice-president of IHGB, talks about the importance of holding this exhibition in Vitória, with the participation of artists from the state: “The exhibition is characterized as a special opportunity to, in the light of the history of Espírito Santo, review the tradition of thinking about national unity from its political center, which was Rio de Janeiro. In other words, it is about emphasizing the diversity of experienced Brazil and affirming the plurality of Brazilian society through history”.

The revisiting of historical records from IHGB, an institution dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of the country, founded in 1838 – began its journey in 2021 at MAR – Museu de Arte do Rio, with excerpts from this collection reinterpreted in the exhibition “Images that do not conform”. In addition to Rio and Espírito Santo, this journey also extends to Pará, Maranhão, and Minas Gerais.

The Invited Artists

Andreia Falqueto, a painter, presents the universe of mangroves on Ilha de Vitória with a typical Brazilian man in the foreground, a crab gatherer, whose expressive face makes us reflect on his history. She works with the rhythm of secure, multicolored brushstrokes full of light, perceptions, and subtleties of urban scenes.

Luciano Feijão, an artist with strong and expressive drawing, provides a counterpoint to the exhibition with his focal theme, the African diaspora. In “Memories of the Future”, he recreates himself, body and soul, in a kind of ritual of strength, magic, and energy, bringing on a large scale his gestural expression imbued with consciousness and freedom.

Juliana Pessoa draws and represents figures that are always either arriving or leaving. They are ordinary people who have lived life. The artist brings to the exhibition a character that could belong to the IHGB collection, Dona Josefa, heir of Canudos, carrying on her face the marks of her own history. Jocimar Nalesso paints, dialoguing with the Renaissance perspective, a setting of stairs leading to a hidden place. Doors that merge and deepen in a calm painting with the blues of the vernacular architecture of the mountainous regions of Espírito Santo. His work participates in the space from the entrance corridor of the environment.

Educational Program and Training for Young Apprentices

As part of its social contribution, the Vale Museum has been carrying out the Youth Training project for communities in the Greater Vitória Region since 2005, known as the Apprentice Program. Focused on the assembly of exhibitions in spaces such as museums and galleries, the course, in addition to theoretical knowledge about carpentry, painting, lighting, and more, provides practical learning during the exhibition assembly process conducted by the museum. The 10 young individuals selected for the 2023 Apprentice Program, who participated in the assembly of “The Extraordinary Universe of Leonardo da Vinci”, are now assisting the team of professional assemblers in constructing the exhibition “Memories of the Future – A Glimpse into the Collection of the Brazilian Historical and Geographic Institute”. With this initiative, the Vale Museum reaffirms its belief in changing and transforming lives through the opportunities provided by culture.

Another important activity of the museum is the Educational Program. In this exhibition, the experiences of each visitor will be explored, stimulating memories recorded in their minds, based on significant events in their lives: trips, family gatherings, childhood stories, etc. The goal is, of course, to demonstrate the relevance of these memories in each individual’s history, just as the IHGB collection is indispensable for the country’s history. Playful activities are part of the process. For example, how could a visitor tell their own story through the creation of an image? For groups with children under 10 years old, the approach will start with representing what they enjoy doing, and what images represent those desires?

The expectation with the realization of this experience is that, throughout the exhibition, a large mural will be created, a kind of “patchwork quilt” where all our stories and facts come together—a collection of memories from visitors and the exhibition itself.