Art Talk: Depicting Blackness: The Politics of Race in Afro-Brazilian Art

Brazil is a rich tapestry of syncretic cultural identities and is home to the second-largest Afro-descendent population in the world. This talk charts the history of racial politics in Brazil and visual representations of Blackness—from the trans-Atlantic slave trade and whitening campaigns at the turn of the twentieth century to artistic modes of resistance and the founding of São Paulo’s Museu Afro Brasil in 2004.

Dr. Rachel Boate is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory at UBC, where she teaches courses on nineteenth- and twentieth-century art and visual culture in Europe and the Americas. Her research has been supported by New York University, the CNRS in France, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

With thanks to the Consulate General of Brazil in Vancouver for their support of this event.