Bandits & Heroes, Poets & Saints: Popular Art of the Northeast of Brazil

Bandits & Heroes, Poets & Saints: Popular Art of the Northeast of Brazil explores how the ancient cultures of Africa blended with indigenous and colonial Portuguese traditions to form the vibrant and complex cultural mosaic of modern Brazil. Engaging photographs and works of popular art, including sculptures, paintings, prints, religious objects, toys, and booklets of poetry will draw visitors into the complex and vibrant culture of the Northeast of Brazil and introduce the festivals, heroes, and spiritual traditions that give shape and meaning to the daily lives of the Nordestinos, common people of Brazil’s Northeast.

The exhibition explores how diverse traditions come together in the region and uses work by historical and contemporary artists to illuminate a fascinating history that reaches into modern Brazil. Throughout, the exhibition explores the resilience and vitality of modern-day descendants of Africa. Bandits & Heroes, Poets & Saints: Popular Art of the Northeast of Brazil will continue through March 15.

This exhibition has been made possible through NEH on the Road, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is brought to you by Mid-America Arts Alliance. Bandits and Heroes, Poets and Saints: Popular Art of the Northeast of Brazil was organized by Con/Vida–Popular Arts of the Americas and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit, MI. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.