Permanent exhibition

The permanent exhibition has 1,400 objects representing different ways of life and forms of expression of the different groups in Brazilian society. These objects are selected from their original contexts and in the museum they convey one of the many possible stories about the Brazilian people, told in five thematic modules:

Life. Displays works by popular artists representing the life cycle, its stages, and the rituals with which people in communities distinguish them. From birth to death, themes such as courtship and marriage, school and children´s games, work and entertainment, preserved by word of mouth and updated by constant cultural exchanges, are represented by art and the skills of masters from different origins, realities and technical masteries.

Technique. This addresses the traditional technologies with which people transform what is found in nature to produce food, utensils, instruments, costumes, objects of a functional, symbolic or artistic value. Different sections reproduce, for example, a flour house or retreat in Pará, traditional pottery centres in Bahia and São Paulo, North-eastern and Rio de Janeiro fishing communities, as well as a street market, a place of barter where these and other expressions coexist.

Religion. A religious procession with the image of St. George, and the Holy banner carried in front, figures of umbanda* entities and ritual objects of candomblé are some of the examples of Brazilian popular religiosity, of the plurality of expressions creating ties between humans and their deities.

Festivals. Brazilians also convey what they say about the society in which they live, their values and beliefs through dance, song, food and costumes.

Art. Clay or wood sculptures, engravings and paintings show the art produced by individuals from the poorer classes that, through their highly individualised creations, express collective experiences and feelings.

Open to the public:
Tuesdays-Fridays, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, 3-6 p.m.
Admission free.

Attending to group visits:
Sector of Cultural Dissemination
tel.: (+55 21) 2285-0441, ext. 204, 205 and 206.
fax: ext. 206

* umbanda and candomblé are expressions of Afro-Brazilian religious syncretism

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