Nordestes, curatorship and identity: Moacir dos Anjos and the strategic use of “nordestinidade” (“northeasternness”)

Abstract

This article, a synthesis of my doctoral thesis, focuses on how works by contemporary artists from the Brazilian Northeast have been addressed though identity narratives in a series of curatorships by Moacir dos Anjos dedicated to the discussion of his proposition about the "Northeastern artist” (artista nordestino), comprising events held between 1998 and 2006 in the cities Fortaleza, Recife and São Paulo. We question how these works reverberate and deal with this identity challenge, crossed by others issues such as the "invention" of the Northeast and Gilberto Freyre’s "regionalism". For that, we discuss the trajectories of some recurring works in these exhibitions and the way they were challenged by other narratives proposed by different curators. We seek to demonstrate how works and curators benefit from strategic and temporary associations to identities, complexing notions such as “label” and representation.