SLAS Conference 2026 Keynote - Prof Guilherme Wisnik

In 21st-century Brazil, there is growing dispute over public space, evident in
movements such as the defence of Augusta Park, Minhocão Park, and Bixiga Park in São Paulo, as well as activist movements such as Praia da Estação in Belo Horizonte and the Occupy Estelita movement in Recife. In this context, the weak tradition of public space in Brazilian cities, dominated by road infrastructure and private interests, is confronted by actions that reclaim new notions of memory, for example attacks on public monuments that glorify the history of colonisation. Such actions have ignited a conservative political reaction, which has also begun to advocate for traditional values in relation to bodies in cities. In this keynote I will discuss these disputes and their attendant actions, with a focus on new themes related to race and gender
which have emerged in relation to public spaces.

Guilherme Wisnik is a tenured professor and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of São Paulo (FAU USP). He is the curator of the Brazilian Museum of Sculpture and Ecology (MuBE). He was the chief curator of the 10th São Paulo Architecture Biennial (2013), of the exhibition Infinite Span: 90 Years of Brazilian Architecture (Casa da Arquitectura de Portugal, 2018), and of the Brazilian Pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai. He is the author of books such as Lucio Costa (2001) and Inside the Mist: Contemporary Art, Architecture and Technology (2018). He received the “Prominence 2018” award from the Brazilian Association of Art Critics.

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