Severe flooding in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul have prompted the postponement of the Bienal do Mercosul-one of the largest contemporary art exhibits in Latin America.
Torrential rains from late April to early May have caused extensive flooding in southern Brazil, affecting 467 of the region's 497 municipalities, some of them completely submerged; displacing more than 580, 000 people; and causing nearly 170 deaths, some due to leptospirosis. 44 people remain missing.
Floods have also caused structural damage to more than 50 of the region's 378 state-registered museums, and nearly a hundred municipalities have reported damage to archaeological sites, libraries, galleries, theatres and art and historical collections. Cultural casualties include a 120-year-old piano, as well as documents, books and photographs, at the Museu Histórico Visconde de São Leopoldo-a museum dedicated to German immigration to Rio Grande do Sul.
Originally scheduled for September in the state capital of Porto Alegre, the Bienal has been postponed tentatively to April 2025. Raphael Fonseca, the chief curator of the Fundação Bienal do Mercosul, expressed his dismay on social media: "Words fail to convey the tragedy that has struck not only the city of Porto Alegre, but the entire state of Rio Grande do Sul... Seeing her underwater and with so many homeless people is a nightmare that will take time for the people in the area to recover from."
Foundation president, Carmen Ferrão, expressed her conviction that the Bienal remains relevant in the face of such tragedy: "We believe in the transformative power of art. More than ever, the Bienal will represent a beacon of hope in the midst of everything that has happened. It will be an opportunity to highlight the resilience of a state in its reconstruction, resuscitating the artistic sector and attracting visitors back to the [state] capital."
On the Bienal's website, it says: "The Bienal will take place at the right time to revive the artistic sector and attract visitors back to the Capital."
