Histories of Ecology
In the same year Brazil hosts COP30, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belém, Pará, MASP presents the exhibition Histories of Ecology. This is the museum’s eighth exhibition since 2016 dedicated to exploring diverse, plural, and polyphonic histories. The show is not a direct response to the conference but rather proposes a broader perspective. Moving beyond the undeniable urgency of the climate crisis, the exhibition expands the concept of ecology itself. Through the work of artists, activists, and social movements, it examines the relationships between human and more-than-human beings—a category that encompasses animals, plants, rivers, forests, mountains and fungi.
The use of the term “ecology” instead of “nature” is, in this context, a deliberate conceptual decision. Unlike conceptions that isolate nature as an entity external to society, ecology is understood here as a relational web, a field of forces in constant transformation. This perspective challenges established dichotomies such as nature/culture, subject/object, and human/non-human. Such an approach resonates with contemporary calls for an “ecological turn” within the humanities and social sciences, which seek to rethink knowledge production by embracing a multiplicity of worlds and ecosystems.
Featuring artworks by 116 artists, the majority of whom hail from the so-called Global South, Histories of Ecology extends this network to forge alliances between the Global South and North, acknowledging that the climate crisis demands coordinated, solidarity-based, and urgent action. Many of the works reveal not only the devastating effects of colonialism, environmental racism, and global capitalism on bodies, territories, and ecosystems, but also their deep-rooted historical origins
.
The exhibition is organized into five thematic sections, with a suggested viewing path from the sixth to the second floor: Web of Life, Geographies of Time, On Becoming, Territories, Migrations, and Borders, and Inhabiting the Climate. Ultimately, the exhibition traverses geological, biographical, spiritual, communal, and planetary forms of knowledge. It invites us to recognize cosmologies that resist the destruction of life and to open up spaces for critical imagination, where the future is framed as a site of contestation and collective responsibility.
Curated by: André Mesquita and Isabella Rjeille, MASP
This exhibition is part of MASP’s 2025 annual program dedicated to Histories of Ecology. The program also includes solo shows of works by Abel Rodríguez, Clarissa Tossin, Claude Monet, Frans Krajcberg, Hulda Guzmán, Minerva Cuevas, the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB), and Taniki Yanomami, as well as presentations in the Video Room by Emilija Škarnulytė, Inuk Silis Høegh, Janaina Wagner, Maya Watanabe, Tania Ximena, and Vídeo nas Aldeias.
Since 2019, MASP has maintained a sustainability working group and has actively implemented measures such as decarbonization, purchasing renewable energy, and a comprehensive waste management program. These initiatives complement this year's programming on Histories of Ecology. The new Pietro Maria Bardi building also incorporates sustainable solutions, having achieved LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.
In the same year Brazil hosts COP30, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belém, Pará, MASP presents the exhibition Histories of Ecology. This is the museum’s eighth exhibition since 2016 dedicated to exploring diverse, plural, and polyphonic histories. The show is not a direct response to the conference but rather proposes a broader perspective. Moving beyond the undeniable urgency of the climate crisis, the exhibition expands the concept of ecology itself. Through the work of artists, activists, and social movements, it examines the relationships between human and more-than-human beings—a category that encompasses animals, plants, rivers, forests, mountains and fungi.
The use of the term “ecology” instead of “nature” is, in this context, a deliberate conceptual decision. Unlike conceptions that isolate nature as an entity external to society, ecology is understood here as a relational web, a field of forces in constant transformation. This perspective challenges established dichotomies such as nature/culture, subject/object, and human/non-human. Such an approach resonates with contemporary calls for an “ecological turn” within the humanities and social sciences, which seek to rethink knowledge production by embracing a multiplicity of worlds and ecosystems.
Featuring artworks by 116 artists, the majority of whom hail from the so-called Global South, Histories of Ecology extends this network to forge alliances between the Global South and North, acknowledging that the climate crisis demands coordinated, solidarity-based, and urgent action. Many of the works reveal not only the devastating effects of colonialism, environmental racism, and global capitalism on bodies, territories, and ecosystems, but also their deep-rooted historical origins
.
The exhibition is organized into five thematic sections, with a suggested viewing path from the sixth to the second floor: Web of Life, Geographies of Time, On Becoming, Territories, Migrations, and Borders, and Inhabiting the Climate. Ultimately, the exhibition traverses geological, biographical, spiritual, communal, and planetary forms of knowledge. It invites us to recognize cosmologies that resist the destruction of life and to open up spaces for critical imagination, where the future is framed as a site of contestation and collective responsibility.
Curated by: André Mesquita and Isabella Rjeille, MASP
This exhibition is part of MASP’s 2025 annual program dedicated to Histories of Ecology. The program also includes solo shows of works by Abel Rodríguez, Clarissa Tossin, Claude Monet, Frans Krajcberg, Hulda Guzmán, Minerva Cuevas, the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB), and Taniki Yanomami, as well as presentations in the Video Room by Emilija Škarnulytė, Inuk Silis Høegh, Janaina Wagner, Maya Watanabe, Tania Ximena, and Vídeo nas Aldeias.
Since 2019, MASP has maintained a sustainability working group and has actively implemented measures such as decarbonization, purchasing renewable energy, and a comprehensive waste management program. These initiatives complement this year's programming on Histories of Ecology. The new Pietro Maria Bardi building also incorporates sustainable solutions, having achieved LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.
Jan 20, 2026
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