Reforesting bodies, Reenchanting territories: artistic practices of resistance and defense of life by women in Brazil

Abstract

This article is based on the experience of putting together the group exhibition "Reforesting bodies, Reenchanting territories", which was presented at SESC Barra Mansa in Rio de Janeiro between March and June 2023. The exhibition features a series of life-affirming proposals from Brazilian women artists who create alliances and links with territories as part of their political struggles. This project seeks to contribute to the urgent debates about the global civilizational catastrophe, observing the political, social, territorial, economic and sexual specificities in different regions of the country. Inspired by the proposal of indigenous women in Brazil to "reforest minds and hearts for the healing of the earth", we articulate the exhibition as a way of enunciating feminist, anti-racist and anti-colonial cosmic-political paths. Throughout the text, we present the works of the artists taking part in the exhibition while developing a reflection on the relationship between art, politics and "nature" from a conception of art as a tool for transformation and the production of knowledge.