Hélio Menezes is no longer the director of the Museu Afro Brasil, a key São Paulo institution founded by sculptor Emanoel Araújo that is known for its support of Afro-Brazilian artists, who have long been neglected by mainstream institutions in the country.
Menezes announced that he had been dismissed from his post on Instagram last week, saying that the situation behind the scenes at the museum had become “impossible.”
He denounced what he described as “decision-making structures shaped by informality, personalism, and a lack of transparency—structures still predominantly composed of individuals disconnected from the diversity and Black leadership that the Museum represents (or should represent), and lacking engagement with the world of visual arts.” Menezes did not respond to a request for further comment.
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In his Instagram post, Menezes said that two board members at the museum—Wellinton Souza and the artist Rosana Paulino—had left their posts.
The museum told Folha de São Paulo that his dismissal came amid difficulty reaching an agreement with Menezes “that balanced the expectations of the then director with the budgetary limits.” Moreover, in a comment to ArtReview, the museum denounced what it described as “personal attacks directed at the chair of the board of directors” by Menezes.
Menezes was hired as director of the Museo Afro Brasil in 2024, less than two years after Araújo died. At the time, Menezes said, “It was (and is) the most interesting museum, with the most stunning acquisitions, and the most unique exhibitions I’d ever seen. It was impossible not to give in to her charms.”
He had previously been a curator at the Centro Cultural São Paulo and had worked on such projects as the initial version of “Afro-Atlantic Histories,” which first appeared at the Museu de Arte de São Paulo and later traveled abroad. He also co-organized the 2023 edition of the Bienal de São Paulo.