Identity legitimacy at museum spaces: the 3rd Bahia Biennial case

Abstract

The 3rd Biennial Bahia, held in 2014 in Salvador and other nearby cities, claimed continuity in relation to the two previous Biennial editions held in 1960s, establishing an identity relationship not only with these events, but also with its a region considered as "peripheral" to the hegemonic circuits of legitimation of the country's artistic production, located at Rio de Janeiro - São Paulo axis. We intend discuss in this work, based on the curatorial narrative and of works analyzes, how the 3rd Bahia Biennial, proposing the questioning Is it all Northeast?, discussed art, identity and artistic institutions from the agency of identity issues by medium of the exhibition and museal dimension exploration in different locus established by the artistic works, in turn, of different languages and procedures affiliated to the contemporary art. We questioned whether it would be possible to raise identity issues in the works exhibition spaces in a more immediate and transparent way after "false walls" abolition, as proposed by 3rd Biennial curators.