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
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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.
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Artists

Ant Farm

Ad Minoliti

Advânio Lessa

Agnes Denes

Ana Amorim

Ana Mendieta

Anna Júlía Friðbjörnsdóttir

Ateş Alpar

Aycoobo (Wilson Rodríguez)

Birgit Jürgenssen

Brittany Nelson

Brígida Baltar

Bureau d'Études

Carmézia Emiliano

Carolina Caycedo

Castiel Vitorino Brasileiro

Cecília Melendez

Celeida Tostes

Chico Tabibuia

Chico da Silva

Chonon Bensho

Cooperativa Gráfica la Voz de la Mujer

Cosa Rapozo

Cristina T. Ribas

Dan Lie

Daniel Caballero

Daniel Steegmann Mangrané

Denise Alves-Rodrigues

Djanira da Motta e Silva

Donna Conlon

EDELO (En Donde Era La ONU) & Kika Carvalho

Etsedron

Flora Leite, em colaboração com Alexandre Wahrhaftig e Beatriz Leite

Forensic Architecture

Frederico Filippi

Friedensreich Hundertwasser

Gertrudes Altschul

Gustavo Torrezan & Nildilene Diniz da Silva (Pichuita)

Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke

Hans Ragnar Mathisen

Heitor dos Prazeres

Hélio Melo

Iconoclasistas

Autoria desconhecida (Inca, Colonial)

Irma Poma Canchumani

Jaider Esbell

Jes Fan

Jonas Van

Joseca Yanomami

Josí

Juraci Dórea

Keg de Souza

LaToya Ruby Frazier

Laura Kurgan

León Ferrari

Liberate Tate

Autoria desconhecida (Lima)

Luana Vitra

Lucy & Jorge Orta

Luiz Roque

Lygia Clark

MST - Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra

Mabe Bethônico, em colaboração com Victor Galvão e Ana Carolina Reginatto

Manfredo de Souzanetto

Autoria desconhecida (Marajoara)

Marcela Cantuária

Marcelo Expósito

Maria Auxiliadora

Maria Laet

Maryam Hoseini

Maré de Matos

Melanie Cervantes

Melissa Cody

Michael Rakowitz

Michel Zózimo

Mierle Laderman Ukeles

Minoru Hirata

Autoria desconhecida (Mochica)

Movimento dos artistas Huni Kuin — Mahku 

Mulheres Atingidas da região de Tapajós, Pará

Mulheres Atingidas de Brumadinho, Minas Gerais

Nicolás Uriburu

Nilda Neves

Noara Quintana

Nohemí Pérez

Ocupação 9 de Julho, MSTC - Movimento dos Sem Teto do Centro

P.M.

Paulo Jares

Pesin Kate (Cordelia Sánchez García)

Peter Cook (Archigram)

Raphael Escobar

Autoria desconhecida (Recuay)

Reshinjabe (Olinda Silvano Inuma)

Rini Templeton

Rita Ponce de León

Rosana Paulino

Rose Afefé

Rúrí

Sallisa Rosa

Santiago Reyes Villaveces

Santiago Yahuarcani

Sepp Baendereck

Sertão Negro

Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe

Stewart Brand

Suzanne Treister

THE PLAY

Tabita Rezaire

Trevor Paglen

Vera Chaves Barcellos

Virginia de Medeiros

Vitória Cribb

Yinka Shonibare

Zheng Bo

davi de jesus do nascimento

Þorgerður Ólafsdóttir