On 6 December, Pinacoteca de São Paulo celebrates its 120th anniversary with Pina em Festa, a free day-long event at Pina Contemporânea and Parque Jardim da Luz, featuring workshops, guided tours, a book launch and a special samba performance.
The museum, part of the São Paulo State Department of Culture, Creative Economy and Industry, invites the public to a full day of free activities from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The programme includes the launch of the book “Pinacoteca de São Paulo: 120 anos”, a guided visit to the Sculpture Garden and a performance by samba school Mocidade Unida da Mooca, linked to the exhibition “Trabalho de Carnaval”.
Food and drinks will be provided by Cozinha Ocupação 9 de Julho and La Cholita at Pina Contemporânea’s square.
Pina em Festa is sponsored by Equinor.
Workshops and family activities: Cidade Invertida and Experimenta!
The celebration begins with family-oriented activities for children and young visitors.
The Cidade Invertida project presents the Tenda Lúdica, a large camera obscura where visitors can experience image formation in a sensory way.
The “Paisagem Invertida” trailer, converted into a giant camera obscura and photographic lab, will host analogue development demonstrations and experiments.
In parallel, the Experimenta! programme invites the public to art and education workshops in Pinacoteca’s studio.
The space encourages creation, interaction and play between generations.
Times: 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Sculpture Garden: new works and an evolving history
The reopening of Pinacoteca’s Sculpture Garden marks a new stage for the project, which for 24 years has brought the museum’s sculpture collection into Parque da Luz.
The renewed layout engages with contemporary debates on representation, diversity and decolonisation.
The curatorial team increases the presence of women artists and, for the first time, includes works by Denilson Baniwa, Jorge dos Anjos and Nádia Taquary.
Their inclusion underscores the importance of Black and Indigenous voices in Brazilian sculpture.
Stella Artois sponsors the garden’s relaunch.
Opening gathering: Jardim da Luz bandstand, next to the restaurant, at 11 a.m., with a guided tour led by curators Ana Maria Maia and Yuri Quevedo.
Study Group “120 Years”: new readings of the museum
The study group “À Luz de 120 anos: o nascimento de uma metrópole, a Pinacoteca e seu patrimônio cultural” brought together ten researchers throughout 2025.
Each participant developed a research project focused on the museum and its institutional history.
During Pina em Festa, the group will present its findings in the form of a digital publication.
The meetings, held in person and online, offered fresh perspectives on heritage, territory and the museum’s institutional development.
Venue: Pina Contemporânea Multiuse Room.
Time: 1 p.m.
Book launch: “Pinacoteca de São Paulo: 120 anos”
The book “Pinacoteca de São Paulo: 120 anos”, published by Act Arte, is edited by director Jochen Volz and chief curator Ana Maria Maia.
The volume presents Pinacoteca’s trajectory as a living museum committed to education, diversity and social transformation through art.
Essays explore the institution’s history from multiple angles, highlighting the collection as public heritage.
The book also celebrates key partnerships and donations that have shaped the museum over 120 years.
Caixa Seguridade is the book’s main sponsor.
Venue: Pina Luz Auditorium.
Time: 2:30 p.m., followed by a conversation with Ana Maria Maia and Jochen Volz.
Samba at the museum: Mocidade Unida da Mooca
The Mocidade Unida da Mooca samba school will perform at Pina Contemporânea’s square at 4 p.m.
The presentation dialogues with the exhibition “Trabalho de Carnaval”, currently on view in the Grand Gallery.
Visitors will see prototype costumes for the school’s 2026 Carnival parade, created with artist Rosana Paulino for the theme “Géledés: Agbara Obirin”, developed by Renan Ribeiro and Thayssa Menezes.
The performance highlights the power of Black women in Brazilian history and culture.
It also celebrates popular art as a field of creation, resistance and identity, in tune with Pinacoteca’s commitment to multiple voices and narratives in contemporary art.
Schedule – 6 December
10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. | Experimenta! and Cidade Invertida workshops.
11 a.m. | Reopening of the Sculpture Garden with guided tour by Ana Maria Maia and Yuri Quevedo.
1 p.m. | “120 Years” Study Group presentation – Pina Contemporânea Multiuse Room.
2 p.m. | Guided tour in Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) on Pina Luz’s building history.
2:30 p.m. | Book launch “Pinacoteca de São Paulo: 120 anos” and talk with Ana Maria Maia and Jochen Volz – Pina Luz Auditorium.
4 p.m. | Mocidade Unida da Mooca performance – Pina Contemporânea Square.
Service – Pina em Festa 120 years
Event: Pina em Festa – 120 Years of Pinacoteca de São Paulo.
Date: 6 December.
Time: 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Curator: Clarissa Ximenes.
Venue: Pina Contemporânea building and Jardim da Luz Park.
Admission: Free on 6 December.
Regular opening hours: Wednesday to Monday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (last entry at 5 p.m.).
Regular tickets: R$ 30 (full) and R$ 15 (half), single ticket granting access to all three buildings for the selected day.
Saturdays: free admission.
Second Sunday of each month: free entry sponsored by B3.
