Thematic visit – Mao Ishikawa: Diasporas, Race, and Colonialism in the Atlantic-Pacific
On December 20, there will be the thematic visit Mao Ishikawa: Diasporas, Race, and Colonialism in the Atlantic-Pacific with Laís Miwa Higa e Karina Satomi Matsumoto, as part of the Conjugations – Education, a section of the 36th Bienal public programming. The guided tour explores the career of Japanese artist Mao Ishikawa and her place in post-war Okinawa. The tour links the works Red Flower – The Women of Okinawa Series, Life in Philly Series, and Uchina Shibai (Okinawa Play) – A Story of NAKADA Sachiko’s Theatre Company Series to crucial debates on African and Okinawan diasporas, race, and colonialism, establishing connections between the Atlantic and the Pacific. The event takes place from 3pm to 5pm in the education – mediation space, located on the ground floor.
Conjugations – Education offers activities inspired by playing, dancing, singing, gaming, and storytelling, inviting the public to actively and playfully immerse themselves in the exhibition, deepening their understanding of humanity and valuing different ways of being and living together.
The activity includes interpretation in Brazilian Sign Language.
Laís Miwa Higa is an anthropologist with a PhD and Master’s degree in Anthropology (USP). She is a researcher at the Center for the Study of Social Markers of Difference and the PWFC Project – Past Wrongs, Future Choices (UVic, CA). Author of “Dictionary of Contemporary Ethnic-Racial Relations” (2023), “After All, Who is Brazilian?” (2022), “Essays on Racism” (2019), and “Feminist Explosion” (2018). She has conducted research on the Okinawan-Brazilian community (2009-2015), Asian-Brazilian activism (2016-2024), and Nikkei concentration camps in Brazil and Shindo Renmei (2023-present). Recipient of the 2023 PWFC Student Award. She also works as a diversity consultant and knowledge curator, teaching workshops and training courses on racial, gender, sexuality, and East Asian diaspora literacy.
Karina Satomi Matsumoto has a degree in Social Sciences (FFLCH-USP) and a Master’s degree in Science from the Latin American Integration Program (PROLAM-USP). She is a researcher and author of the blog Okinawando, which focuses on the history and culture of Okinawa. She has participated in the Ryukyu delegation to the UN Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York and has also participated in various exchange programs and scholarships in Okinawa.
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Thematic visit – Mao Ishikawa: Diasporas, Race, and Colonialism in the Atlantic-Pacific
36th Bienal de São Paulo – Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice
December 20, 2025
Saturday, 3 pm
education – mediation space, ground floor.
Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion
Ibirapuera Park, gate 3
Av. Pedro Álvares Cabral, s/n
São Paulo, SP
free admission