The Fundação Bienal de São Paulo and Sesc announce the traveling exhibition of the 36th Bienal de São Paulo – Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice at Sesc Santos, on view from April 9 to June 21, 2026. This marks the third time the port city hosts the Bienal’s traveling exhibitions program, continuing a partnership that began in 2011 with the 29th edition and was renewed in 2014 with the 32nd Bienal.
The exhibition brings together nine artists from the 36th Bienal de São Paulo: Akinbode Akinbiyi, Andrew Roberts, Helena Uambembe, Josèfa Ntjam, Manauara Clandestina, Ming Smith, Moisés Patrício, Rebeca Carapiá, and Vilanismo. Curated by Thiago de Paula Souza, co-curator of the Bienal and responsible for this traveling exhibition, the selection explores artistic practices that address memory, territory, displacement, and resistance across diverse geographies and histories. Featuring photographs, videos, installations, and sculptures, the works examine migration, identity formation, structural violence, and the search for belonging in shifting environments. The exhibition design is by Tiago Guimarães.
Thiago de Paula Souza notes that the selection is informed by Santos’s historical role as a port, a site of arrivals, departures, and encounters: “The works gathered here investigate processes of displacement, migration, and memory-making across different contexts. From Akinbode Akinbiyi’s photographs of São Paulo to Vilanismo’s research into Black culture in Brazil, from the video installations of Andrew Roberts and Manauara Clandestina to Ming Smith’s records of African American cultural life, the exhibition asks: how do we create bonds and belonging when territories, histories, and identities are constantly in motion?”
For Andrea Pinheiro, returning to Santos for the third time is especially meaningful: “Our trajectory with Sesc, which began in 2011, reflects a strong and lasting partnership built on shared commitment. Sesc is not only a strategic partner, but an institution that shares our belief in art as a tool for social transformation and in the importance of expanding the Bienal beyond São Paulo’s capital.”
Beyond the presentation of artworks, the traveling exhibition program includes a broad educational component, with training for local teams, online and in-person meetings, pedagogical support, and activities for diverse audiences, such as guided tours, talks, teacher workshops, and student programs.
Sesc Santos has also organized a series of special activities alongside the exhibition, including:
Bienal das Crianças
Trilha sonora em home studio: escutas da Bienal
Ecos da calma e do silêncio
Service
36th Bienal de São Paulo – Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice
chief curator: Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung
co-curators: Alya Sebti, Anna Roberta Goetz, Thiago de Paula Souza
co-curator at large: Keyna Eleison
strategy and communications advisor: Henriette Gallus
deputy co-curators: André Pitol, Leonardo Matsuhei
Traveling exhibition Santos – Sesc Santos
curator: Thiago de Paula Souza
exhibition design: Tiago Guimarães
opening: Apr 8, Wed, 7pm – 9pm
on view: Apr 9 – Jun 21, 2026
Tues – Fri, 9:30 am – 9 pm
Sat, Sun, and holidays: 10 am – 6 pm
free admission