Fundação Bienal de São Paulo and Sesc São Paulo announce the opening of the 36th Bienal de São Paulo – Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice traveling exhibition at Sesc Rio Preto, where it will be on view from August 18 to November 15, 2026. This marks the eighth time the city has hosted the traveling exhibitions program, always in partnership with Sesc.
Curated by Thiago de Paula Souza, co-curator of the 36th Bienal, the exhibition brings together works by eight participants: Akinbode Akinbiyi, Andrew Roberts, Ernest Cole, Helena Uambembe, Josèfa Ntjam, Ming Smith, Sharon Hayes, and Vilanismo.
Presented regularly since 2011, the traveling exhibitions have become a fundamental extension of the Bienal de São Paulo, allowing artworks and debates first presented at the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion to be reconfigured in dialogue with diverse local contexts, fostering new interpretations and relationships with audiences beyond the exhibition’s original setting in São Paulo.
According to Thiago de Paula Souza, each traveling exhibition seeks both to present a particular perspective on the previous Bienal and to establish a meaningful connection with the city and venue that host it. “In São José do Rio Preto, the selection of works for the 36th Bienal traveling exhibition was guided by the characteristics of the Sesc venue. It was important to choose works that could be presented within this context, engaging with the space and being accommodated by it without significantly altering the dynamics of the audiences who regularly attend the venue,” he explains.
“For us, São José do Rio Preto is one of the cities that best embodies the purpose of the traveling exhibitions programme, thanks to a rich and longstanding partnership,” says Andrea Pinheiro, President of Fundação Bienal de São Paulo. “Each return also renews our relationship with Sesc, with local audiences, and with our conviction that taking the Bienal beyond Ibirapuera Park is an essential part of our mission. The Bienal acquires new meanings when it encounters different territories.”
According to Luiz Galina, Director of Sesc São Paulo, “the 36th Bienal de São Paulo traveling exhibition in São José do Rio Preto—made possible through the longstanding partnership between Fundação Bienal de São Paulo and Sesc São Paulo—invites audiences to rethink humanity in a world that calls for reimagining relationships, asymmetries, and listening as the foundations of coexistence. In doing so, we reaffirm our commitment to offering programmes that contribute to the development of diverse contemporary perspectives while creating spaces for encounter, dialogue, and critical reflection.”
In addition to the presentation of artworks, the traveling exhibitions programme is structured around a cross-cutting educational axis, including training for local teams, online and in-person meetings, pedagogical support, and public programmes for a wide range of audiences, such as guided tours, lectures, teacher workshops, and educational activities for students.
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
São José do Rio Preto Traveling Exhibition – Sesc Rio Preto
curator: Thiago de Paula Souza
exhibition design: Tiago Guimarães
opening: Aug 18, Tues, 7:30 pm
August 19 – November 15, 2026
Tues–Fri, 1 pm–9:30 pm
Sat, Sun and holidays, 10 am–6:30 pm
Sesc Rio Preto
Av. Francisco das C. Oliveira, 1333
São José do Rio Preto, Brazil
free admission