In the Pinacoteca’s new exhibition, Heitor dos Prazeres is highlighted in a panel of images dedicated to chronicles of street carnival. Set in the bohemian neighborhood of Lapa, the 1960 painting Untitled depicts the different social types that have visually and culturally marked the history of the festival. A constant presence in Prazeres’ work, the dancers appear in rhythmic movements, dressed in Pierrot and Bahian costumes, evoking the show joy that arises from playfulness.

Curated by Ana Maria Maia and Renato Menezes, the group exhibition Trabalho de Carnaval brings together around 200 works organized into four sections. The show approaches the country’s largest popular festival as a broad production chain, marked by the work of many hands, even before the revelry takes over the streets and sambadromes.

Fantasy section addresses both the act of dressing up and the power of imagination. Work discusses the working conditions that sustain the festival, from the perspective of the workers themselves. Cityhighlights the relationship between Carnival and urban space, as evidenced in representations of afoxés, cordões, and blocos. Finally, Power focuses on rural and minority groups that take on leadership roles during the festivities, such as sugarcane workers in Pernambuco who become kings and queens of maracatu, or groups of black women who lead the festivities in Bahia as Ebony Goddesses, Kings Momos, and Queens of Carnival.