As of April 11, MASP – Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand will host the exhibition Women Affected by Dams: Embroidering Our Rights, which brings together 34 arpilleras produced by the Coletivo Nacional de Mulheres do Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (MAB). The pieces were made collectively by women from all over Brazil, in embroidery circles organized by the collective, as an expression of their experiences and struggles in the face of the social and environmental impacts caused by the construction, operation and collapse of dams.

The arpilleras, textile pieces that have become a symbol of memory and the struggle for human rights, are made of scraps of fabric embroidered on jute. The technique originated in Chile in the 1960s and became a cultural and political expression of female protagonism during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Created mainly by women – many of them mothers, wives, and relatives of political prisoners and the disappeared – these works depict scenes from everyday life, repression, and the struggle for rights. The Coletivo Nacional de Mulheres do Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (MAB) began using this technique in 2013 to address issues such as domestic violence, the breakdown of ties between land and community, violence against children and adolescents, lack of access to drinking water and electricity, and the impact of dams and river pollution on fishing and family livelihoods, among other violations of human and environmental rights.

Curated by Glaucea Helena de Britto, assistant curator, MASP, and Isabella Rjeille, curator, MASP, this exhibition brings together arpilleras from different regions of Brazil, produced between 2014 and 2024. Organized chronologically, these works cover a wide range of techniques and themes. Each arpillera is contextualized by a letter written by the authors, kept in a pocket on the back of each piece, highlighting the collective nature and popular organization of the process of making each piece. In the exhibition, the public will have access to a selection of 6 handwritten letters.

“For many people, the arpillera may seem like just a piece of art to hang on the wall. For us, the political significance of this textile testimony lies in the organization of women, in the fight for their rights and in the political proposition – of dreams, of utopias, of what we long for. It’s a denunciation, but it’s also a project of hope,” says Daiane Höhn, a MAB activist. 

About the Organization of the Women in MAB
The Coletivo Nacional de Mulheres do Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (MAB) is a nucleus within the movement that articulates the struggle of affected women throughout the country, strengthens their political participation, and promotes actions of denunciation and resistance. Since its creation, it has increased the presence of women in decision-making spaces and consolidated strategies to guarantee rights and confront violations caused by the construction, operation and collapse of dams. In recent years, the women affected have also promoted debates and strengthened the organization with women affected by climate disasters, which also cause disruptions in communities and families, with specific impacts on women’s lives and violations of family rights.

Since 2013, MAB women have been organizing workshops in which they use embroidery to create visual narratives that denounce socio-environmental injustices, record memories, and strengthen support networks. The arpilleras have become a symbol of the women’s resistance.

During the exhibition, the Movement will hold two arpilleras workshops open to the public. The first will take place on Saturday, April 12, from 10:30am to 1:30pm, and the second on Sunday, April 27, also from 10:30am to 1:30pm.
Women Affected by Dams: Embroidering Our Rights is part of MASP’s annual program dedicated to the Histories of Ecology. This year’s program also includes exhibitions by Abel Rodríguez, Clarissa Tossin, Claude Monet, Emilija Škarnulytė, Frans Krajcberg, Hulda Guzmán, Inuk Silis Høegh, Janaina Wagner, Maya Watanabe, Minerva Cuevas, Tania Ximena, Vídeo nas Aldeias and the large group show Histories of Ecology.

ACCESSIBILITY
All MASP temporary exhibitions are accessible, with free admission for people with disabilities and their companions. Visits are offered in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) or descriptive, as well as texts and captions in enlarged type and audio-visual productions in easy language – with narration, subtitles and interpretation in Libras that describe and comment on the spaces and works. The content, available on the museum’s website and YouTube channel, can be used by people with disabilities, school audiences, teachers, non-literate people and the general public.

EXHIBITION CATALOGUE
The exhibition will be accompanied by a bilingual catalogue in English and Portuguese, composed of images and commissioned essays by key authors for the study of MAB’s work and struggle. The publication is organized by Isabella Rjeille, curator, MASP, and Glaucea Helena de Britto, assistant curator, MASP, with texts by Roberta Bacic, Monise Vieira Busquets and Carolina Caycedo, and an interview with Daiane Höhn, Esther Vital and Louise Löbler. The catalogue includes reproductions of 47 arpilleras produced by the collective, as well as texts that put each piece in context.


PRODUCTION AND SUPPORT
Women Affected by Dams: Embroidering Our Rights is carried out through the Federal Law for Cultural Incentives and PROAC ICMS.


EXHIBITION INFO
Women Affected by Dams: Embroidering Out Rights 
Curated by: Glaucea Helena de Britto, curatorial assistant, MASP, and Isabella Rjeille, curator, MASP. 
Apr. 11 – Aug. 3, 2025
Mezzanine Gallery, -1 floor, Lina Bo Bardi Building

MASP — Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand
Avenida Paulista, 1578 – Bela Vista, São Paulo, SP 01310-200 
Telephone: +55 (11) 3149-5959
Hours: Free on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (admission until 7 p.m.); Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (admission until 5 p.m.); Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. (free admission from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.); Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (admission until 5 p.m.); closed on Mondays. 
Online booking required via masp.org.br/ingressos
Tickets: R$ 75 (admission); R$ 37 (students with ID)

Schedule of Free Workshops
04/12, Saturday, 10:30am to 1:30pm – Embroidering Our Rights Workshop, with Caroline Mota Laino and Daiane Carlos Höhn, activists from the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB)
04/27, Sunday, 10:30am to 1:30pm – Embroidering Our Rights Workshop

Register online at https://masp.org.br/oficinas