Gaudêncio Fidelis was summoned for a hearing in connection with a queer art exhibition at the Santander cultural centre that was shut down after accusations and threats from far-right politicians and activists.
Curator Gaudêncio Fidelis. Photo: Artforum
The exhibition was held in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The right-wing political group accuses the curator of promoting paedophilia, child prostitution and blasphemy. Conservative activists publicly condemned and vandalised the exhibition. Santander had to close the show prematurely.
According to Hyperallergic, the authorities launched an investigation against Gaudêncio Fidelis, accusing him of the mistreatment of children and teenagers. Far-right critics of Queermuseu (Queer Museum) claim the exhibition “perverts the notions of the family”. One of the leaders of the Free Brazil Movement, a right-wing party that has been attacking cultural events across Brazil for the past year, told the Guardian that the boycott of the show was initiated because public funds were spent on promoting “bestiality, paedophilia and offences to the Christian faith”.
Photo: Gaudêncio Fidelis
The artistic community regards the investigation in connection with Queermuseu as an attack on culture. In October, over 1,000 people signed a petition against the mistreatment of Fidelis by the state. It says that the focus on “the persecution of artists, curators, producers and others damages the investigation of real cases, where children and teenagers are at risk”. The petition says about the increasing pressure on contemporary culture from the state, in particular, attempts to censor or shut down exhibitions, as well as aggressive campaigns on social media to harass people who support artists, curators, exhibitions or cultural institutions.
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