Mulambö presents his first solo exhibition in Saquarema, the city where he was born and where he maintains his studio. Entitled O Canto da Vila (The Song of the Village), the show opens on 20 June at the artist’s own space (Praia da Vila – Centro) and will run until 20 July, with free admission.

Curated by Isabel Portella, the exhibition brings together over 30 new works that pay tribute to the emotional and popular imagination of Saquarema, highlighting elements such as the sea, religious festivals, football, and symbolic figures like Iemanjá and Our Lady of Nazaré. All of this is set in a welcoming environment with music, coffee, and a sofa — as if visitors were being received in the artist’s own home. “It’s a way of giving back to my city through a body of work that has always spoken about it. My art is born from the stories I heard, the celebrations I lived through, the beach where I grew up. The world I build with my work stems from this territory,” says Mulambö.

A flag created especially for the exhibition also encapsulates the sense of belonging and collective memory of the city: “This flag is like a new flag for Saquarema — not in the official sense, but a symbolic one. It represents the Saquarema I’m depicting, with all its emotional layers and perspectives. It was sewn by my grandmother, which gives even greater power to this gesture of ending the show with something that sums it all up: memory, belonging, and imagination. It’s like condensing this universe we’ve created here — a world that exists and, at the same time, carries something magical, because it reflects a specific and sensitive gaze upon the place I come from,” the artist explains.

O Canto da Vila was selected through the “Fluxos Fluminenses” open call by the State of Rio de Janeiro’s Creative Economy Secretariat, supported by the Aldir Blanc Law. A second stage of the exhibition will take place between September and October at Galeria do Lago, in the Museum of Republic, Rio de Janeiro. The project is produced by Fava Comunicação & Arte in co-production with belOlhar, and institutionally supported by Portas Vilaseca.

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Info

O Canto da Vila – Mulambö
Where: Artist’s Studio – Rua Alfredo Coutinho, 44, Centro, Saquarema
Period of the show: from 20 June to 20 July 2025
Opening: 20/6 – 4pm to 8pm | Visiting hours: Thu to Sun, 2pm to 7pm
Free admission