About this program
Djamila Ribeiro and Keyna Eleison discuss the exhibition Isaac Julien: Lina Bo Bardi–A Marvellous Entanglement and Ribeiro’s book Lugar de Fala (Place of Speech), newly translated into English as Where We Stand. The book explores the concept that everyone has a social position in the world, a place of speech that should not be silenced.
About Djamila Ribeiro
Born in 1980, Djamila Ribeiro is a Brazilian feminist philosopher who holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in political philosophy from the Federal University of São Paulo. In 2022, she founded Plural Feminisms, which comprises the Plural Feminisms Space, the online platform Plural Feminisms, and the editorial label Sueli Carneiro. In partnership with Editora Jandaíra, she has published texts and books by more than eighty Black authors. She is a lifetime member of the Academy of Literature of São Paulo. In 2016, she was assistant secretary for Human Rights in São Paulo. She is a laureate of the 2019 Prince Claus Prize, awarded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which supports artists and cultural practitioners in countries where culture is under pressure. In 2019, she was on the BBC’s list of the one hundred most inspiring and influential women. In 2021, she was the first Brazilian person in history to be honored by the BET Awards, granted by the American Black community. In 2024, Yale University Press will publish Where We Stand, her first book translated into English.
About Keyna Eleison
Keyna Eleison is a curator, writer, researcher, griot heiress and shaman, narrator, singer, ancestral chronicler, and cultural manager. She earned her master's degree in art history and a specialist degree in history and architecture from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She was a member of the African Heritage Commission for the designation of the Valongo Wharf region as a World Heritage Site (UNESCO). From 2015 to 2017, she served as manager of the cultural centers in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro and was pedagogical coordinator of the Parque Lage Visual Art School between 2018 and 2019. Eleison was curator of the tenth SIART International Biennial in Bolivia and artistic director of the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro. She is a columnist for Contemporary And America Latina and curated the first Biennial of the Amazons (2023) with Vania Leal.
