Image: São Paulo Museum of Modern Art
The São Paulo Museum of Modern Art has opened registration for 'Arte e Literatura', an online course led by Edson Cruz that runs on Thursdays from 13 August to 10 September 2026, from 7 pm to 9 pm. The five-session programme is part of the museum’s August course schedule and is offered live via videoconference, with recordings available only for a limited time.
According to the museum’s course page, the class is aimed at a general audience and costs R$440 plus fees. It also includes a certificate at the end of the course. Participants who need a Libras interpreter can request one by emailing cursos@mam.org.br at least seven business days in advance.
MAM São Paulo describes its course programme as organised around four thematic axes, covering modern and contemporary Brazilian art from multiple angles, from artistic production to distribution, reception and mediation. The museum says the aim is to encourage discussion of the social and aesthetic issues that shape the field, while helping participants build a sensitive repertoire for engaging with the institution’s activities, exhibitions and collection.
' Arte e Literatura' focuses specifically on the “tension” between image and writing. The museum says the course begins with historical pairings such as Rodin and Rainer Maria Rilke, Miró and João Cabral, and Leonilson and Caio Fernando Abreu, alongside “other surprises” along the way. The course page says the dialogue between artists and writers can generate “new forms and reflections” that neither could produce alone.
The structure of the class places MAM’s collection in an active role rather than using artworks only as illustrations for concepts. The museum says the works will be used to provoke questions and serve as starting points for thinking and experimentation. It also states that the course is for people who write, make art, teach, or simply want to deepen their relationship with language.
The five classes are titled 'Atenção como método de criação', 'Forma, rigor e economia', 'Palavra, corpo e matéria', 'Linguagem, silêncio e limite', and 'O ordinário como arquivo'. Among the artist-writer pairings listed in the programme are Auguste Rodin and Rainer Maria Rilke; Miró and João Cabral; Leonilson and Caio Fernando Abreu; Mira Schendel and Clarice Lispector; and Tomaz Farkas and George Perec. The course page also names specific reference points such as 'Torso Arcaico de Apolo', 'Morangos Mofados' and 'A Paixão Segundo G.H.'.
Edson Cruz is identified by the museum as editor of the MUSA RARA literature and art website and co-founder of the NOOSFERA portal, as well as a graduate in letters from USP and a writer with 14 published books. The museum’s course listing says he has worked for more than 15 years leading workshops and mentoring book editing projects, and that his most recent books are 'Satori na Laje' and 'Zumbilhéu – Antologia poética de um ilhéu brasileiro', both published in 2025.
