Abstract:

This lecture addresses the ongoing influence of the Brazilian Modern Art Week (1922) and its outcomes on Brazilian contemporary culture. Built on the topic of cultural emancipation, this talk departs from the Celtic Revival to illustrate the similar strategies adopted in Ireland and Brazil for valuing national culture, demonstrating that our two countries might have much more in common than one would expect. It will focus on visual arts, literature, music, and cinema to explore the legacy and reverberations of the modernists’ ideals over the past century.

Michelle Alvarenga is a Professor of English Language and Irish Literature at the University of Brasília, Brazil. She has previously taught at the Catholic University of Brasília and at the School of English, Drama, and Film at University College Dublin, Ireland. She works on internationalization initiatives at her home institution, building research collaboration and exchange programmes with Irish Universities. Her research focuses on contemporary Anglo-Irish literature and theatre. She is affiliated with the W.B. Yeats Chair of Irish Studies at the University of São Paulo, serves as Vice-President of the Brazilian Association of Irish Studies, and is one of the editors of the ABEI Journal.