Zanele Muholi’s landmark survey at MAR celebrates visibility, resistance, and the transformative power of image-making.

18 June 2026

Following a critically acclaimed presentation at IMS Paulista, ‘Beleza Valente’ arrives at the Rio Art Museum (MAR), offering Brazilian audiences a powerful encounter with the work of acclaimed South African visual activist Zanele Muholi. Opening on 12 June 2026, the exhibition brings together more than 100 works that trace Muholi’s groundbreaking career, illuminating a practice that seamlessly merges art and activism.

Curated by Daniele Queiroz, Thyago Nogueira, and Ana Paula Vitorio, the exhibition foregrounds Muholi’s enduring commitment to documenting and celebrating Black LGBTQIAPN+ communities in South Africa and across the globe. Through portraiture, self-representation, and visual storytelling, Muholi constructs vital archives of presence, dignity, and collective memory, challenging historical erasure while affirming the complexity of contemporary identities.

The opening programme extends the exhibition’s critical conversations through a seminar on LGBTQI+ culture in the visual arts, bringing together artists, researchers, curators, and activists to reflect on archives, representation, and cultural visibility. A special performance by singer Azula will conclude the evening’s festivities.

Hosted by MAR in partnership with the Instituto Moreira Salles, ‘Beleza Valente’ invites viewers to engage with one of the most influential artistic voices of our time. More than a retrospective, the exhibition is a celebration of courage, community, and the enduring power of seeing and being seen.

This exhibition is on view at Museu de Arte do Rio in Rio de Janeiro, until 29 November 2026.