Launch of the 1st Meeting of the Legendaries at Kunstinstituut Melly

Saturday 12 September 2026
11 am–1:30 pm

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For the occasion of Open Monument Day, we will launch a new edition of The Legendaries, an ongoing project by artist Cinthia Marcelle, realized for the Draw Withdraw Redraw exhibition at Kunstinstituut Melly on Saturday, 12 September 2026, from 11:00 to 13:30.

The Legendaries emerged in 2008 from a reflection on the Centro Cultural São Paulo (CCSP), one of São Paulo’s oldest public cultural institutions. The project took shape from the democratic character of the institution and the way it extended beyond simply hosting artistic projects. As the institution became a place for people to meet, spend time together, and share experiences, it led to the question of how a public institution is formed.

Reflecting on this question, Cinthia became interested in activating the memories and collective imagination of the people who worked there, trying to understand and record the paths of those who, in different ways, had contributed to building and sustaining the institution over time.

The Legendaries begins with an agreement between the artist and the institution, based on a relationship of trust. The idea is for the institution to formally recognize 14 legendaries, who were nominated from a process of gathering names that remain alive in the memory of those who are part of the institution and those who have formed various relationships with the institution.

The number 14 is not random. The project takes the form of a collective photograph inspired by an image taken by Hermann Landshoff in 1942. The photograph features artists and other influential figures from the cultural scene, mostly European artists who were exiled in New York, gathering together in a collective portrait.

From this reference, The Legendaries shifts the focus towards people who are often missing from official narratives, but whose presence was essential to the construction and continuity of institutions. Rather than creating a definitive list, the project seeks to keep alive the memory of a collective construction and to encourage reflections on the importance of continuously returning to the foundations that make an institution what it is.

The latest edition, the 1st Meeting of the Legendaries at Kunstinstituut Melly, brings together individuals who have developed a relationship with the institution over the past 36 years, including collaborators, artists, curators, board members, technicians, staff, and members of the public. The project highlights the many relationships, stories, and shared histories that have shaped our institution, renamed Kunstinstituut Melly in 2021.