Temperature Check: São Paulo Cultural Stewardship Experience

A Week of Intentional Exploration

Temperature Check's inaugural Patron Research Program brought a curated group of Black patrons to São Paulo in September 2025, during the 36th São Paulo Biennial, curated by Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, and the Rotas Brasileiras art fairs. The program was developed in partnership with 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Latitude: Platform for Brazilian Galleries, and Cutuca Projetos Culturais.

Over one week, participants engaged directly with Afro-Brazilian artists, curators, gallerists, and cultural leaders — moving through studio visits, private collection tours, residency visits, and guided engagement with the Biennial. Venues included Pinacoteca, MASP, Mitre Gallery, Karla Osorio, and residencies YBYTU, Casa Onze, and Domo Damo. Programming was built around direct access to practitioners shaping São Paulo's contemporary art ecosystem, structured to position participants as active contributors to cross-diasporic cultural exchange.

Cultivating Cross-Generational Connections

We invited a group of 10 Black emerging collectors, while 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair convened 17 international established collectors and patrons. Together, participants engaged with Afro-Brazilian professionals, patrons, and cultural leaders during a moment of vibrant artistic activity.

By bringing together established collectors and a new generation of Black collectors, the initiative cultivated collaboration, interplay of perspectives, and dynamic conversations that continue to shape the global contemporary art and collecting landscape.
We are deeply thankful to our partners, 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair and Latitude. We are equally grateful to the Brazilian galleries, artists, institutions, and professionals whose contributions made this initiative such a success.

Continuing the Journey

The connections, conversations, and creative exchanges sparked by this trip are just the beginning. Building on these experiences, we aim to strengthen our commitment to the cultural stewardship of Black contemporary art and to deepening collaborations across the African diasporic art ecosystem through Temperature Check as a research initiative. Upcoming program will expand opportunities for emerging voices, amplify the visibility of African diasporic artists, and cultivate networks of Black collectors to ensure the long-term sustainability of these artistic practices.

More than a one-time activation, Temperature Check is a long-term cultural strategy tool — tracking and amplifying the growth of Black cultural production and patronage globally.

We invite you to follow along as we expand ISE-DA’s mission to promote diasporic patronage.

We look forward to the research, fostering dialogue, and sustaining a vibrant, inclusive global art landscape rooted in the richness of Black contemporary creativity.

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