Temperature Check: São Paulo Cultural Stewardship Experience

Our Temperature Check initiative debuted in São Paulo with a week-long collectors’ trip organized in partnership with 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Latitude Brazil, and Cutuca Projetos Culturais. ISE-DA and 1-54’s decision to join forces reflected our organizations’ aligned missions of championing African and diasporic art and cultivating new generations of collectors.

A Week of Intentional Exploration

With a schedule that centered the voices of Afro-Brazilian artists, curators, and professionals, this advisory tour coincided with the 36th São Paulo Bienal, curated by Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung.

The curated program included:

• Artist Studio Visits

• Gallery Visits: Mitre Gallery, Karla Osario

• Private Collection and Museum Tours: Pinacoteca and MASP

• Residency Visits: YBYTU, Casa Onze, Domo Damo

• Guided Tours of the Bienal

• Group convenings and more.

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.

Scroll below for images and testimonials.