management of independent art spaces

on Thais Rivitti, from Ateliê397

Dates: September 17, 24, October 01, 08, 15 and 17, 2026
Thursdays*
Hour: 19h to 21h
Duration: 6 meetings
Audience: general interested parties
Investment: R$ 480,00 + fees

* Except for the final meeting, which will be in person, a guided visit to Ateliê397, on Saturday from 09 am to 11 am. This meeting will not be recorded.

Online course
Live, via video conferencing platform
Recorded classes available for a limited time only
Includes certificate at the end
For Libras interpreter, request by email cursos@mam.org.br with 7 business days' notice.

What exactly is an independent art space? What is its role in the contemporary art circuit, and what possibilities does it open up for experimentation? 

Based on these questions, the course investigates the challenges of formulating and implementing a consistent and regular program capable of promoting conceptual deepening without losing openness to new demands and possibilities. It will also address the management and financing methods that make it possible to sustain this type of activity in the long term.

The universe of "independent spaces" is vast and multifaceted, bringing together projects that connect in unique ways, with diverse purposes, scales, and approaches. Valuing this wealth of possibilities, our focus will be on spaces that dare to experiment and challenge the status quo, taking Ateliê397 as inspiration, but without limiting our perspective. We will investigate what it means to be experimental today, rethink research models and support for artistic and curatorial production, always seeking funding sources that sustain lasting actions. It is along these stimulating paths that the course will tread.

This course is an invitation for those who wish to delve into the behind-the-scenes world of independent art spaces. It is especially designed for curators, artists, and producers who feel the calling to experience the independent universe, believe in the power of collective work, and dedicate themselves to the arduous, yet rewarding, construction of new forms of self-management.

Agenda

Lesson 1 – Independent, but not of everything

• A brief history of independent art spaces in the world and in Brazil. Who are we? What do we do? How do we operate? While these spaces were once seen as the seeds of galleries or museums, they have gradually acquired their own status.
• The importance of networking across spaces: strengthening a field of action. There are many ways to participate in the circuit, prompting reflection on what constitutes recognition, belonging, and legitimation.

Lesson 2 – Experimental learning in practice

• How do you shape the experimental? What does it mean to say that a program is experimental?
• Rethinking conventional formats: through examples and case studies, we will practice thinking outside the box, or the white cube. The first step in this direction is to recognize a certain internalization of protocols and conventions within the art world and question their relevance.
• Other ways of displaying art: an exhibition isn't just about paintings on the wall. Understanding art in its experimental dimension involves testing formats and other platforms and considering the space (not only the physical, but also the social and political) of an action. Other ways of writing about art and teaching it are included in the wake of these reflections.

Lesson 3 – Ways of communicating: social networks, design, exhibition design

• Who is our audience and where are they located? How do we communicate with them?
• Thinking about the identity of a space: design and visual appeal, social media presence, building a website.
• Identity in impermanence: how to work on the identity of a space that is constantly rethinking itself, that presupposes not repeating formulas and being open to the new?

Lesson 4 – Archives and Memory

• One of the biggest challenges in our work is preserving an archive of the projects we carry out. In addition to developing a program and ensuring it reaches our audience, we need to be attentive to forms of documentation that allow for a historical record of what happens in these spaces.
• How does one research the history of a place? How does one maintain an archive of years or decades of activity and offer consistent material to interested researchers? Websites, publications, and videos serve as forms of memory and archiving.

Lesson 5 – Financing and Management Mechanisms

• In this lesson, we will discuss funding strategies for independent spaces. We will start from the premise that there is no single recipe that fits every space. Funding models are related to the particularities of each proposal, the capabilities of its managers, and the political climate. The lesson will comment on and provide updates regarding some funding possibilities:
• Public notices
• Private initiative: partnerships, direct financing and sales
• Combining creativity and income: auctions, raffles, hybrid operating model (bar, space rental), crowdfunding, supporter program or friends of the space.

Lesson 6 – Guided Visit

• In this class, we will visit the physical space of Atelie397, located in the Higienópolis neighborhood, on Travessa Dona Paula, which also houses other cultural spaces. We will visit the current exhibition and talk with other members of the management team.
• The purpose of this visit is to demonstrate, in practice, how an independent art space functions. To achieve this, we will observe the building, its location in the city, accessibility issues, potential, and challenges. We will also engage with the programming and the audience, and exchange ideas with other managers.

MAM friend There's a 20% discount. Be part!
Students, teachers and retirees have a 10% discount
Doubts:
cursos@mam.org.br
WhatsApp: 11 99774 3987

By participating in this activity/event, you authorize, free of charge and permanently, the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art to use your image, voice, biographical data, and distinctive features, captured in video, audio, photography, and prints, for the purposes of recording, disseminating, and promoting the institution's activities, in any means, vehicles, supports, media, methods, and technologies, whether tangible or intangible. If you do not wish your image to be disclosed, please inform the Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo by email. cursos@mam.org.br.

credits

Image: Works by ladyletal (wall) and Mira Visuais (foreground). Photo: Érica Burini