New Fio d'Água exhibition highlights embroideries by Boi da Floresta and possible futures for the oceans

As a result of the artistic residency of French women Elsa Mroziewicz and Cécile Palusinski at the Vale Maranhão Cultural Center in 2024, Fio d’Água offers the public a journey through six imaginary floating cities, created based on real references and innovative solutions around the world.

Inspired by contexts such as Taiwan, Northeastern Brazil, Strasbourg (France), Miami (United States), India, Morocco and Tunisia, these cities offer resilient alternatives in the face of the impacts of human activities on the oceans. More than fictional scenarios, they reveal concrete possibilities for a sustainable future. Elsa Mroziewicz and Cécile Palusinski, creators and curators of the exhibition, comment more on:

“These floating cities are real and poetic spaces that combine ecological solutions and imaginary narratives, nourished by mythology linked to water. They are great augmented reality sound frames that allow us to discover innovations, with the underlying idea of creating bridges between art and science.”

Throughout the exhibition, the visitor is invited to delve into the daily life of these territories through a captain’s logbook, video interviews and reports from scientists, architects and fishing communities, expanding their view of real initiatives that already point out paths of transformation.

One of the highlights of the exhibition is the participation of embroiderers from Bumba Meu Boi da Floresta by Mestre Apolônio, in São Luís, who directly contributed to the visual construction of the work. Its embroideries, steeped in tradition, popular knowledge and Maranhão identity, integrate the narrative of the exhibition and connect the local public to this global imaginary.

The Fio d’Água exhibition will take place at the Vale Maranhão Cultural Center starting on March 31, 2026, open to the public and free access, from Tuesday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.