Lina Bo Bardi and the Popular as Pedagogy

This talk examines the relationships between art (history) and popular culture detached from modernist colonial narratives through Lina Bo Bardi’s project of a Popular University within the context of a Museum. It looks at the pedagogical project developed by the architect in Bahia, her influences and sources of inspiration, such as Anisio Teixeira's democratic education and the 19^th century project, Escola Nova. We will analyze the place of popular culture in this project and its methodological agency as proposed by Bo Bardi. Her work influenced and had important consequences for the development of contemporary art in the following decade that are still to be acknowledged and understood.