When Memories Collide: ‘Favela Climate Memory’ Exhibition Launched by Rio de Janeiro’s Sustainable Favela Network [VIDEO]

The Vila Autódromo favela used to occupy a much larger area on the edge of the Jacarepaguá Lagoon and Rio’s former racetrack. With a history marked by housing rights battles and resistance, Vila Autódromo is now home to the Evictions Museum—a community museum founded in 2016 following the forced eviction of hundreds of families in the period leading up to the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. Today, only a few houses and the São José Operário church remain. The Evictions Museum was founded there in 2016 with the mission of keeping alive the memory of communities threatened with eviction.

It is thus not by chance that the Evictions Museum was selected as the location to launch the Favela Climate Memory exhibition. The launch event featured a variety of activities encouraging reflection, discussion, and celebration of favela resistance experiences. On arrival, visitors could view five banners with a brief summary of the climate memory circles carried out by five favela museums.