CONSTRUCTION, OCCUPATION
4 May 2025 - 11 January 2025
Fowler Museum, Los Angeles, US
The Fowler Museum at UCLA is proud to announce Construction, Occupation, a major collective exhibition examining the intersections of art, activism, and social justice through the lens of urban transformation. On view from May 4, 2025 to January 11, 2026, the exhibition brings together 24 artists and collectives—primarily from Brazil—whose radical vocabulary challenges conventional boundaries between art and activism.
Curated by Associate Professor Alex Ungprateeb Flynn (UCLA’s Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance) and São Paulo-based independent curators Juliana Caffé and Yudi Rafael, Construction, Occupation highlights the power of creative resistance, drawing direct connections between São Paulo and Los Angeles. The exhibition revisits and extends the groundbreaking 2016-17 “Cambridge Artistic Residency” (CARe) in downtown São Paulo, where an abandoned 17-story hotel was occupied by low-wage workers, refugees, and artists, ultimately leading to its transformation into government-funded social housing and a vibrant cultural hub. At the Fowler, the exhibition features photography, video, and installations from the original CARe residency alongside newly commissioned works, offering a compelling visual narrative of collective action, protest, and the radical potential of artistic practice to reimagine the urban landscape.
“Construction, Occupation examines art’s potential to shape the spaces in which we live, presenting a radical urban vocabulary that blurs the boundaries between art and activism,” says co-curator Alex Ungprateeb Flynn. “By linking São Paulo’s history of occupation-based social change with the urgent housing crises in Los Angeles, Construction, Occupation proposes new models of resistance and collective action to reclaim space and advocate for social justice.”
Participating artists include Raphael Escobar, Julián Fuks, Jaime Lauriano, Ícaro Lira, Virginia de Medeiros, Edgar Calel, Dulcinéia Catadora, Explode!, JAMAC, Rosa Gauditano, André Komatsu, Cinthia Marcelle, Bijari, Grupo Contrafilé, Noara Quintana, Frente 3 de Fevereiro, Preta Ferreira, Sato do Brasil, Cozinha Nove de Julho, and others.
"Bringing Construction, Occupation to the Fowler aligns with our commitment to presenting exhibitions that challenge perspectives and foster meaningful dialogue on global social issues," says Silvia Forni, Shirley & Ralph Shapiro Director of the Fowler Museum.
"By showcasing the intersection of art and activism, this exhibition highlights the transformative power of community-driven artistic practices and invites visitors to reconsider the role of public space in shaping equitable cities."
Exhibition Themes and Highlights
The exhibition is structured around three principal themes: Infrastructure and Vulnerability, Segregation and Circulation, and The Body in Public Space. Many artworks relate to key moments of housing justice movements in São Paulo, from the Prestes Maia occupation in the 2000s to the Cambridge Hotel occupation and the ongoing 9 de Julho Occupation, which today houses over one-hundred families. By engaging with these communities of resistance, Construction, Occupation invites visitors to reflect on how urban spaces can be reimagined through collective action.
Public Programs and Community Engagement
In keeping with the participatory nature of the original residency, Construction, Occupation features a robust lineup of artist-driven public programs, roundtable discussions, and film screenings, in partnership with local organizations and advocacy groups addressing housing justice. Related programming includes:
What is a Landmark? Food, Storytelling, Music and Cartonera Construction with the Cartonera Santanera Collective
Saturday, April 26, 2–4pm
Opening Celebration: Construction, Occupation
Saturday, May 3, 6-9pm
Artist Conversations: Raphael Escobar
Tuesday, May 6, 2025, 7–9pm
Off-site; Skid Row History Museum & Archive
Roundtable: Contemporary Art and Society in Brazil
Friday, May 16, 7–9pm
Lunch & Learn: Juliana Caffe
Monday, June 2, 2–2:30pm
Discussion: The Global Struggle for Housing Justice
Saturday, December 6, 12–1pm (PST)
Photography by Angel Xotlanihua and Elon Schoenholz
Fowler Museum, Los Angeles, US
The Fowler Museum at UCLA is proud to announce Construction, Occupation, a major collective exhibition examining the intersections of art, activism, and social justice through the lens of urban transformation. On view from May 4, 2025 to January 11, 2026, the exhibition brings together 24 artists and collectives—primarily from Brazil—whose radical vocabulary challenges conventional boundaries between art and activism.
Curated by Associate Professor Alex Ungprateeb Flynn (UCLA’s Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance) and São Paulo-based independent curators Juliana Caffé and Yudi Rafael, Construction, Occupation highlights the power of creative resistance, drawing direct connections between São Paulo and Los Angeles. The exhibition revisits and extends the groundbreaking 2016-17 “Cambridge Artistic Residency” (CARe) in downtown São Paulo, where an abandoned 17-story hotel was occupied by low-wage workers, refugees, and artists, ultimately leading to its transformation into government-funded social housing and a vibrant cultural hub. At the Fowler, the exhibition features photography, video, and installations from the original CARe residency alongside newly commissioned works, offering a compelling visual narrative of collective action, protest, and the radical potential of artistic practice to reimagine the urban landscape.
“Construction, Occupation examines art’s potential to shape the spaces in which we live, presenting a radical urban vocabulary that blurs the boundaries between art and activism,” says co-curator Alex Ungprateeb Flynn. “By linking São Paulo’s history of occupation-based social change with the urgent housing crises in Los Angeles, Construction, Occupation proposes new models of resistance and collective action to reclaim space and advocate for social justice.”
Participating artists include Raphael Escobar, Julián Fuks, Jaime Lauriano, Ícaro Lira, Virginia de Medeiros, Edgar Calel, Dulcinéia Catadora, Explode!, JAMAC, Rosa Gauditano, André Komatsu, Cinthia Marcelle, Bijari, Grupo Contrafilé, Noara Quintana, Frente 3 de Fevereiro, Preta Ferreira, Sato do Brasil, Cozinha Nove de Julho, and others.
"Bringing Construction, Occupation to the Fowler aligns with our commitment to presenting exhibitions that challenge perspectives and foster meaningful dialogue on global social issues," says Silvia Forni, Shirley & Ralph Shapiro Director of the Fowler Museum.
"By showcasing the intersection of art and activism, this exhibition highlights the transformative power of community-driven artistic practices and invites visitors to reconsider the role of public space in shaping equitable cities."
Exhibition Themes and Highlights
The exhibition is structured around three principal themes: Infrastructure and Vulnerability, Segregation and Circulation, and The Body in Public Space. Many artworks relate to key moments of housing justice movements in São Paulo, from the Prestes Maia occupation in the 2000s to the Cambridge Hotel occupation and the ongoing 9 de Julho Occupation, which today houses over one-hundred families. By engaging with these communities of resistance, Construction, Occupation invites visitors to reflect on how urban spaces can be reimagined through collective action.
Public Programs and Community Engagement
In keeping with the participatory nature of the original residency, Construction, Occupation features a robust lineup of artist-driven public programs, roundtable discussions, and film screenings, in partnership with local organizations and advocacy groups addressing housing justice. Related programming includes:
What is a Landmark? Food, Storytelling, Music and Cartonera Construction with the Cartonera Santanera Collective
Saturday, April 26, 2–4pm
Opening Celebration: Construction, Occupation
Saturday, May 3, 6-9pm
Artist Conversations: Raphael Escobar
Tuesday, May 6, 2025, 7–9pm
Off-site; Skid Row History Museum & Archive
Roundtable: Contemporary Art and Society in Brazil
Friday, May 16, 7–9pm
Lunch & Learn: Juliana Caffe
Monday, June 2, 2–2:30pm
Discussion: The Global Struggle for Housing Justice
Saturday, December 6, 12–1pm (PST)
Photography by Angel Xotlanihua and Elon Schoenholz
auflynn [at] arts.ucla.edu
Alex Ungprateeb Flynn is an Associate Professor at the Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, University of California, Los Angeles. Working as an anthropologist and curator, Alex’s practice explores the intersection of ethnographic and curatorial modes of enquiry. Researching collaboratively with activists, curators and artists in Brazil since 2007, Alex explores the prefigurative potential of art in community contexts, prompting the theorisation of fields such as the production of knowledge, the pluriversal, and the social and aesthetic dimensions of form.