About us

The Favela Museum has as its main collection the residents of the Cantagalo, Pavão and Pavãozinho (PPG) favela, located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro. These residents are the protagonists of all the museum’s activities, with their memories, ways of life, artistic expressions and their means of survival. For this reason, all of the museum’s communication involves promoting actions with these residents, such as the Illustrious Ancestors exhibition (the old-timers tell their memories of the favela, based on their family memories, urban transformations, etc.); the Warrior Women exhibitions (testimonies from the favela’s women, their daily struggles, their perspectives and their memories inserted into the collective memory).

The museum has an operational base on the fourth floor of CIEP João Goulart, which hosts exhibitions, events, craft workshops, therapeutic workshops and a community vegetable garden, primarily aimed at its residents. However, the entire territory of the favela is musealized. For this reason, the MUF has built a circuit of screen houses in the alleys of the favela, portraying the memory of the community, its migratory past, its expressions, etc. These houses were painted by local graffiti artists and the themes were chosen through mediation with the residents of the houses themselves.