The X São Paulo Bienal, one of the world’s most prestigious international art events, was scheduled for September 1969 with official participation by the United States. Click here to read correspondence between the American Consul in São Paulo and Francisco Matarazzo, the president of the Bienal Foundation, regarding plans for American participation in the event. The U.S. entry was to be organized and assembled by the Smithsonian Institution in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Click here to read the announcement from György Kepes that M.I.T.’s Center for Advanced Arts would be directing the design and construction of the U.S. entry.

Soon, however, several artists scheduled to exhibit their work in São Paulo began to call for a boycott of the Bienal, in response to the Brazilian government’s increasingly repressive tactics. Click here to read a short bio and interview with Hans Haacke, who led the effort among American artists to boycott the exhibition.

Click here to read a letter from György Kepes to artists, urging them to participate in the X São Paulo Bienal, and the reply from artist John Goodyear.