Entertainment · Books & Arts · 4 hrs ago
Masp exhibition examines US influence on Puerto Rico
Puerto Rican artist Pablo Delano has opened an exhibition at Masp, the Museum of Art of São Paulo in Brazil.
Called “The Museum of the Old Colony,” it builds a mock museum inside Masp to examine US influence over Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico is described as a “free associated state” under the US government, and the exhibition looks at the island’s history of subordination and imported American culture.
Delano uses photographs, toys, food products and other objects to show how images and everyday things can reinforce colonial stereotypes about Puerto Ricans.
The displays also point to modern ways ideas spread, including social media and artificial intelligence, which Delano says can reproduce dominant viewpoints.
The exhibition’s aim is to make decolonial struggle tangible and to challenge how museums tell stories about the Caribbean.
Masp in São Paulo is showing Puerto Rican artist Pablo Delano’s installation “The Museum of the Old Colony,” which examines US influence on Puerto Rico.
The installation creates the impression of a secret office where the United States watches the island.
It uses historical images, toys, everyday objects and other displays to question colonial narratives and stereotypes.
Curator Fernando Oliva describes the project as both parasitic and viral because it appropriates the museum’s structures and seeks to spread new ideas about museums.
Delano says the installation gives the decolonial struggle a physical form.
- Who
- Puerto Rican artist Pablo Delano created the installation. Masp is showing it, and Fernando Oliva is its curator.
- What
- The Museum of the Old Colony” examines US influence on Puerto Rico through an installation that challenges colonial narratives.
- When
- It was on view when Folha published its article on November 9, 2026. The exhibition dates are not stated.
- Where
- The Museum of Art of São Paulo, or Masp, in São Paulo, Brazil.
- Why
- Delano uses the installation to examine colonial influence and stereotypes and to give the decolonial struggle a physical form.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
This story does not have a timeline yet.
- Artist
- Pablo Delano
- Exhibition
- The Museum of the Old Colony
- Venue
- Masp, São Paulo
- Curator
- Fernando Oliva
- Article publication
- November 9, 2026
What people are saying
It is a project that acts both as a parasite and as a virus.
Sometimes this new type of colonization also comes from sources that define themselves as anticolonial or progressive.
Artificial intelligence, which relies on dominant data when processing prompts, is complicit in this process.
Giving the decolonial struggle a physical form allows it to move from the theoretical plane to a concrete, tangible and visceral one.