On October 13, 2026, at 4 p.m., we will open the doors of Julio Villani's Museu da Memória (Museum of Memory). The installation becomes part of the Usina de Arte collection.
The work grew out of Villani's conversations with people who hold memories of and ties to the old mill. During his artist residency, he explored the industrial spaces, spoke with residents and former workers, researched archives, and, through these exchanges, began to shape the idea of the Museum of Memory. Machines, tools, objects, and remnants found around the Usina came to be seen not only as pieces of an industrial past, but as bearers of memories.
The result occupies the former sugar warehouse. A range of objects and machinery from the old mill were selected, removed from their original uses, and given new meaning by Villani, creating new relationships between memory and the present.
The installation also includes words and phrases found on the walls and structures of the old warehouse, as well as inscriptions left on objects over the years. Among them are traces of different moments in the life of Usina de Arte itself, including phrases that emerged from recent workshops and educational activities. Past and present thus come to share the same space.
The choice of the former sugar warehouse is an essential part of the work. A place that for decades was a space of labor, production, and community life now houses a creation that looks to the past without trying to close it off.
In Julio Villani's practice, everyday elements are often transformed to create new relationships and meanings. There is also a playful side to his work, a game with objects and their possibilities, which invites the public to look at what is familiar in a different way. At the Usina, this process found a territory rich in memories, objects, and stories that remain present in the daily lives of those who live and work here.
With the Museum of Memory, Villani invites each visitor to look at this place anew and to see how what has passed can still find new meaning in the present.
Opening
The opening is open to the public and will be attended by the artist Julio Villani, Usina de Arte's curator Marc Pottier, and the project's founders, Bruna and Ricardo Pessôa de Queiroz.
Museu da Memória
October 13, 2026 | 4 p.m.
Former sugar warehouse, Usina de Arte
Água Preta, Pernambuco
