Notícias de América (News from America) is a long-duration performance created by Paulo Nazareth between 2011 and 2012, in which the artist traveled on foot and by bus from Governador Valadares (Minas Gerais, Brazil) to the United States, with New York City as his destination. Instead of taking conventional air transportation, Nazareth carried out the journey primarily by walking. The route lasted approximately one year, crossing dozens of cities and countries across the Americas.

The performance is defined by the act of walking and by the accumulation of experiences and records gathered along the way. Nazareth conceived the project as a form of “residency in transit,” in which displacement becomes both method and artwork. Throughout the journey, he documented encounters, landscapes, objects, texts, and photographs, creating an archive that reflects the social, cultural, and political relations encountered during the route.

The artist also inscribed the journey onto his own body—particularly through his feet—by refusing to wash his shoes during the entire trip. The dust and marks collected along the way remained visible until he reached his destination, where he finally washed them in the Hudson River. This gesture emphasized the direct relationship between body and territory.

Notícias de América critically addresses the geographic and social borders between the Global South and the North of the American continent, making visible multiple temporalities and lived experiences encountered during the journey. The project was documented through diaries, photographs, videos, drawings, and collected objects, presenting a layered view of the Americas and the histories that connect them.

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Sources: Revista Pernambuco, Piseagrama, Latin American Notice (blog), Mendes Wood DM Gallery.