Snakes, spirits and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry: São Paulo Biennial makes defiant stand in Brazil’s culture wars

As the Bolsonaro government stokes divisions, the art festival offers a pointedly diverse and inclusive programme, including sculptures by the late dub reggae legend

When fire devastated the National Museum in Brazil in 2018, one of the few objects to be found intact among the smouldering ruins was the St Luisa meteorite. While the Rio de Janeiro museum is still being rebuilt, the black rock, around a metre in length, is the star exhibit of the Sao Paulo Biennial, which opened at the weekend.

The exhibition, now in its 70th year, is the second oldest of its kind. After the Venice Biennale, it is regarded as one of the most important events in the art world calendar.