Luis Nicolau Parés: Afro-Atlantic Biographies and Geographies

The Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami will welcome anthropologist Luis Nicolau Parés for a lecture examining Afro-Brazilian cultural history and migration. The A+RC Public Lecture by Luis Nicolau Parés: Afro-Atlantic Biographies and Geographies: The Movement of Return to África by Former Enslaved People from Brazil in the Nineteenth Century takes place on Thursday, May 22.

Parés will explore how Afro-Brazilian Muslims and freed Africans, following the Malê Revolt of 1835 in Salvador, Bahia, initiated a movement to return to West Africa. Through a series of biographical sketches, the talk will highlight the motivations behind their migration and the cultural, religious and identity dynamics that shaped their resettlement.

Luis Nicolau Parés is a professor of anthropology at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) and a leading scholar on Afro-Brazilian religions and the African diaspora. His published works include The Formation of Candomblé: Vodun History and Ritual in Brazil and O Rei, o Pai e a Morte: A Religião Vodum na Antiga Costa dos Escravos na África Ocidental.

The lecture is part of ICA Miami’s Art + Research Center Spring 2025 programming and is free with RSVP.