Michele Wharton

The curatorial platform presents the exhibition “Roots in Permanence: Ancestry as Collective Future” through March 15, as part of the official São Paulo Design Week circuit, with panel discussions on contemporary design, textile art, bespoke jewelry and artificial intelligence

Praça da República, a historic address in downtown São Paulo, is hosting through March 15 the exhibition “Roots in Permanence: Ancestry as Collective Future,” presented by the curatorial platform Casa Reina as part of the official circuit of DW! São Paulo Design Week 2026, which marks the event’s 15th anniversary under the theme “Creative Legacy.” The project brings together more than 25 Afro-Latin and indigenous artists, placing furniture design, textile art, sculpture, bespoke jewelry, visual arts and technology in conversation, and asserting ancestry not as an ornamental reference but as a methodological framework for contemporary Brazilian design.

Onesto

Conceived by Michele Wharton, an Afro-Latin architect and designer of Panamanian descent, Casa Reina arrives at its second edition with a proposal that challenges the boundaries between artistic and functional objects. In its hybrid format, part exhibition and part pop-up store, the show presents works in wood, natural fibers, clay, fabrics and pigments as forms of material thinking. According to Wharton, ancestry “crosses matter, gesture, territory and narrative.” The project proposes a sensitive perspective on what sustains contemporaneity, shifting focus from the exotic to the essential.

Wesley Lemos (Estudio W+) — furniture design — and — Erik Santana (We Studio) — contemporary design object

The press and guest opening took place this Saturday, March 7, with artists available for interviews and guided tours from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The theme of the second edition speaks directly to DW! 2026’s own proposition: to reflect on the legacy of Brazilian design over the past 15 years and to chart new directions for the field. For the organizers, repositioning Afro-Latin and indigenous traditions as foundations of the country’s material culture represents both an assertion of identity and a critical stance on the future of national production.

Programming structured around thematic clusters

In addition to the main exhibition, open to the public from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily, Casa Reina has organized a series of panel discussions running from March 13 through 15, structured around three curatorial axes: Matter as Language, Technology, and Synthesis. On Friday, March 13, at 4:30 p.m., the talk “Weaving Permanences: Textile Art, Body and Territory in Contemporary Design” opens the series. At 6 p.m., the second panel of the day addresses “Structures of Permanence: Furniture Design, Territory and Living Matter.”

Giovanna Arruda — textile sculpture, natural fibers — and — Anna Zeferino — textile work exploring body and territory

On Saturday, March 14, the schedule intensifies with three sessions across the afternoon. At 2:30 p.m., “Permanence in Transmutation: Sculpture, Body and Territory in Contemporary Art”; at 4 p.m., “Permanence at an Intimate Scale: Bespoke Jewelry, Body and Contemporary Narrative”; and at 5:30 p.m., “Image in Permanence: Visual Arts, Narrative and Territory in Contemporaneity.” On Sunday, March 15, the Technology and Synthesis axis closes the programming with two discussions: “Digital Permanences: Bodies, Representation and Power in the Age of AI,” at 2:30 p.m., and “Permanence in Process: Creation, Matter and Narratives in Contemporary Design,” at 4 p.m.

A broad roster and diverse practices

Andressa Oliveira — visual arts and contemporary narrative — and — Alex Rocca — painting exploring ancestral cosmologies.

The exhibition brings together artists from a wide range of creative fields. Participating designers include Brenda Guimarães (Bekka Studio), Pietro Oliveira (Caboco), Everton Souza (Dende), Erik Bonnisato (Bonni Design), Erik Santana (We Studio), Giovanna Arruda, Igor Lima, Julia Nogueira (Off Brasilis), Rogerio Guilherme (Lama Artéria), Wesley Lemos (Estudio W+) and Zé Earns. In the visual arts, participants include Alex Rocca, Andressa Oliveira, Anna Zeferino, Ciro Schu, Diogo Noque, Elias Ficavontade, Fabricio D’Art, Gabriella Marinho, Gabriel Oliveira, Junior Next, Mayara Amaral, Negana Pereira, Ogbá, Onesto, Rhay and Wagner Santé.

The fashion and accessories segment features Dih Morais, Malcom Reis (Tateno), Marcita Amores (Sembra Tropical), Paul Rikes (Rosa Rikes) and Taty Cheung (Truc de Fou). Photography and technology are represented by Alexander Wharton, Lucio Telles and Rafael Gerardo. The panel discussions are moderated by Dayse Pellegrini and Jorge Felipe, with overall production coordinated by Luiza Tamashiro. The platform is supported by Inflow as its empowered partner.

Research between Panama and contemporary Brazil

Michele Wharton’s research, which anchors Casa Reina conceptually, moves across architecture, design and textile art, with a focus on the visual patterning of the Guna Dule indigenous culture of Panama, reinterpreted through a contemporary lens. Her practice grounds the platform’s broader proposition: to affirm ancestry as an active force in the construction of possible futures, rather than as passive heritage or a decorative element.

Casa Reina’s presence at DW! 2026 also speaks to a growing tendency in the design and applied arts fields: the recognition of non-Eurocentric knowledge systems as sources of innovation. By occupying Praça da República, a symbolic public space in the heart of the city, the platform reaffirms the collective and accessible character of its proposal, drawing the design circuit closer to a wider audience beyond specialists and collectors.

DW! São Paulo Design Week is one of Latin America’s leading design events. Now in its 15th edition, the event activates spaces across the city under the theme Creative Legacy, celebrating past trajectories and charting new directions for Brazilian design. Casa Reina joins the official circuit as one of the initiatives most directly challenging the field on questions of identity, territory and representation, issues that carry renewed urgency in the current moment.

INFORMATION

Exhibition: Roots in Permanence: Ancestry as Collective Future
Organizer: Casa Reina | Powered by: Inflow | DW! São Paulo Design Week 2026
Dates: March 5–15, 2026 | Hours: 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Praça da República, 36, São Paulo
Instagram: @casarreina | @michelewarthon