Abstract
In this unpublished interview held by the Fórum Permanente IEA-USP on December 17, 2009, Walter Zanini, historian, art critic, curator and cultural manager, talks about his international training in the Visual Arts; his experience as a lecturer at Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas da USP, Escola de Comunicações e Artes da USP and Fundação Alvaro Penteado; as well as his role in the constitution and development of the conceptual and curatorial bases of the Museu de Arte Contemporânea da USP, the first contemporary art museum in the world, during his tenure as director (1963-1978). He also recalls his role as curator of two International Art Biennials of São Paulo in the early 1980s that transformed the epistemological matrix of this event, which is a centrality in the contemporary art system in Brazil.
Keywords: Art education and training; Contemporary art; Art museum; Biennial; Curating