Marielle Franco’s Life and Legacy: Intersectional Dialogue through Artivism

This research examines the life and legacy of Brazilian activist and city councilwoman Marielle Franco, who was assassinated in 2018 and became a global symbol of resistance. Focusing on her posthumous legacy of artivism in museum spaces in Rio de Janeiro and beyond, this thesis analyzes how activists in the Global South have been influenced by Franco’s legacy. Using an intersectional critical pedagogy framework, the project argues that the way Franco’s posthumous impact transformed museum spaces mirrors how the political sphere of Rio de Janeiro was changed by her life’s actions. I examine artivism in Nairobi to explore how this transnational dialogue sparked conversations about shared marginalizations in museum spaces in Rio.I conducted semi-structured interviews with scholars, friends of Franco, and museum affiliates. This research contributes to literature connecting Franco’s activism with her legacy and to limited research on the transnational diffusion of intersectional dialogue.