Holidays in SP: exhibitions, plays, and movies to check out in January

The holidays in SP tend to reveal a city at a different pace — less hurried, more open to tranquility. With part of the audience away and an active cultural programming, the month of January becomes suitable for exploring exhibitions, watching plays, and discovering new films.

Among museums, theaters, and cinemas, the season brings together national and international productions that broaden the perspective on art, memory, and behavior. These are projects that invite reflection without giving up sensitive experience, creating connections between past, present, and future — and showing that even far from traditional travel, holidays in SP can be a powerful invitation to encounter culture!

Exhibitions

Clarissa Tossin: Point of No Return

This is the first solo exhibition of Clarissa Tossin in a Brazilian institution, bringing together works produced between 2008 and the present day, as well as previously unseen works commissioned by MASP. Based in Los Angeles, the artist develops research that spans installations, sculptures, textiles, and moving images, exploring the impacts of global warming using materials associated with consumer society, such as recycled plastics, Amazon latex, and delivery boxes from Amazon.

• When: Until February 1

• Where: MASP (Av. Paulista, 1578 - Bela Vista)

Weaving Stories

The exhibition celebrates almost two decades of activity of the Rendeiras da Aldeia. This is a group of women from Carapicuíba who, since 2006, preserve and promote Renda Renascença, a tradition mainly brought from Pernambuco and Paraíba. The exhibition highlights collective making as a cultural and affective practice, as well as the group's relationship with the Cavalo-Marinho festival — locally recreated as the "Boizinho da Aldeia" — connecting memory, identity, and contemporary creation.

• When: Until February 1

• Where: Museu A CASA (Av. Pedroso de Morais, 1216 - Pinheiros)

Gordon Parks – I Am America

The retrospective features about 200 works by the photographer, including images produced between the 1940s and 1970s, along with films, periodicals, and books. The collection documents the history of the black population in the United States, traversing from civil rights movements to everyday scenes, with emblematic portraits of figures such as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and Muhammad Ali, as well as series dedicated to childhood and everyday life.

• When: Until March 1

• Where: IMS Paulista (Av. Paulista, 2424 - Bela Vista)

Subterranean Waters: Narratives of Confluences

Initially presented in France, between May and September 2025, and now in Brazil, the collective exhibition unfolds in two stages to gather perspectives from contemporary artists about rivers and the cultural, historical, and projects layers that run through them. Structured as an imaginary dialogue between the Charente river and São Paulo waterways such as the Tietê, the exhibition brings together works by twelve French and Brazilian artists who reflect on water scarcity, colonial and extractive legacies, urban infrastructure, and possible scenarios in the face of climate change.

• When: Until March 8

• Where: Instituto Tomie Ohtake (R. Coropés, 88 - Pinheiros)

Minerva Cuevas: Social Ecology

The largest solo exhibition of the artist ever held in Brazil, it brings together 42 works produced over nearly three decades. The exhibition closes the annual cycle Stories of Ecology, dedicated to investigating the relationships between projects, politics, and ways of life, and proposes a critical reading of how the environmental crisis is directly linked to social structures. Curated by André Mesquita, the exhibition route highlights the use of global consumption symbols to reveal inequalities, economic tensions, and disputes over natural resources.

• When: Until April 12

• Where: MASP (Av. Paulista, 1578 - Bela Vista)

Plays

Two of Us

The comedy "Two of Us" brings together the iconic Antonio Fagundes and Christiane Torloni, in their first encounter on stage, alongside Thiago Fragoso and Alexandra Martins. Written by Gustavo Pinheiro and directed by José Possi Neto, the play follows two couples from different generations who meet in a hotel room, where seemingly trivial conversations give way to the revelation of secrets, conflicts, and affections. Between humor and emotion, the plot constructs a game of truths and lies that provokes twists and transforms the lives of the four characters.

• When: From January 15 to February 22

• Times: Thursday and Friday at 9:00 PM, Saturday at 8:00 PM, Sunday at 5:00 PM

• Where: TUCA / PUC-SP (Rua Monte Alegre, 1024 - Perdizes)

A Very Special Day

Directed by Alexandre Reinecke, "A Very Special Day" adapts the classic of Italian cinema and articulates a sensitive reflection on love, prejudice, and transformation. Starring Reynaldo Gianecchini and Maria Casadevall, the story takes place in Rome on May 6, 1938, while Mussolini and Hitler celebrate their alliance in a grand fascist parade. On the margins of this historical event, Antonietta, a housewife prevented from leaving due to domestic obligations, crosses paths with Gabriele, her recently fired neighbor persecuted for being gay. The encounter gives rise to a deep bond, capable of transforming both in just one day.

• When: From January 10 to February 15

• Times: Saturdays at 7 PM, and Sundays at 6 PM

• Where: Teatro Bradesco (Rua Palestra Itália, nº 500 • Loja 263 • 3° Floor)

Films

The Maid

Based on the bestseller by Freida McFadden, "The Maid" follows Millie Calloway (Sydney Sweeney), a young woman seeking a fresh start who begins working at the home of Nina (Amanda Seyfried) and Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar), a millionaire couple surrounded by impeccable appearances. What starts as a promising opportunity soon reveals to be a tense experience, as Millie discovers that the dark secrets of the family she works for are more dangerous than the past she is trying to hide.

• Release date: January 1

Hamnet: The Life Before Hamlet

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In "Hamnet: The Life Before Hamlet", the narrative recreates the pain experienced by William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes, after the death of their 11-year-old son, victim of the epidemics of the 16th century. The fictional story is led through Agnes's perspective, who shapes mourning, memory, and family domestic life in a small English village, exploring the layers of love, loss, and survival that pervade everyday life and help understand the emotional origin of Hamlet's work.

• Release date: January 15

Marty Supreme

The plot of "Marty Supreme" follows the rise of Marty Reisman (Timothée Chalamet) to become a legend in table tennis in the United States, accumulating over 22 titles and the feat of being the oldest national champion in the sport. Set in 1950s New York, the film depicts his refusal to accept a limited life, the ambition that drives him to break rules and challenge disbeliefs, and the price paid for a trajectory marked by victories, excesses, and rivalries.

• Release date: January 22