From different perspectives and contexts, the guests of the second Southern Observatory project session, held in June at São Paulo’s Goethe-Institut, discussed political struggles and contestations of utmost relevance to the debate on the Global South, putting in check the very relevance of the meeting’s key theme. Titled Documents and Manifestos, the session focused on these issues to establish a dialogue with Neo Muyanga (South Africa), Gabi Ngcobo (South Africa) and Daniel Lima (Brazil) — researcher-artists whose works suggest a radical confrontation of status quo and a broadening of traditional worldviews. Southern Observatory is a study and debate platform that is part of the 19th Contemporary Art Festival Sesc_Videobrasil | Southern Panoramas and the Goethe-Institut’s Southern Episodes project. The Observatory featured four meetings at the Goethe’s São Paulo headquarters and Sesc Pompeia, focusing on thematic sections from the written anthology released in October 2015, as part of the 19th Festival publications, and providing input for the event’s Public Programs Seminar. The Seminars project, the publication, and the meetings were organized and curated by Sabrina Moura. Moura also played host to the Observatory meetings, with collaboration from different guest artists and researchers in each session, plus four researchers selected through an open call — Alex Flynn, Cristina Bonfiglioli, Marina Guzzo and Nathalia Lavigne — and members of the Goethe-Institut, Sesc São Paulo, and Videobrasil teams — Lorena Vicini, Patrícia Quilici, Alcimar Frazão, and Ruy Luduvice.