Introduction
You become even more Brazilian once you leave Brazil. At the beginning of the new Millennium, being Brazilian in London was very attractive. The culture at the time was open, welcoming and curious about exotic colourful wanderers, their stories and what positive could be brought into the boiling pot.
Situation
Living in a housing cooperative at the time, there were many opportunities to build relationships with people from all over the world. The large Brazilian community in London was itself diverse, with multiple motivations for bringing people to England, including professionals, students and workers that aimed to help their families financially from abroad. Being Brazilian allowed me to start incredible conversations about the reasons to leave Brazil, the music appreciated worldwide, the modernist art exhibited in the London galleries at the time, the Brazilian film nominated for the Oscars of Best Director, the recently won World Cup and more. Brazil was thriving economically, politically, and artistically and there was a draw into the success and the hosting of the upcoming World Cup and Olympic Games a few years down the line.
Task
Thinking about what it could be done for Brazil whilst being abroad, the idea was to create an opportunity for cultural exchange escaping cultural stereotyping and skipping the same old carnival, football, sex and corruption. The question was: Could an event help the world community available in London, get to know alternative Brazilian culture? Could this event be a study of Brazilians’ artistic expressions when abroad in contrast to expressions of foreign artists inspired by Brazil? Could this project be an opportunity for the exchange and integration of the Brazilian community in London?
Action
Phase 1: Testing
Braziliality (meaning the translation of Brazilidade – a way to be Brazilian or personally defined as Brazilian reality) as it was first called, was a monthly exhibition that began in the basement of a cafe in Soho. This interesting space had a full-spec cinema room as well as a tiny exhibition space. For the first three months, we looked for artists to take part, and quickly after, we were contacted by artists wanting to join. The opening nights were exciting, with a mixed-growing audience every month. In D’Arblay Street, we put together 24 Exhibitions presenting the work of 76 artists between July 2008 and July 2010 until the cafe closed down. The next partner to exhibit and extend our opening nights into musical events was the iconic Made in Brasil restaurant and club in Camden Town for 7 more exhibitions in 2011 and one live event of spoken word, ZAP. Next, we partnered with Floripa, which formerly operated the legendary Favela Chic, a restaurant and club in the heart of Old Street for 8 more exhibitions in 2012. We brought art and typical food together, intending to become ever more immersive. The idea to have a fixed gallery and events space was not financially viable at the time.
In 2011 in preparation for the 2012 London Olympic Games, we ran an event at the Hackney Wicked Festival at Forman’s Smokehouse grounds in the trendy Hackney Wick by the canal across the Stadium in the Olympic Park. The ‘I am Braziliality’ event aimed to create a link with Brazil being the next host to the Olympic games showing the Brazilian identity through artistic expression. The event mark a next stage for the organisation aiming to expand the events into larger exhibitions in multiple venues. The show presented 41 projects including artists, collectives and initiatives. We proudly commissioned one of the largest street artworks in London at the time, a collaboration between Milo Tchais, Stik and Prozac measuring 600 sq meters.
Phase 2: Diverting the attention
Braziliarty, a new brand making it easier for foreigners to pronounciate and remember, the project became a social enterprise (CIC) committed to promoting Brazilian arts and culture, creating events that showcase the reality of Brazil.
In 2012 celebrating the Olympics in London and the anticipation of the next Olympics coming up in Brazil, the Victoria & Albert Museum for the Late at V&A was dedicated to Brazil. Our participation included an installation with the ‘Frevo’ Umbrellas inspired by a Brazilian folk dance, designed in collaboration with the artist and Braziliarty member Bianca Turner. And the Soap Opera Immersive Experience invited the audience to dress up, learn a script and play as actors Victoria and Albert in a fictitious trip to Brazil at the beginning of the 1800s to meet our Brazilian Emperor, who was a kid at the time. Hundreds of people took part. The night at the V&A was the best Late event and was mostly attended up to date.
In continuation of the intention to bring Brazilian culture into different environments, we partnered with the Science Museum for their event Lates at Science Museum. Braziliarty curated a programme bringing 9 activities to a late event dedicated to Brazil in 2014. Activities included From health to the alchemy of cachaça, Brazilian electronic music and research in the Amazon.
Braziliarty also supported the promotion of events such as the Brazilian Film Festival produced by Inffinito in the years 2012 and 2015. This important event is part of a series of global festivals in cities such as Miami.
Moving into the streets and public art, also under the Braziliarty umbrella, the Latin American Graffiti Festival LATA ran for two years 2015 and 2016 at the legendary Red Gallery in Old Street in partnership with Pigment, a Brazilian street artist agency. The takeover brought street artists from Brazil, supported by the Arts Council England. In its second year, it also partnered with the Horniman Museum.
Braziliarty and Pigment, an organisation representing Brazilian street artists worked together for two years producing LATA Street Culture Festival bringing the work of several Brazilian street artists to London, more specifically to the legendary Red Gallery in Old Street. Activities included an exhibition, live painting, film screening, workshops and a celebration. In 2016 we had a talk with the artists at the Brazilian Embassy and the curator and researcher Dr Chandra Morrison. In these two years, ten artists took part in the festival, including high-profile established artists.
Outside London, Braziliarty also collaborated with the Festival Brazilica in Liverpool. The first instance was with the Frevo Drop umbrellas exhibition in 2013 and 2016 with Ananda Nahu doing a large-scale mural in a community centre and the award-winning wildlife photographer João Marcos Rosa, in an Exhibition at the St. George’s Hall.
Other events included the exhibition of Romen Gouveia at Coya London and smaller collaborations with charity Action for Brazil’s Children and the Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, creating the ambient design for the opening of the Brazilian photographer Daniel Malva; a presentation about Véio, a Brazilian artist in Exhibition at Se.eds Gallery. We also booked artists on behalf of the Brazilian Embassy in London for the annual Brazil Day in Trafalgar Square presenting the band Metá Metá in 2016. One collaborative work gathered images from X contributors from Rio de Janeiro to form a collage with the shape of Copacabana’s iconic wavy black and white curb. And finally, the Regent’s Canal Festival show 70 artists in 7 days with Braziliarty presenting 13 artists.
Beyond the events, Braziliarty worked on a business case study to produce branded merchandise of Brazilian artists to be sold in museum stores around the globe as a form of supporting Brazilian artists to get recognition abroad and support. Costs of production and import made the competition in final pricing with merchandise produced in other locations, not viable.
After working with multiple venues Braziliarty started working on a project to become a venue in 2015. Considering the costs, and scale of investment needed, we started by managing to occupy unused buildings, having had the chance to host a month-long occupation at Beak Street in Soho. The building that has been the police station in this busy area also housed the training of the first policewomen in the UK. We hosted an exhibition and shop with 16 artists, performances and classes.
From 2016 until 2019, Braziliarty collaborated with Comida Fest, a Latin American Street Food Festival in London, where you can find further information on the dedicated case study.
Phase 3: Art & Activism
Taking on the attention that Brazil was getting internationally, Manifest-Action was an exhibition happening at Amnesty International in London in 2016. In 2013 Brazilians one of the largest demonstrations in Brazil happened in several Brazilian cities, initiated mainly by the Movimento Passe Livre (Free Fare Movement). In a turbulent time for the violation of human rights in Brazil, with the preparations for the World Cup, several issues were critical. The show included 16 photographs by 9 photographers and portrayed the reality of critical issues in Brazil such as evictions, protests, overcrowded prisons, violence and indigenous causes. The event also included film screenings and in London included a panel discussion with academics specialised in the topics and a major journalist chairing the session. Following the success of the show in London, the exhibition and film toured Europe at Amnesty in Vienna and at the political discourse festival Elevate in Graz also in Austria and in Zurich in Switzerland.
In 2018, Braziliarty and the Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS) at the University of London presented a photographic exhibition in celebration of the 130 years of the abolition of slavery in Brazil by Lita Cerqueira showing images of Brazilian women in their living and working environments. During the opening, we had a valuable panel discussion about decolonisation and Brazilian identity. The show coincided with Photo London.
A more daring project called Brazil Uncensored, supporting LGBTQIA, and exposing political and cultural issues struggled to find funding because of the activist nature of the events.
In 2019 Braziliarty, Comida Fest and Gandaia Arts worked together in the Junina Fest in London, working with property developers in the area of Elephant & Castle for a culture-placing project celebrating the Latin community presence in the area. We showcased music, dance and typical food for all ages.
Braziliarty supported through a grant from the Arts Council, a Gandaia Arts online event in December 2021 bringing a series of music, dance and craft workshops and classes to the houses of thousands of people before Christmas.
Conclusion
Throughout 13 years of operations between 2008 and 2021, Braziliarty has worked with multiple art forms such as fine, contemporary and street art, photography, film, poetry, performance and music. Ir provided a platform for 216 artists, exhibiting, selling artworks and performing. We produced 69 events including festivals, exhibitions, film screenings, talks & debates. The events took place mainly in London in Soho, Camden, Hackney and Shoreditch but also in Liverpool,
Austria and Switzerland. We partnered with Science Museum, V&A Museum, Horniman Museum, Inffinito Brazilian Film Festival, Survival International, Amnesty International, Brazilica, Art at Lloyds Club, Favela Chic, Floripa, Cachaça Abelha, and many more.
Braziliarty was awarded the best cultural event in the UK by the Brazilian International Press Award in 2012, it was nominated for the Creative Enterprise Awards 2011 by SEE at the University of the Arts London and Runner -Up for the best exhibition in 2014 with Conscientia at Lloyds Club at the LUKAS Awards in 2015.
Challenges
Despite so many opportunities and events, Braziliarty struggled to find a balance between being a cultural and a commercial venture and becoming a sustainable organisation.
It required investment for international transport and taxes, artists’ fees and travel costs.
Funding was limited to the Arts Council. Other potential funders such as the British Council, had already regularly funded established British organisations working between England and Brazil which made competition for funding very difficult.
The Brazilian bodies in the UK such as the Brazilian Embassy and the Chamber of Commerce had no budgets to offer the financial support needed. The Brazilian Embassy offered the space for exhibitions in 2012.
In 2016 the tormented Brazilian politics and government affected the growth of culture internally and externally, and together with the currency disparity, it made the Braziliarty plans to cease.
We have learned that using cultural events as a tool for community integration and exchange is possible. The impact lies on the learning journey, and we hope to contribute towards the value of the diversity of London.
Culture is Critical 