Manifest-Action Brazil

The touring exhibition: Manifest-Action Brazil

In parnership with:

Brazil has historical issues with violence, since colonial invasion and exploitation, slavery and military governments until today’s issues. Currently, Brazil is experiencing a moment of radical change with growth of wealth and higher level of influence in the World, but people in Brazil have been suffering drastic development consequences, particularly with the upcoming years for the major sports events. Some of these issues were discussed on 28^th May 2013, during the 23rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, and later published on the World Report in January 2014.

Topics included illegal and forceful removal of whole communities, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in the 12 capitals homeless, families without compensation or support enough to be relocated; freedom of expression; destruction of cultural heritage with refurbishment of historical buildings with no regulations; suppression of the rights of students and the elderly particularly what is to deal with the rise of transport fares; police abuse committed in the name of security; gender and sexual violence; rural violent cases including the indigenous situation and land disputes, confronting Military Era issues, labour rights and poor working conditions.

With the economic boom and high inflation, in June 2013, more than 1 million people over 322 cities and 22 capitals went to the streets in Brazil, and for a country that illiteracy can reach 21%, this was one of the largest popular manifestations in Brazil’s history. However protests started because of transportation issues, the large movement gave space to expressions against corruption, high inflation, poor public education, health and infra-structure, the excessive government spending for the 2014 World Cup and the Olympic Games in 2016. Hundreds of people were hurt by police abuse of power and several arrested. Jail conditions are shocking with critical overcrowding, poor sanitation and the police abuses.

Brazilian government is very concerned about the country’s international image and FIFA about protests during the World Cup, so much that £475 million security operation plan will bring 170,000 troops police and security staff to the streets. Although Brazil is the mecca of football, the major event has lost popularity and the country is apprehensive about how it will be managed.

The country has become an important voice on the international discussions about Human Rights on the last few years, however it must deal with its internal challenges and create programmes to control the situation, respecting people rights beyond economic instability and international image concerns.

Images in this exhibition are from artists and photojournalists from Brazil and present a mix of topics highlighted at the United Nations’ World Report dated January 2014. http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2014/country-chapters/brazil

MANIFEST-ACTION aims to illustrate the reality of a country that fights for its rights.

PROGRAMME

Collective photographic exhibition by:

Clarissa Pivetta / Fábio Rodrigues-Pozzebom / Jade Rainho / Jorge Araújo / Léo Lima

Luiz Baltar / Nayana Fernandez / Ney Douglas / Pablo Vergara

* Please contact ab@braziliarty.org to obtain any image to be used for press

Film programme:

BRIGHT FLOWER AND THE SCARS FROM THE STONE (Flor Brillhante e as Cicatrizes da Pedra)

Documentary, Brazil 2014 by Jade Rainho – Screened in London, Graz & Zurich

This documentary was made in October and November 2012 and follows Bright Flower, the matriarch of an indigenous family of Guarani-Kaiowá shamans living in the Reserve of Dourados, MS, Brazil. For over 40 years, the fsmily has suffered the consequences of contact bombing of an asphalt plant, exploring a sacred stone in the territory of the village.

THE MUNDURUKU INDIANS: WEAVING RESISTANCE

Documentary , Brazil / England 2014 by Nayana Fernandez Naya Porã 25 mins – Screened in Graz & Zurich

Filmed in late 2013 and early 2014, this documentary looks at growth of resistance of the Munduruku tribe against the threat of the mass construction of a series of damns in the Tapajós River inside the Amazon forest, planned by the Brazilian Government.

DOMÍNIO PÚBLICO (PUBLIC DOMAIN)

Documentary by Paêbiru, 2014. 98 mins – Screened in London, Graz & Zurich

Between 2011 and 2014, the documentary investigated the changes in Rio de Janeiro on behalf of mega-events: UPPs in favelas, forced evictions, privatisation of public spaces and popular uprisings.

This is a crowd-funded project that investigates the use of public resources for the World Cup and how the Brazilian communities have been heavily affected by evictions and heavily armed militia presence. There are interviews from UFRJ professors and politicians and specialists on the hottest topic of the year. The full-length documentary is being launched on the 9^th June 2014 in Brazil.

ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION 

London at Amnesty International 16 June 2014

7.45pm-9pm: Round table discussion with 15minutes of Q&A

The debate will be mediated by journalist and Brazilian foreign correspondent for the past 40 years, also a presenter for two current affairs programmes at Globonews, Silio Boccanera and participants include:

Professor Anthony Pereira

Director, King’s Brazil Institute, King’s College London

Anthony Pereira graduated from the University of Sussex in 1982 with a BA in Politics and then in 1986 obtained an MA in Government from Harvard University. Pereira’s current work concerns citizenship, human rights, public security, and state coercion in Brazil. This includes a study of the performance of a relatively new human rights institution, the police ombudsman, in two different states in Brazil, as well as an analysis of some recent efforts to reform the police. Pereira has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Brazilian Studies Association (BRASA) and is an occasional commentator for BBC Brazil.

Professor Elizabeth B. Silva

Professor of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Milton Keynes

Elizabeth Silva holds a PhD Imperial College in Industrial Sociology at the University of London, UK, an MA in Political Science at the University of São Paulo, Brazil and a BA in Social Sciences at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. She is a Professor at Open University and currently develops a project on ‘art in cosmopolitan spaces’. This is intended to compare London, São Paulo and New York and is a collaborative proposal with visual art, psycho-social, geography and sociology.

Curated by Alicia Bastos and production by Braziliarty

Alicia Bastos, MA, is a project manager, producer and curator specialised in Brazilian arts with 17 years of experience within the creative industries and events internationally. Alicia is founder and director of Braziliarty, a social enterprise created after the award-winning project Braziliality, a platform for promotion of Brazilian arts and culture abroad with a portfolio of 44 independent events produced between 2008 and 2014.

Many thanks to David Charles, and team at Amnesty International

GRAZ, Austria

Exhibition: 23-27 October
Film screenings: 27 Oct 18.30 – 1st Session

BRIGHT FLOWER AND THE SCARS FROM THE STONE (Flor Brillhante e as Cicatrizes da Pedra) Documentary, Brazil 2014 by Jade Rainho 28:14 mins
&
THE MUNDURUKU INDIANS: WEAVING RESISTANCE
Documentary , Brazil / England 2014 by Nayana Fernandez. 25 mins

27 Oct 19.30 – 2nd Session
DOMÍNIO PÚBLICO (PUBLIC DOMAIN)
Documentary by Paêbiru, 2014. 98 mins

Location:: FORUM STADTPARK
Stadtpark 1 – 8010 Graz
http://www.forumstadtpark.at/

In association with:

VIENNA, Austria

Exhibition & Film Screenings 21 Oct 6-9pm

Location: Centro Once
Stadtteilzentrum Simmering Centro 11 1110 Wien, Schneidergasse 15a
http://www.centro-once.org/

ZURICH, Switzerland

Exhibition & Film Screenings 30 Oct 6-9pm

Volkshaus Zürich
Stauffacherstrasse 60
8004 – Zürich – Switzerland
http://www.volkshaus.ch/

Supported by:

Amnesty Switzerland