In September, Frame and the Finnish Cultural Foundation organized a study trip for contemporary art professionals to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The group joined the opening of the São Paulo Biennial and familiarized themselves with the Brazilian art field, building networks and potential collaborations. In Frame’s blog, Programme Coordinator Arvid van der Rijt shares learnings from the trip.
Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion by Oscar Niemeyer. Photo: Arvid van der Rijt
On a Wednesday morning, a group of 8 art professionals from Finland arrived in São Paulo, one of the most significant art cities in South America, with over 15 million inhabitants. We were welcomed by sunny spring weather, and our taxis arrived swiftly. We drove from the airport southwards, through the city center, to our hotel in Jardim Paulista, a few blocks down from Avenida Paulista – the main central district of São Paulo and location of MASP, one of the most important museums in Brazil.
The one person in our group who spoke Brazilian Portuguese fluently was in another car, but that didn’t prevent us from having a non-stop conversation with our driver. We touched upon topics ranging from football and street safety to baile funk and São Paulo’s landmarks.
Our group consisted of Danai Anagnostou, Producer at Kenno Filmi and Doctoral Researcher at Aalto ELO, Karoliina Korpilahti, Director of the Association of Finnish Sculptors, Anna Perälä, Curator from WAM Turku City Art Museum, and Elham Rahmati, artist, curator, and co-editor of NO NIIN Magazine, who were selected through the open call organised last Spring. Additionally, we were joined by Kiasma’s Chief Curator Anna Mustonen and writer, curator Joonas Pulkkinen. The Finnish Cultural Foundation’s Development Director Johanna Ruohonen and I acted as the co-hosts on the trip.
Our programme for both São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro was put together by curator and art advisor Camilla Rocha Campos, currently a PHD candidate at Goldsmiths in London. Camilla is a former artistic director of Capacete, a residency programme in Rio de Janeiro, with whom the Finnish Cultural Foundation had a collaboration before the COVID-19 pandemic. The programme was made with great sensibility and knowledge, catering to the needs of our diverse group. In 9 days, we met with artists, curators, collectors, and other art professionals representing museums, commercial galleries, art fairs, artist-run initiatives, community projects, culture centers, collectives, and residencies.
Study trip group in the library of the Auroras Gallery. Photo by Johanna Ruohonen.
After recovering a bit from our long flight and stiff necks at the hotel, we started our programme at Auroras, a privately-run art gallery. This first location set quite a standard for the rest of our study trip: a beautiful villa in the Morumbi district with a swimming pool and a cocktail bar. We were hosted by Director Ricardo Kugelman and introduced to exhibiting artist Harmony Hammond. I had the great pleasure of meeting the no-wave legend Arto Lindsay. I was too star-struck to ask for a selfie, but Johanna Ruohonen took a beautiful picture of us together.
The São Paulo Biennial was the main focus of the study trip, and we spent a considerable amount of time exploring the 36th Biennial exhibition ‘Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice’. We met curators Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Keyna Eleison, and Thiago de Paula Souza, had talks with Brazilian participating artists Juliana dos Santos, Manauara Clandestina, Antonio Tarsis, and Aislan Pankararu, and had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the exhibition.
Despite the immense dimension of the pavilion, designed by Oscar Niemeyer, and the number of works exhibited, the Biennial still felt cohesive. With the installation of wavy, colorful curtains, you could flow from chapter to chapter. All the black boxes for video installations were hidden behind these curtains, which added a reversed element to the whole exhibition. The open exhibition space was quite packed with sounds and performances. In this sensory overload, entering the black boxes was a welcome relief; you became part of a more singular, focused space. I often find it hard to engage with long video works during the opening of a large art event, but now these boxes felt like resting points.
The works I encountered in those boxes were among my favorites and included artists like Korakrit Arunanondchai, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Sara Sejin Chang, and Nguyen Trinh Thi. A written review by Joonas Pulkkinen of this visit can soon be read in NO NIIN magazine.
Meeting with a Co-Curator of the 36th São Paulo Biennial, Keyna Eleison. Photo: Karoliina Korpilahti
Besides visiting many galleries and museums and learning the sheer size, reach, and influence of these institutions, the places most informative and inspiring to me were community-led art centers. In São Paulo’s city center, there are many vacant buildings in decline, and in one of those, we met Vilanismo, a Brotherhood of Black artists. They managed to make a deal with the real estate owner and occupied a floor where all members had their studios. Through discussions, knowledge sharing, and creating community, they challenge the stereotype of the “villain” associated with Black men in Brazil.
In Bom Retiro, we visited Casa do Povo, a cultural center founded by the Jewish community that hosts a collective of different associations. Casa do Povo translates as “House for the people” and originally it has functioned as a house of resistance against authoritarian regimes and a shelter for those arriving in São Paulo. Artistic director Benjamin Seroussi stressed that he calls this place an art center, which can be seen as an anti-monument, an empty space open for others to inhabit. The organisations in Casa de Povo share an interest in process, experimentation, transdisciplinarity, and socially engaged activities. Everything from an antifascist boxing club, theater class, choir, editing and publishing studio, to an archive is found here.
Visiting the Instituto Tunga in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: Elham Rahmati
From São Paulo, we traveled to Rio de Janeiro by van, and I still regret sitting in the back because of the bumpy ride. The discomfort was compensated for by the grandiose arrival in Rio de Janeiro. All the clichés are true. Lush mountains and beautiful beaches form quite a contrast to my daily palette of flat Finnish forestry. In Rio de Janeiro, we learned, however, that Brazil is more than Copacabana, Caipirinha, and Maracanã, although we got to experience and enjoy all of these.
We visited the Museum of Modern Art, the Rio Art Fair, and the Museum of Tomorrow, among others. Two organisations especially worth mentioning are Lanchonette Lanchonette and Galpão Bela Maré. They share a similar approach and are both rooted firmly in their direct surroundings. Lanchonette Lanchonette is a cultural center and a haven for the underprivileged. Their name translates to something like cafeteria, as they offer food to the neighborhood. Children and young people hang out in the space and are offered food. While providing basic needs Lanchonette Lanchonette organises education, workshops, and skill-sharing events. Galpão Bela Maré is located in one of the favelas and functions more like an incubator for local artists, creating equal opportunities through exchange.
At artist Ernesto Neto’s studio, we experienced a cappella version of his song ‘Saarilintu’, after which we joined in a big ecstatic group-hug-dance exclaiming “Helsinki!”.
For anyone planning to visit Ernesto in Rio, please bring him a bottle of Koskenkorva. After visiting Helsinki to install his work at the Helsinki Biennial this summer, in a hurry, he picked up a bottle to bring home. His disappointment was immense when he, upon arrival in Rio, realised it was a watered-down, ginger-flavored version.
There are still many things to unfold and digest, but in my opinion, the study trip was a great success, creating so many leads to future projects and collaborations. My utmost gratitude goes to Camilla Rocha Campos for putting together this wonderful programme, and to my co-host Johanna Ruohonen.
– Arvid van der Rijt, Programme Coordinator
This blog is a platform for reflecting on work, current issues, and discussions in the arts by Frame staff members and other contributors. This blog post is published in English.