Mapping Brazil - Cultural Participation: Access to Culture in Rio de Janeiro

Promoting Access to Culture in Rio de Janeiro
Under this section, the main actions to promote access to culture in Rio de Janeiro will be highlighted, as proposed by public authorities (at the state and municipal levels), as well as the private sector and civil society. The objective, as in the previous section about São Paulo, is not to map all implemented initiatives, but to form an initial overview to be developed later.

The context in Rio de Janeiro is very different to that of São Paulo. Whilst São Paulo only attained its current economic and cultural status in the 20th Century, the city of Rio de Janeiro was, since colonial times, of significant cultural importance to the life of the country. For a long time, Rio was the administrative capital of the colony, and in 1808, it was home to the Portuguese Royal family. Since then, several public services were created and many buildings constructed to house such services. As a result of the proclamation of the Republic, in 1889, the federal capital remained in the city of Rio de Janeiro until 1956, when it was transferred to Brasília. However, some services were kept in Rio, among which several foundations and autarchies linked to the federal government. For this reason, some cultural organizations connected to the Ministry of Culture are based in the city of Rio, such as the Fundação Nacional das Artes (National Arts Foundation) – FUNARTE , Fundação Casa de Rui Barbosa (the House of Rui Barbosa Foundation) , and Biblioteca Nacional (National Library) . In addition, the architectural legacy built since colonial times (a large part of which has been deemed national heritage) is part of an important network of cultural facilities.

As for the social and cultural context, the city of Rio de Janeiro was the major urban hub in Brazil, to which several cultural matrices converged. This convergence made Rio the home of Samba, a musical genre developed in the early 20th Century, which throughout the first decades was to become a symbol of national identity . In the late 1950’s, Rio was also the backdrop for the development of Bossa Nossa, a musical style made popular worldwide by Tom Jobim, Vinícius de Moraes, and João Gilberto’s compositions and performances . All of these factors, together with recent sports events of international reach hosted in Rio (such as the 2007 Pan American Games, the opening of the World Cup in 2014, and the Olympics in 2016), have contributed to increase Rio’s international visibility, where the cultural aspect is emphasized and stands out.

This image of Rio de Janeiro also includes an important media: Organizações Globo (Globo Organizations), the major, nation-wide, broadcasting station based in the city of Rio de Janeiro. In recent decades, the TV station has become internationally renowned for broadcasting the Brazilian culture, and especially the “Carioca” (people born in Rio) lifestyle, to the world. The telenovelas, the broadcasting station’s main product in the domestic market as well as for export, played an important role towards that.

Among the many initiatives and programs developed by the State of Rio de Janeiro Secretariat for Culture, ten will be highlighted here, and grouped according to their respective institutional plan.

From the policies conceived by the State Secretariat for Culture, the “Circuito Estadual das Artes” (State Circuit for the Arts) and the “Cinema da Cidade” (City Cinema) projects should be highlighted for playing an important role in the cultural agenda and promoting access to culture. As for facilities, the art education work done by the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro Museum of Modern Art) – MAM” stands out.

Among programs managed by third sector organizations, “Bibliotecas Parque” (Park Libraries) - managed by CSOs - and the project “Cinema Para Todos” (Cinema for All) - managed by OSCIP, are worth mentioning.

There are also the “Pontos de Cultura” (Culture Stations), accredited by the State Government, and the initiatives planned by the Sistema Estadual de Cultura (State System for Culture) - which are quite advanced. In this system, three projects stand out: the “Curso de Formação de Agentes Públicos e Agentes Culturais” (Training and Qualification for Public and Cultural Actors), “Programa de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cultural dos Municípios do Estado do Rio de Janeiro - PADEC” (Rio de Janeiro State Municipalities Cultural Development Support Program); and “Mapa da Cultura” (Culture Map). These three initiatives, in spite of contributing only indirectly to promoting access to culture, are highlighted here because they concentrate the cultural infrastructure of the state of Rio de Janeiro as a whole, which can then decentralize them to promote access to its municipalities.

Interestingly enough, different to what is observed in São Paulo, the federal government is involved in many of the State Secretariat’s initiatives, especially through partnerships. Another relevant fact is the concentration of programs involving film-making. Finally, it can be noted that the private sector does not play as visible a role in the state cultural agenda as it does in São Paulo, with the exception of the Organizações Globo de Televisão (TV Globo Organization) - whose influence contributes to the concentration of policies on film-making and Rio’s international visibility.

The Circuito Estadual das Artes is an initiative by the State Secretariat for Culture, whose objective is to take theatre and music performances to the Rio de Janeiro State countryside at affordable prices. Its first edition, in 2008, (in a partnership with SESC Rio) catered to 10 thousand people in 12 municipalities of the state of Rio. R$1 million was invested in the project. In 2009, the Circuit traveled to 21 municipalities and audiences added up to 22 thousand people. In 2010, the Circuit also offered complementary activities after the shows, such as workshops and debates. In 2012, when the circuit traveled to over 60 municipalities in the state of Rio with a budget of R$2 million, in addition to performing, companies taking part in the Circuit, were also selected for a Training and Capacity Building Plan . This is an important measure by the Secretariat because it decentralizes its program offerings, thereby allowing a wider audience to have contact with artistic styles (a considerable contribution to promoting access to culture), as well as plans for education and training initiatives, which contributes to the qualification of the industry.

Cinema da Cidade is one of the nation-wide Cinema Perto de Você (Cinema Near You) Program guidelines, conceived at the federal level by the Agência Nacional do Cinema – ANCINE (National Cinema Agency). The Cinema Perto de Você program was created to expand the domestic film market and speed up the implementation of movie theatres in the country, making access to audiovisual works by the population easier through the opening of new movie theatres. In addition, it helps to expand moviegoers’ social stratum, induces the creation of new regional centers of film consumers, and contributes to the strengthening of the domestic film industry. Therefore, the Program focuses on the inclusion of consumers by offering films to the new C social class, which accounts for approximately half of the Brazilian population and is currently the most dynamic social stratum and boasts the highest consumption potential; The new C social class has been ensuring the economic growth of the country . In Rio, the program is conducted by means of a partnership among the Rio de Janeiro State Secretariat for Culture, the Ministry of Culture (MinC), ANCINE, and Caixa Ecônomica Federal (a state-owned bank). The Cinema da Cidade project aims at implementing movie theatres in small and medium-sized municipalities (from 20 to 200 thousand inhabitants), which do not have movie theatres in operation. The Rio de Janeiro State Secretariat for Culture will be responsible for enabling the construction of complexes, the acquisition of equipment and furniture, and also the selection of the screening companies responsible for managing the complex. Movie theatres built by the program will belong to the municipality. Funds for the project come from the Orçamento Geral da União (Overall National Budget) and the Fundo Setorial do Audiovisual (Audiovisual Sector Fund), through ANCINE and Caixa Econômica Federal, its financial operator, and add up to almost R$18 million. only 27 of the 92 Rio de Janeiro municipalities have movie theatres, most of which are in the metropolitan area. In face of this need, the Secretariat, as the administrator of audiovisual public policies in the state, is trying to increase the number of screening facilities in Rio state with this project, promoting access of the population to audiovisual production . A second cinema project: Cinema para Todos is geared mainly towards the free distribution of ticket-vouchers to students and teachers in the State Public School System. The program has already taken over one million students and educators to movie theatres and, in addition to promoting access, is a relevant national filmmaking dissemination and audience education measure.

Among the work done by organizations to promote access are the art education projects developed by the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro – MAM . In addition to scheduled tours, and unscheduled group visits (mediated by educators), MAM offers the “Programa em família: Eu, Você e o MAM” (Family Program: You, Me and the MAM) - visits to the collection and artistic-educational activities in the museum’s indoor and outdoor areas; “Em torno de” (Around) - talks, lectures and debates on topics related to the museum and arts in general ; and “Ocupa MAM” (Occupy MAM). This is a get together over one day where 25 projects from the outskirts and poor communities are presented. In this event, young creators and members of the projects show what they do in their regions, sharing their expertise .

Also, among the facilities that promote access to culture, the excellent work carried out by Bibliotecas Parque should be mentioned, a project linked to the Federal Government’s Programa de Aceleração do Desenvolvimento - PAC (Development Acceleration) Program. Inspired by park-libraries in Medelin and Bogota, in Colombia, in 2010, the first Biblioteca Parque opened in Brazil in the community of Manguinhos. The concept is to implement multifunctional public libraries in areas of risk with a program aimed at social and cultural inclusion. By fully incorporating a transformation of the concept of reading in its conception, they offer dynamic spaces with an intense cultural agenda that aim to build a more egalitarian society, open to all kinds of knowledge. There are already 4 Bibliotecas Parque in operation, and in 2015, the opening of yet another one is planned. They are managed by a CSO, Instituto de Desenvolvimento e Gestão (Development and Management Institute) , which has an agreement with the State Secretariat for Culture. Among their educational activities, there are workshop experiments, laboratories, multimedia platforms and several artistic styles. PalavraLab stands out among the activities, a language development program that promotes the production of multimedia, print, audiovisual and digital content. Laboratories are different to courses and workshops because they are based on participants’ prior experiences and aim at generating a product, an idea or a solution with practical application once finished. A meeting point for the community, the Bibliotecas (Libraries) have an estimated audience of 1.5 million people a year, who are encouraged to read, to build on their knowledge, and to develop artistic productions .

The Cinema para Todos program , led by the State Secretariat for Culture and the State Secretariat for Education, is one of the strategic projects for the Rio State cultural policy, in that it is a Rio Audiovisual initiative – a Program for the Development of the Rio de Janeiro State Audiovisual Industry. Managed by the CSO ICEM – Instituto Cultura em Movimento (Cultura em Movimento Institute) , its objective is to encourage and democratize the access of students and teachers in state schools to movie theatres. Its main initiative to that end is the free distribution of ticket-vouchers to students and teachers in the State School System to the screening of Brazilian films. In addition to the distribution of ticket-vouchers, the schools can also request special screenings for groups of students at the movie theatres. The program is conducted in the 27 municipalities of Rio state that have commercial movie theatres available (a total of 65 venues), and also in 23 other municipalities that have cinema clubs.

Another Cinema Para Todos project is the Oficinas de Videointeratividade (Videointeractivity Workshops) – whose purpose is to encourage reflection on the experience of producing films with the technological tools available to the students and teachers. The videos produced can be seen at Galeria de Vídeos (Video Gallery) and take part in a contest, in addition to being sent to film festivals in Brazil throughout the year. Teaching material is also created and can be downloaded from the Internet , and Encontros Pedagógicos (Pedagogical Meetings) are held only for teachers and heads of state schools (with the objective of developing a repertoire of experiences based on the films that can contribute to the cultural qualification of teachers). In the 3rd edition, the program also saw the implementation of cinema clubs in 30 state schools and one social and educational unit for young people in conflict with the law.

In its three editions, Cinema Para Todos served 1.067 schools, screening 197 Brazilian films and taking 1.5 million people to the movies. Approximately 2.600 educators participated in the meetings. The target for the 3rd Edition is to distribute 2 million ticket-vouchers in state schools .

Finally, still within the State Secretariat scope, it is worthwhile highlighting the 196 Pontos de Cultura, in partnership with the MinC. In addition to these, the most relevant initiative, from a social inclusion standpoint, is the Museu da Maré (Sea Tide Museum), which is a Ponto de Cultura linked to the MinC. It is the first museum in a favela (slum) – the Maré Complex, which encompasses 16 favelas and 130 thousand residents. Its collection tells the history of Rio de Janeiro, and especially the history of favela da Maré, from the residents’ point of view. The initiative came from young residents of Maré who broke free from the precarious educational conditions of the region and attended college. In 1997, they organized the Centro de Estudos e Ações Solidárias da Maré – CEASM (Maré Center for Studies and Solidarity Initiatives), a Non-Governmental Organization that aimed to change the reality of the favela. The collection started in 2001, with donations made by the residents. In 2006, the Museu da Maré was created as a Ponto de Cultura, a part of the Cultura Viva federal program .

In addition to all of these actions, the State Secretariat for Culture implemented, in recent years, the Sistema Estadual de Cultura (State System for Culture). Even though there is no specific initiative to promote access, we believe this System develops the cultural infrastructure of municipalities, which, in turn, are better prepared to promote initiatives that expand the access to culture. The main programs are: Curso de Formação de Agentes Públicos e Agentes Culturais , Programa de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cultural dos Municípios do Estado do Rio de Janeiro – PADEC , and Mapa da Cultura RJ (which acts as a cultural information system at the state level, expanding access to such information).

Of the five initiatives and regular programs developed by the Rio de Janeiro City Secretariat for Culture, two of them are deserve to be highlighted here due to their relevance in the promotion of access: the “Prêmio Ações Locais” (Local Actions Award) - which awards continuous practices in culture, communication and knowledge that promote transformation where they are carried out. The award led to the mapping of 610 informal initiatives that were accredited and will have their documentation facilitated for tenders by the Local Administration ), and the “Programa Cultura Viva” (Living Culture Program) by the Local Administration . Among the many Local Administration facilities, special mention goes to “Lonas Culturais” (Cultural Tents) – idle venues in the city outskirts left by the Rio ECO 92 world convention that were reutilized by community work and joint efforts, and later adapted for artistic performances with the support of the City Secretariat ), and “Teatros de Guignol” (Guignol Theatres) - which offer free performances on weekends in 3 buildings from the beginning of the century, which are listed as cultural heritage sites and were inspired by one of the Guignol Theatre during the Belle Époque Paris, with a priority program for all types of theatre, puppets, varieties, circus, children and others.

The “Museu de Arte do Rio – MAR” (Rio’s Museum of Art) is managed by a CSO through a management agreement with the Local Administration. MAR is part of the Porto Maravilha revitalization project for the port area and is comprised of two buildings with interconnected and heterogeneous profiles: the Palacete Dom João VI (the Stately House of Dom João VI), eclectic and a cultural heritage site, and the adjacent building, in a modernist style. The old Stately House holds the exhibition rooms of the Museum. The neighboring building is the Escola do Olhar, a school that aims to help produce and provoke collective and personal experiences, focusing mainly on the qualification of educators in the public school system . MAR is managed by the Instituto Odeon (Odeon Institute) and is an initiative by the Local Administration and the Roberto Marinho Foundation, with the support of the State Government, led by the Ministry of Culture and the Brazilian Federal Government. The Globo Group is one of its sponsors. The Museum’s main line of work is to have “a cross-cutting understanding of the city’s history, its social fabric, symbolic life, conflicts, contradictions, challenges and social expectations”, with exhibits that bring together historic dimensions and contemporary art. The two joint initiatives – that of the Museum and that of the School – make a remarkable contribution to qualified access to culture.

The private sector has a less noticeable impact on the cultural agenda in Rio than in São Paulo. The exception lies in Organizações Globo: the fact that it is based in Rio has led to the establishment of partnerships with municipal authorities, which may have contributed to making films a priority in state policies on culture. In addition to the abovementioned Cinema da Cidade and Cinema Para Todos (part of Rio Audiovisual – a Program for the Development of the Rio de Janeiro State Audiovisual Industry), there is also RioFilme (a film distributor managed by City Hall ). Other entrepreneurial initiatives are the Oi Futuro Institute (a telecommunications industry group with two cultural centers in Rio, one of which has part of its program geared towards theatre for children) , and Sesc Rio, which has 22 facilities in the state, offering activities in areas such as culture, health, social travel, welfare, education and sports, with very similar programs and initiatives to those of Sesc São Paulo .

Finally, in the scope of initiatives organized by society, we highlight projects such as “Afroreggae” and “Nós do Morro” (We are from the Hills), quite renowned for the important work they do toward social inclusion and the promotion of access to culture. Afroreggae is a non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 1993 and its main objective is social inclusion and justice through the development of artistic potential (focusing above all to the Afro-Brazilian culture) and education. Its many projects contribute to income generation with the purpose of keeping young favela dwellers away from drug trafficking. The NGO first started working in the Vigário Geral favela when it opened the first Núcleo Comunitário de Cultura (Community Center for Culture), the Centro Cultural Wally Salomão. Afterwards, the work done by the institution expanded and reached residents in favelas Parada de Lucas and Cantagalo, the Alemão favela complex, Penha and other municipalities such as Nova Iguaçu, as well as a the city of São Paulo, through a representation office. In addition to the workshops with which the work first started, the organization also organizes projects, TV shows, publications and artistic groups, showing an ample reach on different fronts in the promotion of access to culture. As a result of an invitation by the United Nations Organization, the NGO has been expanding its methodology on social work worldwide, with workshops being conducted in India, Colombia, China, England, France and Cape Verde. More recently, Afroreggae has launched the Selo AR (AR label), a licensing label that identifies companies committed to social transformation.

Along the same lines, but focusing on the Performing Arts, the Nós do Morro group, led by actor Guti Fraga since 1986, has been promoting access to culture in favela do Vidigal. Accreditted as an OSCIP (Civil Society Organizations for the Public Interest) since 2010, Nós do Morro offers activities and courses in drama and cinema. In addition to promoting access, the initiative stands out for two main reasons: the professionalization of young people (having qualified actors for films such as Cidade de Deus [City of God]), and the methodology adapted to the reality of the target audience . Nós do Morro currently gathers over 50 people including directors, actors, technicians, writers and collaborators in several areas.

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