The Final Score in Rio

On Sunday 31 July, the closing event of the Dutch Olympic cultural programme HOBRA took place in Rio de Janeiro. After three weeks of intensive creative collaboration, the ten Dutch-Brazilian duos presented their work across the disciplines of literature, film, theatre, music, documentary making, dance, design, e-culture, visual arts and architecture in the Laurinda Santos Lobo Municipal Cultural Centre and the Benjamin Constant House Museum.

Cultural cross-pollination
Dutch film maker Daan Gielis said: “It looked like a scene out of a Paulo Sorrentino film: a beautiful old villa, beautifully lit up. Hundreds of guests strolled through the gardens, curious and excited. There was an oracle, a living fountain and wonderful theatre productions. There were singers and dance performances, films and exhibitions. People were calling out ‘Bravo!’ and offering their congratulations. For us, the creators, it was an unforgettable day.” Praise came also from Dutch architect Sjoerd ter Borg: “The Brazilian production team was amazing; they worked so hard to put the closing event together in a short space of time.”

HOBRA’s closing programme consisted of no less than 34 works. It was remarkable to see that all ten Dutch-Brazilian duos had not only produced multiple works, but that they had also contributed to projects by other duos. Musician Emma Rekers set words by poet Lucas Viriato from the literature duo to music, and composed a piece for design duo Clara Meliande and Yuri Veerman’s prophesying oracle. Various participants played a role in Daan Gielis’s UberPOOL Rio, while he himself collaborated on a film by architecture duo Pedro Varella and Sjoerd ter Borg on the Pedregulho social housing complex.

HOBRA has been an enriching experience for all the participants. Thom Kuijpers said: “I have been incredibly inspired by all the different working methods and approaches to telling a story that I’ve seen around me. The theatre makers, the film makers, the designers, the writers: pretty much everyone went into the kitchen with the same ingredients and cooked up a completely different dish. It was really special to be able to witness all of this close up.”

Spin-off
Further plans are already being laid. The HOBRA architecture and e-culture pieces (by artists Thom Kuijpers and Júlio Parente) will be on display in Studio-X’s exhibition space in Rio de Janeiro over the coming months. Theatre duo Pedro Kosovski and Sjaron Minailo are setting to work with the same artistic team in order to create a large-scale production for TEMPO, the international theatre festival at the end of this year, also to be held in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil invited the Netherlands to contribute to the cultural programme surrounding the Olympic Games. HOBRA is a partnership between six Dutch cultural public funds: Fonds Podiumkunsten, Fonds voor Cultuurparticipatie, Mondriaan Fonds, Nederlands Filmfonds, Nederlands Letterenfonds, Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie, and DutchCulture. The programme was produced along with various Brazilian cultural partners, including the TEMPO theatre festival.

  Download the HOBRA leaflet programme final event 31 July